Tourism development in Sonla province = Phát triển du lịch Sơn La

61 CHAPTER 3: SOME SOLUTIONS FOR SUSTAINABLE TOURISM DEVELOPMENT IN SONLA PROVINCE .... A number of scientific themes is involved such as: Tran Duc Thanh, Tourism Geography, Vietnam Nat

VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY-HANOI INSTITUTE OF VIETNAMESE STUDIES AND DEVELOPMENT SCIENCES

- -

NGUYEN THI HANH

TOURISM DEVELOPMENT IN SONLA PROVINCE

MASTER THESIS ON VIETNAMESE STUDIES

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

I am heartily thankful to my supervisor, professor Tran Duc Thanh PhD, whose encouragement, guidance and support from the initial to the final level enabled me to develop an understanding of the subject

I would like to express my gratutude to the staff of the Institute of Vietnamese Studis and Development Science, especially the staff of Training Office, for the favorable conditions they have created, to the lectures involving in my class named K5 for their interesting and beneficial courses, for their efficacious help during my study

I also wish to thank the leaders of the Department of Culture, Sport and Tourism of Sonla Province, the leaders of my College, for their helping and encouraging me to achieve my work

Although I have tried my best, I realize there will be limitations to our work due to my situation and capacity as well Therefore, I am eager to receive your comments to improve the work

Son La, December 2012

AUTHOR

NGUYEN THI HANH

TABLE OF CONTENTS

INTRODUCTION 1

1 Rationale statment 1

2 Research objectives 2

3 Research tasks 2

4 Study objects 3

5 Scope of research 3

6 History of research problem 3

7 Research Methods 5

8 The structure of the thesis 6

Chapter 1: BACKGROUND ON THE CONDITIONS FOR TOURISM DEVELOPMENT CHAPTER 1 BACKGROUND ON THE CONDITIONS FOR TOURISM DEVELOPMENT 7

1.1 Some basic concepts 7

1.1.1 Tourism 7

1.1.2 Tourist 7

1.1.3 Tourism resources 7

1.1.4 Destination 7

1.1.5 Tourism accommodation establishments 8

1.2 The conditions for tourism development 8

1.2.1 Natural conditions and natural resources 8

1.2.1.1 Geographical location 8

1.2.1.2 Topography 9

1.2.1.3 Climate 9

1.2.1.4 Hydrology 10

1.2.1.5 Plant and animal 10

1.2.2 Socio-economic conditions and human tourism resources 11

1.2.2.1 The historical – cultural monuments 11

1.2.2.2 Festivals 12

1.2.2.3 The tourism objects associated with ethnography 13

1.2.2.4 Occupation and the traditional craft villages 13

1.2.2.5 The objects of culture, sports and other cognitive activities 13

1.2.3 Infrastructure for tourism 14

1.2.3.1 Transportation system 14

1.2.3.2 Communication system 14

1.2.3.3 Electrical system 15

1.2.3.4 Water drainage and supply system 15

1.2.4 Labor 15

1.3 Current situation of Vietnam tourism 16

Chapter summary 22

CHAPTER 2: REAL STATUS OF TOURISM ACTIVITY IN SONLA 23 2.1 Son La tourism resources 23

2.1.1 Natural tourism resources 23

2.1.1.1 Topography 23

2.1.1.2 Climate 24

2.1.1.3 Hydrology 26

2.1.1.4 Flora and fauna 27

2.1.2 Human tourism resources 28

2.1.2.1 Monuments 29

2.1.2.2 Contemporary works 31

2.1.2.3 The other ontological resources 33

2.1.2.4 Festival 35

2.1.2.5 Custom 38

2.1.2.6 Other intangible tourism resources 39

2.2 Material and technical facilities of tourism 42

2.2.1 Accommodation establishments 42

2.2.2 Catering establishments 44

2.3 Labour 45

2.4 The tourism products 47

2.4.1 Sightseeing tourism 48

2.4.2 Festival tourism 49

2.4.3 Ecotourism 50

2.4.4 Home-stay Tourism 54

2.4.5 Resting tourism 55

2.4.6 Cultural tourism 55

2.5 Results from the tourism activities 55

2.5.1 Tourists 55

2.5.1.1 International tourists: 56

2.5.1.2 Domestic tourists: 58

2.5.2 Revenue 58

2.5.2.1 The room occupancy Rate 59

2.5.2.2 Profit 60

Chapter summary 61

CHAPTER 3: SOME SOLUTIONS FOR SUSTAINABLE TOURISM DEVELOPMENT IN SONLA PROVINCE 63

3.1 The basis to build solutions 63

3.1.1 Development orientations of Vietnam tourism sector 63

3.1.2 Orientation for socio-economic development of Son La province 63

3.2 Some measures to develop tourism in the provinces effectively and stably 64

3.2.1 Solution on policies 64

3.2.2 Solutions to tourism space development 65

3.2.3 Solutions to develop tourism products 65

3.2.4 Solutions to training, human resource development and improving the community capacity 65

3.2.5 Solution to protect the environment and ensure sustainable tourism development 66

3.2.6 Solutions to tourism promotion and development 66

Chapter summary 67

CONCLUSION 68

REFERENCES 71

APPENDIX 74

INTRODUCTION

1 Rationale statment

Sonla is third lagest pronvince in Vietnam (ranking after Nghean and Daklak provinces) Over 60% of the province area is covered forest Land for agriculture is very limited, in average, it is about 0.2ha/capita The majority

of residents (993 thousand /1084 thousands) live in the rural areas, so the people here still faced many difficulties The province's GDP was only about VND 4600 billion, GDP per capita equvalent to 1/6 everage GDP per capita

of the country (about USD212 / USD 1,200 of the country - Data 2009)

To serve the national hydro power plant, thousands residents living in the planed area have been moved to new place Although the authorities actively support, but the lives of many people disturbed The shifting lines were difficult because unfamiliar with the new job, due to weather, farming conditions, etc

