destination survey report sapa lao cai

Basic elements of tourism destination 1, Attractions Sapa is famous for its nature and is known as a mountain town with majestic natural scenery of forests, terraced fields along with vi

NATIONAL ECONOMIC UNIVERSITY SCHOOL OF ADVANCED EDUCATION PROGRAM

DESTINATION SURVEY REPORT

SAPA - LAO CAI

Name: Vu Nhat Phuong

Student Code: 11194323

Class: POHE Hospitality Management 61

Course: Destination Management

Lecturer: Dr Hoang Thi Thu Huong

November 2022 1

TABLE OF CONTENTS

INTRODUCTION Tourism is considered a key economic sector in Vietnam Vietnam has diverse and rich tourism potential with many different strengths In tourism, the destination is an extremely important factor, contributing to attracting tourists, promoting the number of tourists to visit Sapa, one of the outstanding destinations in Vietnam, is located at an altitude of nearly 2000m and is like a "town in the mist” In Sapa, there are many tourist areas with ideal locations

Sapa is a resort town in Lao Cai province at an altitude of 1600m above sea level, with a temperate climate, average temperature from 15 to 18 degrees Celsius, cool all year round with light snow in winter Since the early years of the century, the French have found the attraction of Sapa in terms of landscape, climate, water source Therefore, visitors can admire the beauty of French architecture of more than 200 resort villas Sapa is a pristine place with villages of ethnic minorities such as HMong, Dao, Tay, Xa Pho with Silver Waterfall, Heaven Gate, Cloud Bridge, Wind Cave, Ham Rong Mountain Love nature and want to learn the customs and habits of the mountainous people

Through this field trip, I had the opportunity to learn about this destination My report is still incomplete and has many shortcomings, I hope to receive your comments to make

my report more complete

I Basic elements of tourism destination

1, Attractions

Sapa is famous for its nature and is known as a mountain town with majestic natural scenery of forests, terraced fields along with villages of ethnic minorities as well as diverse new travel experiences

Types of tourism Sapa

Mountain-convales-cence tourism Sapa Town Center, Fansipan

Mountain, O Quy Ho Mountain Pass, Tram Ton Pass, San Pa Ho, Lao Chai,

Su Pan, Hau Thao, Thanh Phu, Ban

Ho, Nam Sai, Nam Cang, Ta Phin

Commune Cultural Tourism Ta Van village, Muong Hoa Valley —

terraces, Den village, Khoang village, Cat Cat village

Eco-tourism Hoang Lien National Park, Thac Bac

Waterfall Love Waterfall, Sun World Fansipan Legend

Besides seeing the beautiful scenery around Ta Van village, tourists can also feel the beauty and peace through the daily activities and work of the villagers Ta Van is home to many ethnic minorities such as Mong, Dao, Tay, Giay, etc Each ethnic group will have its own unique culture that is unmistakable

e Tram Ton Pass

To feel the full beauty of Sapa, visitors need to go up Tram Ton Pass or Heaven Gate - the highest mountain pass in Vietnam The deep, immense valley with a green color of the primeval forest is considered as Asia's heritage forest

Despite the challenging roads, Tram Ton Pass is still a place of majestic nature, feeling the forest scent day and night quietly without human impact

e Hoang Lien National Park

The Hoang Lien National Park in the northern Lao Cai province is home to a rich natural diversity and numerous beautiful landscapes, and it has the potential to develop into an ecotourism destination

The park is home to the Fanstpan Mount, the highest mountain in Indochina, which is part of the Hoang Lien Son range running through six communes: San Sa Ho, Lao Chai, Ta Van, Ban Ho communes of Sa Pa district, and Muong Khoa and Than Thuoc communes of Lai Chau province’s Than Uyen district

The park is also home to a wide variety of flora and fauna, many of which are now unique to Hoang Lien Along with 66 animal species, 61 reptile species, 553 insect species, and 347 bird species, scientists have identified 2,024 plant species, or 25% of Vietnam's native species Many of these are now part of Vietnam Red Book on precious and uncommon plants and animals

