Hmong children play under plum trees that are blooming with white flowers. (Photo: Quang Quyet/VNA)
This year's plum blossom season in Moc Chau ( Son La ) is more beautiful than ever thanks to favorable weather conditions. The flowers in many orchards are blooming simultaneously, attracting even more tourists from all over the country.
However, as tourists flocked to the area to admire the flowers during the spring season, there were many complaints about overcrowding in accommodations, food and beverage services, entertainment, and traffic congestion.
The "attraction" effect of plum orchards.
In spring, the plum-growing areas of the Moc Chau plateau are covered in pristine white blossoms. Moc Chau plum orchard owners carefully plan the timing of leaf stripping so that the trees bloom precisely when people are going on spring excursions.
Plum blossoms burst into a blanket of white across the Moc Chau plateau, Son La province. (Photo: Quang Quyet/VNA)
Mr. Duong Minh Thien (a tourist from Dong Nai province) shared: “I have admired many pictures of white plum blossoms in the northern mountainous region and been captivated. This year, I was lucky enough to come to the North at the right time when the plum blossoms in Moc Chau were in full bloom, so I couldn't miss it. Although the journey was arduous and at times the weather in Moc Chau was cold, which could be considered a temperature shock for people from the South, the time spent lost amidst the magical white plum blossoms in the mist was an unforgettable experience.”
Ms. Phan Thi Luu (Thach That district, Hanoi city) said: “So many people on my Facebook were showing off photos and checking in at Moc Chau plum orchards. So my family took the opportunity to go to Moc Chau right away. We didn't have time to prepare clothes or cameras to take stunning pictures, but our group achieved our goal of fully enjoying the spring atmosphere of Moc Chau and experiencing some local specialties in 24 hours.”
At the Bong Bo plum orchard area, Ms. Nguyen Thi Yen (from Hanoi) felt satisfied with the photos she took of the white plum blossoms. Traveling from Hanoi to Moc Chau on Saturday morning, during the two-day weekend, Ms. Yen had enough time to experience and take photos at the strawberry, rose, plum, and peach orchards.
Planning to return to Moc Chau between March and May to pick plums, Ms. Yen said: "Next time, I will learn from my experience, book accommodation and plan my trip early to avoid traffic jams at tourist attractions and photo spots, and also secure better accommodation."
Ms. Tran Bao An traveled from Hoa Binh to Moc Chau at 5 AM. Unable to book accommodation, An and her group of friends decided to make the trip and return on the same day. To capture beautiful and romantic photos, many tourists invest in costumes, makeup, and hire professional photographers.
In Na Ka Valley, Ban Ang pine forest, Mu Nau… some plum blossom gardens bloomed early, attracting locals to take photos, check in, and post them on personal information pages and social media, creating a strong effect. Some gardens that bloomed later will continue to be attractive destinations, drawing tourists to Moc Chau. Thus, the peak season for plum blossom tourism in Moc Chau, instead of just 1-2 weeks, has extended to about 5-6 weeks.
Other tourist activities in Moc Chau also benefit from the situation. Mr. Tran Van Binh (sub-district 14, Moc Chau town) said that plum orchards charge an entrance fee of 20,000-50,000 VND per person. Motorbike taxi services to the orchards on higher ground cost from 50,000-150,000 VND per person per trip, depending on the area. Thus, during the plum blossom season, orchard owners and local people earn an additional income of several million to tens of millions of VND per day.
Creating new impetus for tourism development.
Currently, due to a sudden surge in visitors in a short period, many groups of tourists travel by private vehicles, making quick "check-ins" to Moc Chau, leading to numerous reports of tourist overcrowding. Mr. Bui Van Binh (owner of Binh Huy homestay in Moc Chau) stated that from the second day of the Lunar New Year (Year of the Snake) until the end of February, most rooms were booked and deposits paid. While some rooms might be available on weekdays, they are fully booked on weekends.