Son La has a favorable geographical position, fresh air, abundant natural resources and tourist attractions So this is the ideal destination for many tourists Son La has many attractions, including the typical tourist spots like Moc Chau Plateau, the plateau Na, cave bats, hang thick, hydro Son La, Son La ancient prison The sights are great advantages to Son La to promote investment in developing tourism activities

Meanwhile, in Son La convergence of many cultures, unique traditions

of 12 ethnic groups, which are typical habits of ethnic Thai and H‟mong peoples With that potential, Son La will be very favorable for the development of cultural tourism, tourism homestay

With convenient locations and potential tourism resources in abundance, Son La tourism in recent years has seen a remarkable development, contribute to the development of local economy and to the

cause of tourism development in the country However, the tourism potential

of the Son La has not effectively exploited, the tourism product is poor, investment in tourism in the area is limited, the image of the Son La tourism have not created a clarity in the relationship with Hanoi, the tourist center and with the other neighbouring provincesand travel nationwide as well

Number of tourists coming to Vietnam in general and Son La in particular is increasing Thus promoting tourism development in Son La is consistent with the trend of the times, in accordance with the development strategy of Vietnam's tourism, especially strategic socio-economic development of the province, in which tourism and services was identified as

an important economic sector

Tourism development has special meaning for a local mountainous areas of Son La - where the poverty rate remains high The shifting economic structure from agriculture to service sector will enable local people to increase their incomes and to reduce their poverty So study "Tourism development in Son La province" has a practical significance meets objectives of Vietnamese studies

- Collecting secondary data and overviewing theoretical concepts on sustanable tourism development and overviewing the present situation of tourism in Son La provincebyfield observations, interviews and questionare

- Analysising and evaluating the situations and concret conditions for tourism development in SonLa

- Proposing the orientations and solutions for Son La tourism development

4 Study objects

The conditions for tourism development, tourism resources and tourism activities in Son La

5 Scope of research

- Content: Topics focused on Son La tourism activities

- Spatial scale: The whole territory of Son La province, of the tourism resources, the tourist spots, the toursin Sonlain relationship with the neighboring provinces and the North West tourism sub-regiona

- Time: Subject focuses on investigation, data collection, analysis and research mainly in the period 2006 - 2011, proposing the solutions and directions tourism development in the phase of from 2015 to 2020

6 History of research problem

6.1 Abroad

The scientific projects research on aspects of tourism such as tourism resources, tourism planning and territorial organization had just appeared in the late nineteenth century and flourished along with the trend of planning, socio-economic development planning and tourism development from the thirty years of the twentieth century

From 1980 onwards, China and other developing countries have considered tourism as a key economic sector, so many theoretical and practical research works relating to tourism planning and tourism resources

are carried out by the scientists such as: "Development and management of

local tourism," by Ngo Tat Ho, 2000; "System of planning criteria" by Ngo

Vi Dan, 1979

6.2 In Vietnam

Currently, there are tourism geographical research works in Vietnam on issues from theoretical and practical bases of tourism development from provincial, regional scale to national one A number of scientific themes is involved such as: Tran Duc Thanh, Tourism Geography, Vietnam National University Publisher, Hanoi, 1995; Nguyen Minh Tue, Vu Tuan Canh, Le Thong, Pham Xuan Hau, Nguyen Kim Hong, Tourism Geography , Ho Chi Minh City Publisher; People's Committee of Son La Province, Department of Son La Trade and Tourism, general report on master planning for tourism development in Son La Province in the period of 2007 - 2015 and vision to

2020, Son La 2007; Le Trong Binh, tourism current State and territorial organization orientation in Vietnam Scientific Yearbook: Vietnam socio-economic territorial organization – Art to ensuring the successful development in the context of international integration” Ministry of Planning and Investment, Development Strategy Institute, Hanoi 02-2007 Vu Tuan Canh (Editor), Vietnam tourism environment and the problems given for the sake of sustainable environmental development Synthesis Report; Vu Tuan Canh: Vietnam Tourism at the threshold of twenty-first century, Journal of Tourism and Development No 01-1995, Hanoi; Handbook on sustainable tourism development, Vietnam Tourism Bureau, the travel newsletter No 1, 11-2005;

In addition, there are many other valuable research works like MA

thesis Dang Duy Loi, 1995, "Assessing and exploiting the natural conditions

in Ba Vi District, Ha Tay province for tourism purpose." MA thesis Tran Duc

Thanh, 1995, "Scientific Basis for the construction of maps for the purpose of

provincial tourism in Vietnam - Ninh Binh province, for instance", "Tourism Geography" chaired by Nguyen Minh Tue, 1994; General Departmental

theme "potentiality of tourism resources in Vietnam" implemented by

Nguyen Minh Tue, 1996

In recent years, along with the development of the tourism industry throughout the country, there have been articles and research works on Son

La tourism Typically, Do Thi Mui author has a PhD topic "territorial

organization of Son La tourism” that refers quite sufficient for the tourism

territory This topic has showed the trend of tourism development in the future and direction of sustainable tourism development through the rationally territorial organization The author has analyzed and clarified the main resources for the tourism territorial organization in Son La In that basis, the

theme "Tourism development in Son La" is the first synthetic and systematic

research work relevant to potentiality, current situation and solutions for tourism development in Son La province These findings of the research will contribute to the overall and detailed picture on tourism activities in the province of Son La, as well as comparative advantages for tourism development with the provinces in the sub-region of the Northwest tourism in particular and the northern tourism regions in general It; thereby, shall propose appropriate measures to enhance the effective exploitation of regionally rich and diversified tourism potentiality

7 Research Methods

In order to complete this theme, the author has used the methodologies:

- Investigation, field survey: Making 3 field surveys (Phase 1: from

20/02/2011 to 25/02/2011; Phase 2 from 07/5/2011 to 15/05/2011; Phase 3 from 22/07/2011 to 28/ 07/2011) to investigate, collect, update the primary

data on the Son La tourism resources as well as on the status of tourist activities in that area