The park also includes Center for the rescue, conservation and development of creatures Hoang Lien where some rare animals and plants are conserved as well as researched

© Love Waterfall

Love Waterfall is a scenic spot in Sa Pa tourist area, Lao Cai province The waterfall

is located in the area of San Sa Ho commune, about 4 km from the center of Sa Pa town to the southwest and about 3 km from O Quy Ho pass in a straight line Love Waterfall is also the starting point of trekking tour to conquer Fansipan peak, the highest mountain in Vietnam

The name "Love Waterfall" originates from a legend about the love story between the woodcutter O Qui Ho - the eldest son of the mountain god who reigns on the AI Lao mountain range and the seventh fairy The waterfall falls down to form a natural bath and in legend, the fairies chose this place as a bathing station and were engrossed in playing until the sun went down the mountain to fly back to the sky

e Sapa Town Centre

The centre of Sapa is developed and has many famous attractions for tourist such as Sapa Market, Sun Plaza and so on There are also many restaurants, cafes and services

in the town centre Tourists have various choices to experience in Sapa Town Centre

2 Amenities and Private Amenities

Average occupancy is about 75%, can be up to 90% on holidays or special occasions Basically, Sapa can meet the accommodation needs of tourists with many kinds of accommodations that can bring about different experiences

Because of specific climate and geography, all accommodation establishments have a breathtaking view and mountainous place Homestay 1s a new kind of accmmodations that is strongly developing in Sapa, especially in some famous village such as Ta Va,

Su Phin, The homestays mainly have a Vietnamese ethnic design and provide real cultural experience for tourists

Accommodations at Sapa are focussed on investment with many luxury hotel projects within full services 4-star and 5-star hotels in Sapa meet the standard as well as the needs of customer with professional service Other kinds of accommodation also attract a big quantity of customers by lovely design along with full amenites and hospitality attitude of service

However, the facilities for homestay tourism in the locality are still limited, and people lack of knowledge of homestay tourism, mainly by experience Many tourists said that community tourism products in Lao Cai are still monotonous; the need to explore and experience has not been fully met and satisfied

2.2 F&B services

Sapa also famous for its featured and diversed cuisine Sapa has various restaurants also cafes within different levels of price for customers to easily choose Sapa has many delicious dishes such as grilled food, Salmon, Sturgeon, Black Chicken, Com

Lam, Thang Co Ngua O, Apple Meo Wine, Ban Pho Corn Wine, Vegetable Hot Pot, Grilled Stream Fish, Salmon Salad, Boiled Corn, Pork Stolen Armpits Restaurants with affordable prices and reasonable prices are concentrated in the Sapa Food Market area

Most of the restaurants in Sapa not only provide delicious food, but also have a majestic view of nature or a town in the mist that will make visitors have the most realistic experience with the natural features of this place

Tourists can easily find restaurants in town because of the dense density of restaurants

in Sapa However, the food services here are still not flexible when there are some specialties such as Con Sui that can only be served by | or 2 restaurants; As well as restaurants are only open for a certain time, it is difficult to find a restaurant for brunch or late night dinner with diners in need

2.3 Additional services ammenities

The grassroots health network (village, village, commune, ward, township health care) is the closest direct medical line to the people, ensuring that all people receive primary health care at low cost Determining this important role, over the past time, the grassroots health system in Sa Pa town (Lao Cai) has made efforts to carry out this mission most effectively than before Medical facilities in Sapa have been focused on developing more, but few facilities are still open

Tour service

Every year, millions of domestic and foreign tourists travel to Sapa because of its gentle and poetic beauty, "a meeting place between heaven and earth" with the most majestic natural scenery in the region The North, with its very different and profound characteristics, forms a highlight that attracts more and more tourists to visit

There are many companies and facilities of major travel agencies such as Viettravel, Saigon Tourists, Sapa Travel Mate and so on are located in Sapa These travel agencies offer a lot of different tours, suitable for many customers’ requirements Conference service

