Tourism communication, promotion, and marketing efforts have been strengthened. The management and guidance of businesses, tourist areas, and attractions have been reinforced to enhance security and safety measures, ensuring the smooth operation of local tourism activities, operation of tourism activities particularly during holidays and the Lunar New Year. Efforts have been made to raise public awareness about voluntarily complying with legal regulations and ensuring disease prevention, environmental sanitation, food safety, and traffic accident prevention. Destinations and tourism service products have been promoted based on the preservation and development of local cultural identity, historical traditions, regional characteristics, local people, and culinary specialties. Organizations, units, and individuals have been encouraged to strictly comply with regulations on tourism service business activities, clearly posting prices and selling at listed prices; maintaining cultural and civilized behavior in tourism activities; promptly addressing negative practices; and strictly enforcing regulations on tourism business, such as prohibiting tourist coercion and price hikes, especially during peak seasons. Measures have also been implemented to ensure security and safety, fire prevention and control, food safety, environmental hygiene, traffic safety, and disease prevention at tourist areas, destinations, and tourism service establishments. Additionally, efforts to enhance self-inspection, supervision, and the maintenance of service quality have been intensified.

Strengthening tourism promotion through mass media, in 2024, a feature article promoting Son La tourism was published in the Ho Chi Minh City Tourism Magazine. Additionally, 1,500 copies of the Son La Tourism Map, 1,500 brochures on Ecotourism and Agricultural Tourism in Son La, 1,500 leaflets on Community-Based Tourism in Son La, 1,000 Son La Tourism tote bags, and 1,000 copies of the Son La Tourism Photo Book were published. Three promotional documentaries on Son La tourism were produced and broadcast on the digital platforms of the Provincial Radio and Television Station. Successful events were organized to promote tourism potential and attract investment in tourism development both within and outside the province, providing opportunities for businesses to participate, promote their products and services, enhance cooperation, and attract investment to boost local tourism development. Organizationing of the Son La - Houaphanh Cultural Tourism Festival held in Houaphanh Province, Lao People’s Democratic Republic, from March 22–23, 2024. The event which was sucessful and attracted around 10,000 visitors and buyers, showcasing Son La’s cultural spaces, tourism and agricultural specialties, and traditional folk arts. The event served as a platform for people in Houaphanh and tourists to explore and exchange cultural and tourism experiences, and opened up ideas for building tourism tours and agricultural trade connections. Following the event, many Lao tourist groups visited Son La for sightseeing and exploration. In 2024, Son La also organized promotional activities and announced the decision of the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism recognizing Moc Chau as a National Tourist Area. The province launched the 2024 Son La Tourism Contests, including three competitions: Son La Tourism Video Clip Creation, Beautiful Son La Tourism Photos, and Voting for Son La Tourism Brands. These were not only creative playgrounds but also effective channels to promote local tourism and culture. Thanks to the success of these contests, Son La Tourism is expected to remain a captivating destination on the map of Vietnamese tourism.

At the same time, collaboration and guidance were provided to districts and cities to effectively implement communication activities, brand promotion, and tourism market development. Moc Chau District: Maintained regular updates on the district’s electronic information portal, websites, fanpages, and groups managed by the District People's Committee and the Management Board of the Moc Chau National Tourist Area. Directed the successful organization of festivals, events, and sports activities. Produced and released a music DVD titled “Moc Chau – The Call of the Love Season”; successfully held the contest for the creation of the tourism title and logo of Moc Chau; published various tourism materials including the Moc Chau Tourism Handbook, List of Destinations, and leaflets on Ta So Community-based Tourism Village. Received and hosted Famtrip delegations; organized contests for large-scale street mural design and the creation of tourism branding elements for Moc Chau; launched the 3D/360 smart interactive tourism map, the Moc Chau smart tourism app, and virtual tourism experiences. Hosted music composition camps attracting many musicians and artists, resulting in popular songs about Moc Chau by composers such as Luu Minh Son and Quynh Hop....Van Ho District: Successfully coordinated and organized events such as the “Zero Dong Market,” the Vietnam Off-Road Motorbike Racing Championship, the Wine Tasting Festival at Chieng Di 1 Night Market, the Peach Blossom Festival, and the Ban Flower Festival. Bac Yen District: Held various cultural and sports events, including the Hang Chu Commune Cultural and Sports Festival, the Chiềng Sại Commune Culture, Sports, and Tourism Festival, the Son Tra Flower Festival, and the Golden Season Festival in Xim Vang Commune. Muong La District: Organized the Son Tra Flower Festival and cultural-tourism promotion activities in 2024 in Ngoc Chien Commune; successfully hosted a contest to create a tourism symbol (logo) and slogan for Muong La; writing contest to promote tourist attractions, notably “Son La Hydropower Tourism – the Largest Hydropower Plant in Southeast Asia.” Phu Yen District: Organized traditional festivals including the Moi and Mo Muong Festivals of the Muong ethnic group in the communes of Muong Coi, Huy Thuong, and Muong Thai; the Xip Xi New Year of the White Thai ethnic group; and installed six new tourism promotional billboards and six directional signs across the district. Quynh Nhai District: Hosted traditional festivals such as the Thai People’s Traditional Hair Washing Festival, Kin Pang Then Festival, the Traditional Boat Racing Festival, and the Xip Xi New Year Festival of the White Thai ethnic group. Sop Cop District: Successfully organized traditional ethnic festivals such as the Thai People’s Crop-Praying Festival, Khau Ho Festival, Sen Ban Festival of the Lao ethnic group, and the Taro and Sweet Potato Festivals of the Kho Mu ethnic group..