- Sociological Investigation: Focusing sociological investigation

through exchange, and interview with some managers at some places, resorts and residential areas included the tourism activities and objects of different tourists; at the same time, studying the materials in the tourism destinations (tourism registers, opinion record books and suggestions of tourists .) to gather the necessary information for the theme

- Analysis and evaluation: The primary data about the conditions and

tourism development state in Son La to propose the solutions for development

8 The structure of the thesis

A part from the introduction, conclusion, references and appendices, the content of the thesis consists of 3 chapters:

Chapter 1: BACKGROUND ON THE CONDITIONS FOR TOURISM DEVELOPMENT

Chapter 2: REAL STATUS OF TOURISM ACTIVITY IN SONLA Chapter 3: SOME SOLUTIONS FOR SUSTAINABLE TOURISM DEVELOPMENT IN SONLA PROVINCE

CHAPTER 1 BACKGROUND ON THE CONDITIONS FOR

TOURISM DEVELOPMENT

1.1 Some basic concepts

In many tourism studies, there are many terms that understood in different ways However, this thesis is not a research debating on those terms The basic terms used in this theme are based on the concepts in the Tourism Law in 2005 Those concepts shall be as follows:

1.1.1 Tourism

"Tourism means the activities connected with trips taken by people outside their habitual residences aimed at satisfying

their needs for sightseeing, study, leisure or recreation in certain period of

time." [Article 4, Vietnam tourism law]

1.1.2 Tourist

Tourist means a person who travels except for those who go to study,

work or practice their professions to get paid at the places of destination

"Tourist means a person who travels for either tourism or for other purposes combined with tourism, , except for those who go to study, work or practice their professions to get paid at the places of destination [Article 4, Vietnam tourism law]

1.1.3 Tourism resources

"Tourism resources mean natural landscapes, natural element, historical - cultural relics,works of creative human labor or humanity values that can be used to meet travel needs; and consistute the basic elements to form the resorts, destinations, tourism routes, tourism cities "[Article 4, Vietnam tourism law]

1.1.4 Destination

"Destination is the place where has the attractive tourism resources, serving the needs of visiting by tourists." [Article 4, Vietnam tourism law]

1.1.5 Tourism accommodation establishments

Tourism accommodation establishments means an establishment which rents rooms and beds and provides other related services for guests, of which hotels constitute a major form [Article 4, Vietnam tourism law]

1.2 The conditions for tourism development

In order to develop tourism, it should possess sufficient conditions, including natural conditions and natural resources, socio-economic conditions

and human tourism resources, infrastructure for tourism and labor resources

1.2.1 Natural conditions and natural resources

The natural components are necessary condition for tourism activities

On the other hand, in the specific cases, some properties of those components attract tourist and they, thus, are directly exploited for the purpose of tourism business to become the natural tourism resources Those components include topography, climate, hydrology, plants and animals, etc

1.2.1.1 Geographical location

Geographic location is one of the important resources for tourism development According to researchers, there are two determinants of economic space location, that is: The focus of the space of economic issues and transport costs For the tourism activities, determinant of the location condition is tourism destination located in the area of tourism development and short travel distance from the tourism point to the place with tourist sources

Geographical position includes naturally geographical location (territorial limit and geographic coordinates), and socio-economic and politic location When analyzing and evaluating the role of geographic location, it is

necessary to put it in the context of locality, nation, region and internationality

1.2.1.2 Topography

Topography is one of the important factors that contribute to form landscape and the diversity of the scenery in that area For visitors, the more diverse, contrast and unique terrain is, the more it attracts tourist Tourist usually prefers hilly areas and for many people, plain terrain does not attract them because of its monotony In these types of terrain, Karst-type and coastal terrain is very valuable tourism resources

Even more remarkably, it is the kind of Karst terrain of typically tropical wetlands in Halong Bay, but its value has contributed to these sites named to the list of world natural heritage

1.2.1.3 Climate

Tourist usually prefers the mild climate Many polls have given results that tourists generally avoid the too cold, wet, hot and dry places The windy places are not suitable for the tourism development Each type of tourism requires different climatic conditions For example, travelers at the sea in summer often choose occasions of no rain, sun but not too harsh, cool water and the moderate wind

Number of rainy days are relatively little at sea tourism season That means that the location, region or tourism country should have relatively dry tourism season Every rainy day for travelers is a wasteful day for the purpose

of travel, so it shall reduce the effect of sea vacation

Tourist often prefers the sunny places, so they have flocked into southern countries with equable climate and sea The places with the number

of highly average sunshine hours per day are generally preferred and more attractive to visitor

The high temperature makes people feel uncomfortable Tourist can expose to the sun that is consider as the proper temperature

Seawater temperature from 200C - 250C is the most suitable for bathing tourism activities If the sea water temperature below 200C and above 300C is irrelevant

Among the elements of climate, temperature and humidity are closely related to each other and mainly affect the feelings of man

1.2.1.4 Hydrology

Water is an indispensable element to sustain human life Vast water table not only creates a healthy atmosphere but also have good effects for human health In addition to effects of common bath, water table is a rather effective remedy to treat the stressful diseases Standing before a vast mirror, people shall become more relaxed, more comfortable, the pressures of life stress seems to disappear As a result, many regions in the world raise resort areas along the lake and coast attracting a large number of tourists from all over the country

In water resources, the mineral water is an indispensable prerequisite for the medicinal tourism development Treatment by mineral water sources had been discovered since the Roman Empire Today, mineral water plays a decisive role for the medicinal tourism development