Conference service in Sapa is quite developed but not outstanding about this service Some large hotels have conference services such as Sapa Jade Hill, Amzaing Hotel,

KK Sapa Hotel, Pao's Sapa Leisure Hotel and other 5-star hotels Overall, Sapa has a total of 6 separate convention centers

Additional service

Health care service: Sapa tourism is mainly about exploring the villages and tourists have to walk quite a lot, therefore Sapa relies on this to develop health care facilities such as relaxation, massage and herbal baths There are many massage shops in Sapa and mainly follow traditional massage methods such as Dao leaf bathing, massage for the blind and other methods of ethnic minorities

Renting transportation service: Sapa has quite a few rental facilities for different types

of vehicles such as motorbikes, bicycles and cars suitable for traveling 1n typical terrain You can easily find car rental places here

Commercial Service: Sapa has only one commercial center, is a shopping and entertainment center with fashion items, souvenirs, local specialties from popular to high-class

In addition, Sapa also has large markets and markets such as Sapa market and grocery stores where visitors can buy souvenirs as well as specialty dishes (chestnut cakes, buffalo and so on)

ATM: There are many banks that are available for tourists’ demands such as Agribank, Bidv, These are convinient for customers who need to do banking transactions Costume rental: Sapa, especially in the villages, has a lot of rental and shooting establishments with traditional costumes of ethnic minorities

3 Accessibility

3.1 Transportation and traffic

The transportation system in Sapa - Lao Cai includes: Road and rail traffic

Moving to Sapa becomes quite easy and convenient Tourists can choose from a number of vehicles such as bus, train, motorbike, personal car For places near Sapa, it

is quite easy to move However, for tourists who live in remote provinces like in the Central or the South, it will be more difficult by moving to Hanoi first, then can continue to Sapa

According to the plan to organize urban traffic, Sa Pa bans passenger cars with over

29 seats (except for buses and public vehicles as prescribed) and trucks with a transport volume of more than 10 tons from circulating on 31 routes roads during some peak hours This creates some inconvenience in the movement of large tourist groups In the town center, tourists mainly travel by taxi, electric car or motorbike taxi, while in the villages, most tourists have to walk or call a motorbike taxi Moving

is also difficult because calling a car is difficult, especially after 10 pm and there is little kind of means of transportation Especially in the villages, it 1s almost

impossible to call a car and can only travel by walking

Urban traffic in the center of this National Tourist Area is messy The rapid

urbanization rate while the traffic 1s not expanded leads to tourists coming to Sa Pa often suffer from traffic jams, especially on weekends and public holidays The parking system is still lacking, vehicles coming to Sa Pa stop and park at will, even at places where no parking signs have been posted

Roads in Center Town are generally well planned, easy to travel, but the road to the villages or the roads in the village still has many obstacles Many roads are seriously degraded, the road surface is narrow and eroded, which is a challenge for residents and tourists

3.2 Procedure

The types of identification when going to Sapa you need to bring are: identity card / citizen identification, passport, driving license, These are indispensable items When renting a room at Sapa hotel or homestay tourists will need to show these documents to check in Or when you want to travel by rented motorbike, a driving license is also a very necessary type

For expatriates and foreigners entering with a separate visa, tourists have to bring visa and customs declaration when traveling

Children (under 12 years old) when traveling need to bring birth certificates (originals

or copies with visas) to carry out airline procedures and other administrative procedures with parental authorization and certified by the local police

in the current 4.0 era

Besides, visitors can also go directly to the travel companies to get information about Sapa

4 Human resource

In Lao Cai province, there are 460,442 people of working age overall (62% of the population), of which 77.2% are employed in rural areas, according to survey data from 2020 Involved in economic activity are 448,917 persons, or 60.1% of the labor force This is a crucial human resource for the socioeconomic growth of the neighborhood