The standard rooms accommodate two adults and two children, but many families and groups are willing to pay extra for additional mattresses and shared sleeping arrangements, as long as they have a place to stay. Therefore, to have a pleasant trip to Moc Chau, tourists should proactively book accommodation in advance to ensure they have a place to eat and sleep, or proactively contact reputable travel agencies to purchase tours.
Recognizing the growing trend of plum and apricot blossom viewing tours in the northern mountainous provinces, many travel agencies have launched day tours focusing on plum blossoms and two-day weekend tours. However, both tour packages are fully booked until the end of February 2025.
This demonstrates the strong appeal of Moc Chau's plum blossom gardens. In addition, young people are quickly embarking on trendy trips to destinations that offer day trips.
According to freelance tour guide Nguyen Hong Nhung, since Tet (Lunar New Year), many people have been looking for accommodation and inquiring about plum orchards and the flowering status. “On peak days, there are so many tourists that there’s a shortage of places to stay, and many people have to ask relatives and friends in Moc Chau to pick them up and take them home. On peak weekends, many tourists come to Moc Chau without booking in advance, leading to situations where they can’t find accommodation, and some even have to sleep in their cars,” Nhung said.
The Chạm Homes resort, owned by Ms. Pham Thu Trang, is located in So Luon village, Muong Sang commune, Moc Chau district, about 30 minutes from the center of Moc Chau town. Despite this, the resort is always fully booked from after Tet (Lunar New Year) until the end of February 2025.
To provide flexibility and support for families with young children visiting Moc Chau during the plum blossom season, Ms. Trang contacted local residents to arrange additional accommodation for extra guests. Tourism professionals in Moc Chau advise visitors to proactively book rooms and make deposits to secure their reservations. Large groups should also book meals and transportation in advance to avoid waiting times and price increases.
Additionally, tourists driving themselves to Moc Chau should be prepared for several hours of traffic jams on the way to Son La, or may have to turn back, missing out on some tourist attractions such as the glass bridge, plum orchards, and rose gardens.
In May 2024, the Moc Chau tourist area, covering 206,150 hectares across the two districts of Moc Chau and Van Ho, was recognized as a National Tourist Area by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism. This recognition creates further opportunities for tourism development in the area, affirming its position on the world tourism map and befitting its status as a National Tourist Area.
Currently, Moc Chau National Tourist Area has more than 320 accommodation establishments, over 390 food and beverage establishments, and 58 shopping establishments serving tourists, accommodating more than 10,000 overnight visitors per day.
Notably, for two consecutive years (2022-2023), Moc Chau National Tourist Area was selected and honored by the World Travel Awards with the award for "World's Leading Regional Nature Destination." This has created and continues to create new momentum for the development of tourism in Moc Chau.
In 2024, Moc Chau attracted nearly 2.6 million tourists, generating revenue of over 3,367 billion VND. Moc Chau currently has 17 tourism and service projects with a total investment of over 3,760 billion VND; of which, 5 projects are located in the Moc Chau National Tourist Area with a total investment of over 1,330 billion VND.
According to statistics from the People's Committee of Moc Chau town, during the Lunar New Year holiday of the Year of the Snake 2025 (from January 25th to February 2nd), Moc Chau plateau welcomed 105,000 visitors, bringing in revenue of over 136 billion VND. During the period when plum blossoms bloomed after Tet, Moc Chau received tens of thousands of tourists daily on average, causing many services to become overloaded.
Moc Chau is one of the key national tourism centers included in the Northwest region's tourism development strategy.
In the future, Moc Chau will be planned to become a driving force for tourism development in Son La province and the Northern Midlands and Mountainous region, with a diverse, unique, branded, and highly competitive tourism product system linked to natural landscapes and the cultural identity of ethnic groups.
At the same time, Moc Chau is promoting the development of attractive and highly competitive tourism products; focusing on improving the quality of travel, accommodation, food, and entertainment services; concentrating on developing key products: health and wellness tourism; ecotourism associated with agriculture; tourism visiting historical and cultural relics and scenic spots; and especially focusing on homestay tourism... to better serve tourists visiting Moc Chau every spring.
(VNA/Vietnam+)
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