1.2.1.5 Plant and animal

Plant and animal play an important role in the tourism development mainly due to the diversity and endemism People often strive for their own lives with more full comfort In order to achieve that, they have made their life increasingly away from nature Meanwhile, as a creation of nature, people seem to return closely to nature Thus, apart from the type of cultural tourism, natural tourism is becoming a trend and popular demand Consequently, the

world of wild animals and plants are increasingly attracting many visitors Kinds of animals and plants absent from their countries often appeal more strongly For example, European travelers often prefer to the places with tropical jungles, creepers, big trees ,etc as Cuc Phuong National Garden and Tam Dao

Biological diversity and the conservation of specifically and valuably genetic resources to different natural areas in the world are so meaningful and specially important for some forms of tourism such as ecotourism, sightseeing, seminar scientific research tourism It needs to discover, organize protection and maintain the natural conservation areas for tourism

1.2.2 Socio-economic conditions and human tourism resources

Human tourism resources are objects, phenomenones created by humans during the survival process and development; have cultural and spiritual values, and serve tourism demand Human tourism resources include: the historical - cultural monuments, festivals and folklores; the tourism objects associated with ethnography; craft and traditional handicraft villages and the other human resources

1.2.2.1 The historical – cultural monuments

Historic - cultural monuments are precious asset of each locality, nation, and country and of humanity It is the loyal, authentic and specific evidence relating to cultural characteristics of each country contains all things

of good traditions, the intellectual and talent quintessence and artistic and cultural values of each country Historic - cultural monuments, at higher level, contribute to the development of human cognition, intellectuality and talent

Historic - cultural monuments, in general, can be divided into: the archaeological culture relics, historical relics, artistic and cultural relics and scenic spots To assess the significance of the historical - cultural relics for

tourism purposes, the criteria should be noted that: The number of relics, relic density, the number of relics ranked, the number of particularly important relics

1.2.2.2 Festivals

The festival is the soul of a community and society The festival helps people assert their position in the community Many festivals have deep meaning in educating the commodity sense, morality and patriotic tradition The festival today has become an important object for the tourism development, not only for domestic people but also international tourists

The festivals have created a magically new environment, allowing the participants to contact mysteries of all life origins Ethnic Festival is a chance for people on a pilgrimage to their root and nature In the heritage treasures left today, the national festivals are probably one of the most precious things Thus, the healthy festivals do not disappear, is increasingly replicated and developed both form and content The festivals attract visitors no less than the historical – cultural monuments

The festivities, large or small, include two parts: the ceremony and the assembly The ceremony has solemn rites to open the festival The festival ceremony is a chance to express homage to the gods and sages, aspires clement weather, favorable terrain, human harmony and prosperity, happiness The assembly takes place the activities of community and expresses deeply cultural characteristics of ethnic groups The assembly usually has funs, the singing nights, skill contest, etc All good and beautiful things representing a region are expressed to bring joy, inspiration for everyone For the boys and girls, assembling is an excuse to meet, learn from each other The assembly is usually associated with love, so it creates a great attraction for tourists who have the opportunity to participate in the festival

When evaluating the role of the festival to serve tourism purposes, the special points must note including the festival period, the scale of the festival and some form of major festivals

1.2.2.3 The tourism objects associated with ethnography

The attraction of ethnographic tourism is created by separate and unique culture in each resident practices, production, social organization, subsistence, traditional clothing, or in the food culture of each nation The travelers today do wish to go to new lands and to meet the others in their long journey

1.2.2.4 Occupation and the traditional craft villages

Characteristics of the craft villages are to create geographically distinct products and single production Each village has its own culture reflected in the way of life, the habits and the behavioral culture of the community Traditional village is the quintessence of the regional technology and techniques does not cease to exist and change together with the culture of man Villages and traditional craftsmanships have become the object of tourist activities long, where human has aimed to explore, learn and experiment clever combination between the most harmoniously and vividly spiritual and material values

1.2.2.5 The objects of culture, sports and other cognitive activities

The cultural objects also attract tourists with sightseeing purposes and research It can be the centers of scientific institutions, universities, libraries - big and famous museums; the cities with art galleries, the centers regularly organizing music festivals, theater, cinema, international sports competitions, beauty contests, etc Therefore, all cities with cultural objects or host of sport-culture activities and events have all attracted many tourists and become the cultural tourism centers

1.2.3 Infrastructure for tourism

Infrastructure is not managed by the tourism industry, but they are built

to generally serve the national economy The development and distribution of infrastructure (transportation, communication, electricity, water drainage and supply system, etc.) and performance of these sectors have a profound effect

on the tourism activities

1.2.3.1 Transportation system

Tourism is associated with the movement of people on a certain distance,

so it depends on the transport network An tourism object can bring the great attraction for tourists but it still can not be catched if missing traffic elements The traffic development, especially accelerated means of transport allows to rapidly exploit the new tourism resources Only through a network of convenient transportation, the tourism has quickly become a widespread phenomenon in society, an indispensable demand in the daily life of every citizen

The types of traffic for tourism may involve: road, rail, waterway, seaway, airway and vehicles manufactured and used for tourism demands like caravan, boat, yacht, special aircraft and cable

1.2.3.2 Communication system

Communication is an important part of the infrastructure of tourism activities It is a necessary condition to ensure the exchange of domestic and international tourists Communication needs are the needs of the exchange of social information; satisfied by many different types of information: satellite communication, internet, telephone, telegraph and post, etc Moreover, it is the convenience of communication networks that also help the fast smooth tourism business transaction on a global scale, make tourism activities become more popular and efficient

1.2.3.3 Electrical system

It is a necessary condition to ensure the essential needs of travelers at tourism sites The power plants, grid structure, the capability of ensuring the local power for operation of the points, areas, groups, tourism centers, the balance between supply capacity and demand for electricity in the whole region, etc have great significance because their products directly serve the traveler‟s rest and entertainment The more society develops, the more modern the facilities for the life are, the more increasingly electricity demand grows Tourism activity is an activity of human with the property of enjoyment, rest and recreation to reproduce labor power, so the demand for electricity is very huge