The tourist industry employed 32,000 people in 2019 out of the province's total labor force, or 6.9% of the labor force in the working age demographic Despite the fact that this rate is still low, it does not match the requirements for a spearhead economic sector, but it is a crucial resource for the growth of Lao Cai's tourism industry Although Hoang Lien National Park and Fansipan peak conquest are the key ecological tourist attractions of Sapa tourism, there is a serious shortage of human resources, with only about 50 people managing the entire area of several thousand hectares Therefore, here the situation of illegal entry without buying tickets still occurs, leading to unfortunate accidents

Food costs: In Sapa, there are many different levels from low to high depending on the demand or quality of service at that dish For popular dishes such as rice, pho, and noodles, the price is generally from 30,000 VND to 50,000 VND Drinks cost 10,000 VND — 20,000 VND depending on the type For hot pot or grilled dishes, the price is about 100,000 VND - 200,000 VND / person Because there are many prices, it is convenient for visitors to choose a restaurant or cafe that suits their level of payment Cost of accommodation: Homestays in Sapa are considered to have a reasonable price, even cheap compared to the quality of service and facilities and amenities As for luxury establishments, the price level is higher than the quality and facilities For example, in Pao's Leisure Sapa, the price is similar to that of other 5-star hotels, but the quality of electricity and design in the room is still poor compared to the general standard of 5 stars

Other services’ costs: The price of other services such as clothes rental or some high- end healthcare facilities are quite expensive compared to the common ground because

of commercialization, however, in general, the price of these additional services is still reasonable compared to other tourist destinations within the average price of about 100,000 VND

6 Image and Character

For two consecutive years, Sun World Fansipan Legend KDL received the award

"World's Leading Cultural Tourism Destination” (2019, 2020) by the "Oscar of the World Tourism Industry” - World Travel Awards (WTA) In 2020, Sun World Fansipan Legend takes another step forward with the title of "The top tourist attraction with natural attractions Not only that, before that, KDL has been named as

an impressive and classy destination level with the presence of large, highly artistic programs and the presence of famous brands The advertising campaign "Art of Travel” in 2019 of the famous brand Louis Vuitton selected the train station The Muong Hoa mountain climbing fire is a clear example.In its campaign, Louis Vuitton's goal is to create a creative travel diary with beautiful scenes full of art The selection of the luxury fashion giant has shown that the products at Sun World Fansipan Legend are suitable for the criteria of luxury, reaching the international level

Sapa is one of the most popular tourist destinations in the North with a very characteristic name that is "the land of fog" Sapa is famous for its cool and temperate climate, but also has many picturesque scenes that few places have Sapa is likened to

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a city in the magical mist because the fog in Sapa is dense and white Most of visitors are amazed by the beauty of this destination’s mountains and forests A beauty that brings a breath of peaceful and poetic life - where one can forget all worries about daily life and harmonize with the soothing silence of Sapa

Sapa always receives good feedback from visitors with its diverse and distinctive culture and majestic, breathtaking nature The quality of service here is also highly appreciated with the friendliness of the people, especially the ethnic minorities However, the image of Sapa is being negatively affected because the exploitation of children selling goods and making money in the past years in Sa Pa has been carried out more and more sophisticatedly and difficult to control According to the survey of

Sa Pa town authorities and the witness of passers-by, most of the children do this under the guidance of adults with methods such as: using children; create a situation

of compassion; take advantage of the compassion of tourists to easily sell goods despite the cold weather, both day and night, despite berg reminded by the authorities and taking preventive measures According to Vice Chairman of Sa Pa Town People's Committee Le Manh Hao, the reason for this is that although tourism

is developing, people are not benefiting from tourism activities due to lack of capital, knowledge and skills One of the important reasons leading to the difficulty of completely solving the problem of street vendors pulling and dragging tourists

IL Destination Management and Marketing

With the goal of bringing the most comfort to visitors when coming to Sa Pa national tourist area, the Sports and Tourism industry of Lao Cai province in collaboration with Sa Pa District People's Committee is actively implementing many epidemic management measures tourism in the area The Culture, Sports and Tourism sector has advised Lao Cai province to organize inter-sectoral inspection teams to regularly and irregularly check the compliance with regulations on prices and business

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