Focusing on developing unique tourism products to attract tourists: The goal of developing Moc Chau into a national tourist area has been accomplished—Moc Chau was officially recognized as the 8th national tourist area in Vietnam under Decision No. 1077 dated April 22, 2024, issued by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism. The recognition of Moc Chau as a national tourist area serves as a significant driving force for Son La Province in general, and particularly for Moc Chau and Van Ho districts, to continue promoting tourism development, affirming the value of local tourism products and the brand's status worthy of a national destination and its place on the world tourism map. Efforts will continue to be made to effectively build and promote the tourism image and brand. Moc Chau National Tourist Area has been named “Asia’s Leading Nature Destination” for three consecutive years and “World’s Leading Nature Destination” for two consecutive years by the World Travel Awards. The goal of including the Son La Hydropower Reservoir Area in the list of tourism zones with the potential to be developed into a national tourist area has also been completed, in accordance with Decision No. 509 dated June 13, 2024, on the approval of the Tourism System Planning for the period 2021–2030, with a vision to 2045..

At the same time, local authorities were guided in preparing and submitting documentation to the Provincial People’s Committee for the recognition of two community-based tourism sites: Doi Village (Tan Lap Commune, Moc Chau District) and Suoi Chieu Lake (Phu Yen District). The historical site of Co Noi T-junction (Mai Son District) is currently in the process of completing the required documents for recognition as a tourist site in accordance with the Law on Tourism. During the year, two tourist sites were appraised and officially recognized. As of now, Son La Province has a total of 12 officially recognized tourist areas and sites, including: 01 national tourist area, 01 provincial-level tourist area, and 10 provincial-level tourist sites. Of these, Moc Chau has 04 areas/sites; Van Ho: 02 sites; Phu Yen: 02 sites; Muong La: 02 sites; Son La City: 01 site; and Thuan Chau: 01 site—all recognized in accordance with the Law on Tourism. In coordination with the GREAT projects, the province continued implementing programs to support and develop community-based tourism, agri-tourism models, destination management, and tourism development training skills — especially for ethnic minority women. Work is also ongoing on developing the community-based tourism product in Bo Village, Chieng An Ward, Son La City, Son La Province.

Orientation was provided to districts and cities for the development of tourism products associated with ethnic cultural identity and local specialties, such as: Mocha Hill Tourist Area in Nong Truong Town (Moc Chau District); “One Garden” in Muong Sang Commune (Moc Chau District); rural tourism model in Kha Village, Sap Vat Commune (Yen Chau District); tourism sites in Chieng Di 1 and Chieng Di 2 Villages, Van Ho Commune (Van Ho District); the historical and cultural relic site of Lac Man Temple with documentation being prepared for provincial-level recognition; the Khau Ho Festival and rural tourism model in Muong Va Village, Muong Va Commune (Sop Cop District); Co Noi T-junction historical site (Mai Son District); the Gau Tao (Po Pao) Festival in Huoi Mot Commune and the Spring Praying Festival in Chieng Cang Commune (Song Ma District); Nang Han Festival in Muong Trai Commune; Pang A Festival in Pi Toong Commune; New Rice Celebration Festival and the community-based tourism model in Ngoc Chien Commune (Muong La District); the Ban Kha tourism model (Yen Chau District); the social practice and belief of “Xip Xi New Year Ritual” of the White Thai people and the traditional Hair Washing Festival of the Thai ethnic group (Quynh Nhai District); and the historical and cultural relic site of Pha Din Pass (Thuan Chau District).

In 2025, Son La province focuses on developing tourism in a diversified and multi-sectoral direction, based on selective exploitation of natural, cultural, historical, social, and humanistic resources. Emphasis is placed on promoting rapid and sustainable tourism development in association with preserving and promoting ethnic cultural identities, tangible and intangible cultural heritages, and local specialties. The province strengthens tourism promotion, advertising, branding, and image-building activities for Son La tourism, with a step-by-step plan to make Son La a tourism center of the Northwest region. Right from the beginning of the year, the province organized a series of festival activities that attracted a large number of domestic and international tourists. With synchronous solutions to promote tourism attraction, in the first quarter of 2025, the total number of tourists to Son La is estimated at approximately 1.879 million arrivals, with an estimated revenue of about VND 2,219 billion.

Thuy Như

Translated by Huyen Vu