1.2.3.4 Water drainage and supply system

It includes water plants for the daily needs and tourism services Water supply should be noted in the following aspects: availability of water supply, water quality and water supply system to meet the needs of tourism development As tourists usually have a high demand for clean water in their trip, while many destinations are very far from large urban areas, so it requires to have a clean water supply system with pipe network development

to meet enough the needs of tourists Besides, tourism activities have also discharged large amounts of wastewater with harmful chemicals to the environment This can lead to environmental degradation at locality and around tourism spots Therefore, it should have a reasonable drainage system with proper capacity waste water treatment plant for tourism activities adversely affecting the living environment of local residents

As a consequence, the complete infrastructure is a prerequisite and lever of economic activities, including tourism activities

1.2.4 Labor

Labor is an important factor with the effect of promoting the tourism development The increase of population, population density, life expectancy,

urban development and urbanization lifestyle, etc, on the one hand, increases the labor force in manufacturing and services, leading to increased demand for rest and tourism; on the other hand, population growth contributes to labor supply in the tourism service industry, ensuring human resources for tourism development

The development of the social production and the economics plays an importance role, particularly for tourism development, it appears tourism demand and turns it into reality The development of the social production results to the advent of tourism activities and pushes it to develop more quickly Between tourism demand and tourism reality is a certain distance When the higher social production level is, the narrower the gap is

Simultaneously, tourism development is also dominated by economic sectors, particularly some sectors related to tourism products like agriculture, industry and transportation These industries have met the essential needs for tourists such as: the demands for meal, accommodation, travel, etc and are a condition for improving tourism service quality and tourism product one

1.3 Current situation of Vietnam tourism

Vietnam is a country with the special advantages of geography, economics and politics Located in the heart of Southeast Asia, Vietnam territory has both tied to the continent and expanded the ocean; is located at a favorably international exchange on seaway, waterway, railway, road and airway This is a very important premise in the international tourism expansion and development

Our country has a stably political regime, with abundant human resources, the smart, hard-working and hospitable Vietnamese that are important elements to ensure tourism development

Vietnam tourism resources enable to develop all three types: Tourism of mountain, plain and sea The varied characteristics of the topographical structure

of sea and island, plain, hill, and plateaus have formed diversity and richness of landscapes and valuable ecosystems to develop many types of tourism, especially the marine and islandish ecosystems, river and lake ecosystems, forest ecosystems, cave, etc Human resources of Vietnam is so rich with thousand history of national construction and defense years Among about 40,000 relics, there are more than 3,000 monuments officially ranked by the State

The remarkable thing is that the natural and socio-cultural landscapes

in our country are often combined in harmony Types of natural resources are preserved to increase the excitement and attractions of all kinds of socio- cultural resources That awareness is originated from the hearts of the Vietnamese, handed down from generation to generation One can easily see that, any historical monument in Vietnam is linked with a specific landscape, even if it is a temple or mausoleum In addition to the historical, cultural and revolutionary monuments; many craft and traditional handicraft villages with unique skills, many festivals associated with uniquely cultural activities and folk arts of the 54 ethnic-group community along with distinctions, sophistications of culinary arts blended and mixed on the basis of architecture and landscape with Eastern philosophy value, are the advantages of Vietnam historical-cultural tourism

Overally, Vietnam tourism resources have been not only relatively uniformly distributed throughout the country, but also concentrated in each cluster near major urban centers, important transport axes, convenient for organizing exploitation, forming tourism routes to complement each other between the regions, with the value used for tourism purposes and a great attraction for tourists

There are many historical signs shown that Vietnam tourism activities have been long-standing The first trip is related to the king's journey to

expand territory The scholars like Truong Han Sieu, Huyen Thanh Quan and

Ho Xuan Huong can be seen as globe-trotters in the middle Ages Other traces

on the rock by Lord Trinh Sam at Huong Tich cave and of many kings, other Confucian scholars are the evidences for the trips of our father in history

The exploitation of natural resources for tourism purposes and relaxation has become more pronounced during the French domination In temperate regions, there are beautiful landscapes such as Ba Vi, Tam Dao, Da Lat, Sa Pa, Vung Tau, Do Son, Nha Trang, Ba Na, etc Numerous villas, motels, and resort hotels were built to serve the authorities and wealthy merchants at that time

After peace was restored in the north, due to the reception of domestic and international delegates, the Government had issued Decree No 26/CP

dated 09/07/1960 on "Establishment of Vietnam Tourism Company ", directly

under the Ministry of Foreign Trade, with the basic task as to serving the delegations of the Party and Government On 16/03/1963, Minister of Foreign Trade had decided to entrust Vietnam Tourism Company with tourism business to earn foreign currency for the country This decision had officially marked the birth of Vietnam tourism industry Although it was still young compared to many other economic sectors, Vietnam tourism had gained a proud development, especially since the country entered the economic innovation Achievements of Vietnam tourism sector has been shown in detail

in the following aspects:

- Tourists and tourism revenue: After nearly half a century of formation

and development, annually average growth rate of the number of tourists and tourism revenue had kept growing in Vietnam

The number of guests including international and domestic ones had increased As a result, revenue from the tourism industry had also grown

rapidly In 2002, tourism revenue had only reached VND 20 billion, in 2005, increased to VND 30,000 billion and in 2010, continued to rise rapidly to reach VND 1,780 billion This is a relatively high growth rate compared to other countries in the region and the world (Source: Vietnam National Administration of Tourism)

- Diversification of tourism products: In addition to the specifically

traditional forms of tourism such as sightseeing, entertainment, resort, medicinal tourism, historical cultural tourism, marine tourism, mountainous tourism, etc, a number of new tourism forms are formed such as adventure, mountaineering, ecological tourism, travel through Vietnam, Indochina, commercial and duty tourism, etc in which have focused on exploiting the human values of ethnically cultural richness to make up the unique and attractive tourism products

- Investment in infrastructure, material and technical facilities for tourism:

