Building a friendly and hospitable tourism community in Sa Pa

In the last months of 2025, Sa Pa National Tourist Area was bustling with domestic and international tourists coming to visit and relax. Especially, on weekends, the number of visitors to Sa Pa was much higher. In the stone church area located in the center of Sa Pa ward, there were many tourists.

Foreign tourists experience cultural space in Sa Pa.

Previously, this area often had the situation of ethnic minorities, especially the elderly and children from the villages coming here to sell goods, clinging to and soliciting tourists to buy goods, asking tourists for money, destroying the beautiful image of Sa Pa. Currently, this situation has decreased significantly, tourists can comfortably walk on the street, sit and relax in public places without being disturbed.

Ms. Marzena, a tourist from Poland, said: This is the first time I have been to Sa Pa, the most attractive tourist destination in Vietnam. There are many cafes and bustling shops here. Sa Pa also has wild mountains, beautiful natural scenery, and very friendly and hospitable people. I feel very happy and will come back to this place in the future.

Coming to Sa Pa, along with visiting the central area of Sa Pa ward, many tourists also like to go to the villages to experience and explore the cultural space with strong national identity. Among them, Cat Cat tourist area is an ideal destination, attracting thousands of tourists to visit.

Cat Cat Tourist Area creates jobs for many local workers.

It is worth mentioning that tourists coming here do not have to worry about the locals being followed, solicited, or asked for money, but can also learn about the cultural identity of ethnic groups, watch ethnic minorities perform traditional crafts, and perform art shows. For many women, mostly the elderly, Mong children no longer think about selling goods on the street or following tourists because they have jobs and a stable income.

Elderly Mong women are arranged to sell souvenirs at Cat Cat Tourist Area.

Previously, Ms. Lu Thi May, who lives in Y Linh Ho village, Sa Pa ward, mainly stayed at home to farm and work, making life very difficult. On weekends, Ms. May went to Sa Pa to sell street goods to tourists to earn extra income. Since being invited to work at Cat Cat tourist area, she has been doing her familiar and favorite job of painting beeswax, and selling souvenirs to tourists, earning 3 - 4 million VND per month.

Mrs. Lu Thi May shared: My grandchildren also participated in a class on preserving cultural identity right at Cat Cat Tourist Area, so they don't think about going to the street to sell goods to tourists anymore.

Mr. Nguyen Trung Kien - Deputy Director of Cat Cat Tourism Company Limited said: The life of most elderly Mong women is very difficult, to make a living they have to go to Sa Pa or other tourist routes and destinations. Meanwhile, the elderly often preserve indigenous cultural knowledge such as beeswax painting art, traditional handicrafts. Therefore, in order to create jobs and promote cultural values, the Company has invited them to perform for tourists to experience at the tourist area. Depending on each person's ability, they can join the art team, paint beeswax, weave linen, make corn wine...

Along with creating jobs for about 50 women and the elderly, Cat Cat Tourism Company Limited also opened a class to preserve Mong culture for children, inviting experts knowledgeable about Mong culture, history, Mong writing, tangible and intangible culture to teach cultural identity to children. Currently, Cat Cat Tourism Area has 150 children participating in Mong culture preservation classes on weekends, contributing to reducing the situation of children selling goods on the street and following tourists in Sa Pa. These activities have contributed to building a community of tourism businesses responsible to the community and society.

Not only for businesses, but also for accommodation service establishments such as motels, hotels, homestays and tour guides, drivers, restaurant and hotel staff, etc. also contribute significantly to building a friendly and hospitable tourism community in Sa Pa.

Ly May Lai’s family operates a homestay service in Ta Phin commune. Recently, many domestic and foreign tourists have come to visit, experience, and stay at her family’s house. To better serve tourists, Ly May Lai has learned English and French to communicate with tourists.

Ms. Ly May Lai, owner of Ta Phin homestay shared: I always remind the homestay staff and local tour guides not to cling to, solicit, or ask for money from tourists; when receiving guests, always be cheerful and give enthusiastic instructions so that tourists are satisfied and will return to the homestay next time. Recently, I participated in a training course on how to behave with tourists organized by the Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism of the province and learned many useful things about communication skills with foreign guests.

Talking to us about solutions to solve the problem of street vendors and soliciting tourists at Sa Pa National Tourist Area, Mr. Tran Son Binh - Deputy Director of the Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism said: Recently, the Department has organized 2 training courses on behavioral skills with tourists, to raise awareness about tourism, reduce soliciting tourists and street vendors with the participation of 70 students.

In the training course, students are provided with knowledge about the importance and basic elements when communicating with tourists; practice skills in dealing with tourists, skills in handling real situations when communicating with tourists. Thereby, improving the communication and behavioral skills of tourism staff towards tourists, contributing to reducing the problem of soliciting and stalking tourists at Sa Pa National Tourist Area.

Mr. Tran Son Binh - Deputy Director of the Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism also said that currently the situation of people selling goods on the street, soliciting and clinging to tourists at Sa Pa National Tourist Area has decreased significantly.

One of the very important solutions that the Department of Culture - Sports and Tourism, local authorities, and the Tourism Association have implemented is to coordinate with businesses in solving employment, creating livelihoods and sustainable income sources for people. This is one of the root solutions to the problem.

In the coming time, these solutions need to be implemented synchronously and drastically, to prevent the recurrence of the situation of people and children selling goods on the street, clinging to and soliciting tourists at Sa Pa National Tourist Area, contributing to building the image of Sa Pa as beautiful, friendly, hospitable and rich in national identity.

Source: https://baolaocai.vn/xay-dung-cong-dong-lam-du-lich-than-thien-men-khach-khach-tai-sa-pa-post886525.html