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| The national heritage site of Mù Cang Chải terraced rice fields is one of Yên Bái's tourist attractions. — VNA/VNS Photo Nhật Anh |
YÊN BÁI — The tourism sector of the northern province of Yên Bái has experienced another successful year, welcoming over 2.1 million tourists, an increase of 3 per cent compared to 2023, according to the Deputy Director of the Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism of the province Vũ Thị Mai Oanh.
The number of international visitors to the province is estimated to reach 270,000, while revenue is estimated at VNĐ1.79 trillion (US$77.83 million), achieving 119.3 per cent of the plan, an increase of 4 per cent compared to the same period last year.
“This success reaffirms the proper and timely direction in the leadership and management of the sector, as well as the strong efforts and high determination of the entire sector, the community and each individual who has contributed to the robust development of tourism,” the deputy director said.
In recent years, the province has conducted many activities to promote local tourism to visitors including appearing on various platforms, like advertising on large billboards and being at events like festivals and trade fairs.
The marketing push of provincial tourism has also seen significant innovations in methods and content. Yên Bái has moved to putting its offer out digitally, building a database for visitors and updating data from local businesses onto the province's Tourism Information Portal. The portal has been integrated with other applications and platforms, such as the province's tourism information fan page, website and the YenBai-S digital citizen application.
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| The Xòe Thái art performance at the Mường Lò cultural and tourism festival in Yên Bái Province. — VNA/VNS Photo Tuấn Anh |
The application of information technology in promoting images from local tourism has been enhanced, connecting destinations and services with tourists via the Internet. Tourists are provided with high-speed on line services and free wireless access at most local destinations.
The tourism sector of Yên Bái has participated in collaborative activities for development between HCM City and eight northwest provinces. It also collaborates on tourism development with Ninh Bình, Quảng Ninh and Nghệ An provinces.
The province has also engaged in international cooperation with Yamanashi Prefecture in Japan, signing a memorandum of understanding on five key areas of cooperation, including tourism.
One aspect of Yên Bái tourism is the focus on enhancing the quality of tourism products and creating unique and attractive new products based on the motto 'New products, New style, New experiences.'
The province is intensifying the development of products such as health tourism linked to natural heritages, hot mineral springs and areas for growing and processing medicinal herbs, aiming to establish a truly four season tourism product.
In particular, the local tourism infrastructure is gradually developing to meet the increasing demands of tourists. Yên Bái currently has 562 accommodation facilities, including 15 establishments rated from 1 to 3 stars, in addition to 268 homestays.
Accommodation facilities are focusing on building their own brands and renovating, upgrading, and adding supplementary services to cater tourists’ diverse needs. Furthermore, the local tourism sector is strengthening the quality of its tourism workforce by holding the first Outstanding Tour Guide Competition in 2024.
“2024 has concluded with the success of Yên Bái tourism. With confidence, Yên Bái tourism enters the new year 2025 with the goal of attracting more visitors and generating higher revenue,” Oanh said.
“The achievements made so far serve as a foundation and motivation to propel Yên Bái tourism to new heights,” she added.
Yên Bái Province is located in the northwest, about 160km from Hà Nội. The locality is renowned for picturesque terraced rice fields, majestic mountains, hot springs, ancient villages, and many delectable dishes. — VNS