Along with rapid growth in the number of international and domestic visitors, tourism infrastructure, and material and technical facilities have been continuously improved and expanded Thanks to the rapid and strong development of the system of airports, seaports, road traffic, it has created favorable conditions for international visitors to travel in Vietnam In recent years, the international visitors have come to Vietnam by airway through two mainly international borders consisting of Tan Son Nhat (Ho Chi Minh City) and Noi Bai (Hanoi), only a small part through the Da Nang international border Overland international visitors have been through the international border in the northern and southern borders, a small part through the international border in the Central Market share of international visitors traveling by railway through the international borders of Lang Son and Lao Cai have occupied a tiny percentage

In order to meet the increasing travel, tourism infrastructure, particularly accommodation establishments has been developed rapidly Many luxury hotels are built to change the basic appearance of the hotel system in Vietnam,

to meet the requirements of residence and the organization of big conferences and international seminars

Catering business establishments have grown quickly both in number and size, to gradually meet the needs of visitors The tourism points, recreation places, sports, golf courses, parks, etc are put into operation, for partly meeting the needs of tourists and local people, and becoming a powerful attraction for tourists

Infrastructure is fundamental factor to achieve effective exploitation of tourism potentiality Network of transportation, communication, electricity and water is gradually being upgraded to meet the requirements of socio-economic development and tourism Along with the upgrading and development of transport system of road, airway, railway and sea port, means of specialized tourist transport has increased in both quantity and quality, contributing to improving passenger transportation and to the tourism revenue

- Tourism human resources: Together with the rapid increase in

tourists, the hotel room and bed, and other tourism services, labor in tourism industry has developed rapidly in both quantity and quality They are largely young However, the professional qualifications of employees in the sector are still limited and should be more trained Network system of tourism training is being expanded to meet the needs of human resource development for tourism

- Socio-economic benefits: Tourism developed has contributed to

promoting the socio-economic development, increased the share of services in total national income; restored many craft villages, many traditional festivals,

etc In some areas, tourism has changed the basic face of urban, rurality and local life These impacts have the active effect on promoting the whole society to participate in the tourism development, creating new jobs, contributing to economic growth, promoting economic restructuring change and implementing poverty reduction policy

Clearly, tourism is gradually becoming a driving force for developing the areas or territories throughout the country

Domestic tourists (thousand)

Tourism activity in Vietnam

Chapter summary

In summary, natural resources and environment are fundamental factors

to create tourism products Tourism resources directly affect the territorial organization of the tourism industry, the specialized formation of tourism areas and economic effect of tourism activities The combination of the tourism resources in the territory will be great significance in combining different types of tourism, routes, and destinations to create unique tourism products Tourism activity scale of a region, a country is determined on the basis of tourism resource mass Tourism resources also play a decisive role to the seasonality in the tourism business, rhythm of flow of tourists Therefore, tourism resources can be assessed as one of very important factors to decide the tourism area and tourism development of a country

Besides, infrastructure, technical and material facilities, labor, the political and economic factors have contributed to tourism development If one of these factors is lack, tourism activities can not achieve high efficiency

Vietnam tourism activities in recent years have gained great achievements The number of tourists and revenue is growing over the years, particularly since 2002 - 2010, international tourists had increased by 2,3 times, revenue had increased from VND 20 billion (2002) to VND 1,780 billion (2010) Tourism products are more and more diversified Many accommodation establishments like the luxury hotels built have changed the basic appearance of the hotel system in Vietnam, to meet the requirements of residence and the organization of big conferences and international seminars

Thus, in order to more develop Vietnam tourism sector, the State should have incentive policies to attract investors and focus on building unique tourism products; labor with the service quality in tourism industry will attract more domestic and foreign tourists

CHAPTER 2 REAL STATUS OF TOURISM ACTIVITY IN SONLA

2.1 Son La tourism resources

2.1.1 Natural tourism resources

2.1.1.1 Topography

Map of Son La province

Son La terrain is characterized by the average mountain chains inserted into river valleys and the plateau surfaces All mountain ranges, plateaus and river valleys are in the northwest – southeast direction The terrain is generally steep and fragmented Featuring limestone, in the mountains in Son

La, there are many caves, typically Doi cave (Moc Chau), Tham Tat Tong cave ( Bo Village), A Phu spouse Cave (Bac Yen),etc

In addition, Son La has Moc Chau Plateau (1,050m) and Na San plateau (800m) with different ecological conditions that have created unique terrain to Son La province

2.1.1.2 Climate

Climate in Son La has both the nature of a tropical monsoon and have been affected by hot and dry westerly wind, with two distinct seasons: the rainy season starting from May to October and dry season from November to April of the following years

Every year, there is an ample amount of radiation, about 130 - 135kcal/cm2 received in the territory of the province Total temperature is 8000

0

C/year average; total hours of sunshine in the year are 2000 - 2500 hours

With regard to the thermal regime, annually average temperature is

210C in the whole province; the hottest month is May, June with the average temperature of 24,90C, the coldest month is January with the average temperature of 14,40C The temperature difference between the hottest and coldest months is 10,50C However, there are also abnormal increase in temperature, up to 420C, likely to cause the phenomenones of forest fires, droughts, lack of water to supply production and life of the people in general, and of tourists and tourism activities in particular

Chart 2.1: Number of sunshine hours and average temperatures

of the months in 2011 in Son La

Số giờ nắng Nhiệt độ trung bình các tháng trong năm Sunshine hours Average temperature of the months within the year

As regards precipitation, annually average rainfall in Son La province

is 1200 - 1600mm, with clear differentiation over time, space and influenced

by complex partition terrain, rainy season usually causing local flood along the banks of rivers and streams Over time, the rainy season lasts from May to October and accounts for 90% of the total annual rainfall; in which July is the wettest month The dry season is short of water severely; rainfall in the driest month is only about from 2 to 2,5% of the total year rainfall; little rain is in January and February, especially in Song Ma River, Yen Chau

The average humidity is 81% /year Prevailing wind direction; in the rainy season, is southwest, in the dry season, is the North East Son La almost has no storm, so the economic activities and daily life of the people is less severely affected

Chart 2.2: Rainfall and relative humidity of the months in 2011 in Son La

Son La climate has high temperature, humidity, solar radiation and total operating temperature, favorable for agricultural production, allowing the formation and development of high productivity and quality agriculture with

Monthly average rainfall within the

year

Monthly average exact humidity within the year

specific products such as tea, sugarcane and food crops, or other valuable food However, due to splitting distinct two seasons, it needs to pay attention

to keeping water, fighting against drought in the dry season, and erosion, landslides in the rainy season

For tourist activities, characteristics of tropical monsoon climate in Son

La contribute to creating the unique weather patterns that does not exist at the Delta It is the sudden rains, the coldness at night and in the early morning calming daylight Journey of the visitors, therefore, will be time to rest, relax

in comfort and fun

The seasonal differentiation also creates seasonality in tourism activities The most appropriate time for tourism activities is in the dry season Now, the weather is fine and tourists can take advantage of most daytime to go sightseeing and participate in favorite recreational activities

2.1.1.3 Hydrology

River systems in Son La are rather dense, outstandingly Da River and

Ma River Along these rivers, they are the rapids and waterfalls with small height, but we can exploit these characteristics to develop sport-adventure tourism to overcome the rapids and waterfalls

Along with river systems, Son La also has many large lakes for the development of hydropower projects such as Son La hydro power, Huoi Quang hydropower, Nam Chien hydropower, Suoi Sap hydropower, etc Specifically, when the Son La Lake is formed, it will be the country's largest lake with a length of 150 km, an area of about 16,000ha In addition to the values of electricity production and irrigation service, it is very valuable for tourism development

Mineral water, especially hot mineral water, is considered as the valuable tourism resources that are being exploited to create attractive tourism

products to tourists Hot mineral water in Son La is concentrated at the areas such as Mong Village, Hua La Commune (Son La city), Ngoc Chien Commune (Muong La), Chieng Sai Commune, Chieng Yen (Moc Chau), Chieng Dong (Yen Chau) At present, some households in these areas have been exploiting to serve the needs of tourists, but the size and form of these services are small and simple

2.1.1.4 Flora and fauna

The flora in Son La has 161 groups, 645 genera and about 1,187 species, including angiosperms and gymnosperms, tropical, subtropical and temperate plants The typical groups are orchid, Cunninghamia lanceolata, Lagerstroemia, Baccaurea sapida, etc The groups involve many species like

daisies, rush, Fabaceae, Paeonia moutan Sims, camphor, Labiatae, Lasia

spinosa, Arsliaceae, mulberry, coffee, orchids, orange, custard-apple, Ceiba

pentandra, Caesalpinioideae and chestnuts The rare plants include Fokienia

hodginsii, Podocarpus, Chukrasia tabularis A.Juss, Calocedrus macrolepis,

Burretiodendron hsienmu, parashrea stellata, Keteleeria davidiana, Pinus

latteri, Pinus kesiya, mulberry, Michelia mediocris, Shorea falcata, Madhuca

Homalomena affaromatica Roxb, Arsliacea, Campanumoea javanica Blume, Poly Multiflorum Thunb and Shorea falcata Those rare plants have extinct risk like Fokienia hodginsii, Podocarpus, Chukrasia tabularis A.Juss, Calocedrus macrolepis, Burretiodendron hsienmu, parashrea stellata,

Keteleeria davidiana, Pinus latteri, Pinus kesiya, Michelia mediocris,

Syzygium aromaticum, Fernandoa brilletii, Shorea falcata

Statistics have shown the composition of the forest animals in the valley of Da river and Ma river, mainly in special forests, in which Son La has 101 mammal species, in 25 families, of the 8 sets; bird with 347 species,

in 47 families, of 17 sets; reptile with 64 species, in 15 families of two sets; amphibians with 28 species, in 5 families, of one set The fast-growing species consist of bamboo rat, porcupine, don, bird, and snake The province also has the rare animal species listed in Red Book such as elephant, gayal, black gibbon, gray langur, white cheek langur, short langur, tiger, leopard, bear, zebra dog, wolf, flying squirrel, loris, ink ferret, brown bamboo rat, wild pig, gibbon, bear, otter, Capra prisca, monkey, brown hornbill, gold beak hornbill, peafowl, purple pheasant, grey peacock pheasant, pangolin, great hornbill, python, iguana , cobra, krait, kinds of turtles, etc (Source: Department of Agriculture of Son La province in 2009)

In summary, abundant tourism natural resources in Son La will create premises to boost tourism activities in the province, attract visitors from all parts of the country

2.1.2 Human tourism resources

It is the oldest living area of 12 ethnic groups, in which the Thai ethnic group is major (54%), Son La has been characterized by the cultural values of northern ethnic minorities, typically Thai In addition, Son La is the economic center of the North West with a traditional history of fighting against foreign invaders Human tourism resources, therefore, are one of important factor for tourism development in Son La

Human tourism resources in Son La can be divided into the following groups: The historical works; contemporary works; the traditionally cultural values; festivals, musical dance, crafts, food and customs

2.1.2.1 Monuments

Son La Prison

- Son La Prison: Son La Prison was built by the French in 1908 on Khau

Ca hill, where many Vietnam revolutionary soldiers were detained Initially, this is only a provincially small jail with an area of 500m2, and then it was expanded up three times by the French in the years of 1930-1940 and the period from 1930 to 1945 Here, thousands of political prisoners were imprisoned, including many key officials of Vietnamese revolution as Le Duan, Truong Chinh, Van Tien Dung, Nguyen Luong Bang and Le Thanh Nghi In particular, in prison relics, it had also peach tree planted by Mr To Hieu being detained and died here The peach tree was always verdant next to the stone walls of the dungeon as a symbol of the indomitable wills of communists In adjacent prison, it was Son La- province museum, which showed many precious exhibits for introducing the historical cultural traditions of 12 ethnic-group community in the territory The museum was ranked 1962

To Hieu Peach tree

- Le Thai Tong King temple: Temple of King Le Thai Tong (epitaph

"Que Lam Ngu Che") is located in the center of Son La city The temple is the autograph of a great talent of Vietnam - King Le Thai Tong In May, 1440, after the King and his army to conquer the rebels in the North West and stay

at La Cave (locally called Tham Ke), feeling before beautiful and peaceful landscape here, the King wrote a poem "Que Lam Ngu Che" inscribed on the vertical cliff at the top of the entrance, the poem has had 140 kanji Relics was discovered in 1965 and recognized and nationally ranked by the Ministry of

Culture on 05/2/1994

- Co Noi Victory Monument: Historical monument of Co Noi Victory

Monument is located in Co Noi commune, Mai Son district, Son La province The monument has commemorated 100 youth volunteer soldiers who died in Dien Bien Phu campaign, reappeared by the image of youth volunteers in the different positions, proudly holding their head up on duty before bomb rain

and bullet storm

- Muong Chanh revolutionary base area: More than 60 years ago,

under the yoke of French colonialism , Muong Chanh revolutionary base area

had formed the first National Salvation Youth Forces first Youth in Son La province with 12 members, enlightened by the Son La Prison Branch Since then, Muong Chanh had become a revolutionary base area, contributing actively to the process of building the revolutionary forces for Son La liberation from the yoke of French colonialism on 26/08/1945

In addition, Son La also has some monuments, such as: Dua Ca Fort, - Moc Ly military post, Thuan Chau platform

is 2,400 MW, consisting of 6 units Total investment is VND 42,476.9 billion, invested by Vietnam Electricity Group (EVN) Total number of households must move: 17,996 households in 03 provinces of Son La, Lai Chau, and Dien Bien Currently, 03 units in Son La hydropower has been taken into operation

to successfully integrate into the national electricity system

Sonla hydro-plant

It is worth saying that differences in the Son La Hydropower is not only

in the scale and progress, but the entire survey, design, and construction are carried out by engineers and workers from EVN, Song Da, Lilama, Quang Trung mechanics, etc; foreign experts only plays a supervisory role After generating the electricity of the unit 1, relevant parties shall push the power generating progress of the remaining 5 units completed until the end of 2012

Son La Hydropower has been put into operation; in addition to the large supply of electricity to the country, it also contributes to fighting against flood in rainy season, supplying with water in dry season for the Northern Delta, is a great opportunity for socio- economic development - not only for Son La but also for the whole northwest Thus, this is one of the attractive

destinations to visit in Son La

2.1.2.3 The other ontological resources

- Architecture

In the architectural buildings in Son La, the house on stilts of the Thai people is the most unique The house on stilts of the Thai people in Son La has a distinct beauty The house on stilts is structured by the types of woody trees and plants such as bamboo, cane, neohouzeaua, etc thatched with alang grass Instead of nails, it is a ligament system legated quite elaborately and sophisticatedly When housing, King people usually use hinges to connect the truss columns together, while the Thai people employ beams through the holes of the columns This architectural style seems simple, but very definite; it's enough power to resist sun, rain, wind, storm and especially earthquakes

as today

The house on stilts of the Thai people has roof "tortoise curved dome" and is usually set at two gables, the symbol carved by white painted wood like horns called “khau cut” “Khau Cut” has many types such as “Bending Khau Cut”, Deformed Khau Cut and Khau Cut Pua as a form of pattern decoration

of Black Thai people It is the distinct beauty of that house that has brought inspiration source for many poets, at musicians, artists etc

- Traditional Crafts

+ Brocade weaving of Thai people

Among the 12 ethnic groups, the Thai in Son La has the largest proportion of the population Not only is the rich and diversified culture of the Thai people expressed through the festival and architecture but also reflected

in pattern lines in brocade pieces One of the characteristic features of the Thai‟s uniquely visual arts is pattern-decorating technique on canvas – Brocade pieces with distinctly cultural values and pride of the people of ethnic minorities in Son La

+ Pottery of Thai people in Muong Chanh commune

Muong Chanh is away from Son La city about thirty kilometers of forest Every day, the boys of the Thai carry ceramic small jars from Muong Chanh to distant villages for sale In the mountainously high villages of Mong, with scarce water resources, then the water containing jars are more and more precious Longstandingly, Copper vase and water containing jar are inheritances left by the parents to their children Ceramic jars‟ value is very appreciated like one-piaster silver coin The jars in the mountain also have its own characters, usually smaller and more compact than ceramic ones in the lowland Muong Chanh Pottery has been mainly burnt by firewood In the old days, Muong Chanh workers had burnt by lemon grass with beautiful ceramic out of oven The preservation and development of pottery of the Thai, Muong Chanh commune, not only create jobs, raise incomes for the people but also contribute to making the locally unique souvenirs to tourists

+ Flax planting and fabric weaving ooccupation of the Hmong

Most of the Hmong villages in Son La province still keep flax planting and fabric weaving occupation with many complicated processes from raw material processing to dyeing techniques Especially, wax technique is used to increase the beauty, fabric luster, and reliability and combat against the cold

If the regional peoples have used only one, two techniques to create own patterns, the Hmong generally applies many techniques of embroidery, grafting fabric, grafting metal, printing wax patterns, etc Therefore, Hmong‟s clothes are really a uniquely visual artistic work This is a truly meaningful gift of the Son La area for domestic and foreign tourists

+ Ironwork of the Hmong

Forging is a tradition career of the Hmong Products consist of plowshares, knives, hoes and gun barrel Hmong‟s ploughshare is strong, can cut tree roots, lemon grass, plow dry land with depth from 10 - 15cm