In total, the locality attracted nearly 3 million tourists in six months, fulfilling 58.1 percent of the locality’s yearly target and representing a rise of 12.5 percent year on year.
Of the total, international visitors numbered 459,000, a rise of 15.6 percent against the same time last year.
The locality’s tourism revenue in the period reached over 11.25 trillion VND, equivalent to 58.7 percent of the yearly target and up 51.3 percent over the same period last year.
Notably, the Sa Pa national tourism area lured more than 1.6 million visitors in the first half of this year, completing 55.5 percent of the target for the whole year, accounting for 57 percent of the total number of visitors to the province.
This year, Lao Cai targets 5 million visitors.
To this end, the province has carried out policies designed to promote tourism and service sector.
Besides working to turn Sa Pa urban area and the Lao Cai city into tourism-service centre, the province is investing in developing other destinations like Bat Xat, Bac Ha, Bao Yen and Van Ban. It has also linked up with other localities in tourism development and foster cooperation within the Kunming-Lao Cai-Hanoi-Hai Phong-Quang Ninh economic corridor and eight northwestern provinces’ collaboration.
Lao Cai has also set up tourism partnership with Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City and Nouvelle-Aquitaine region of France.
In the rest of the year, Lao Cai will continue with tourism promotion activities such as organising international tourism events to lure more tourists, along with an investment and tourism promotion conference and the Vietnam-China trade-tourism fair.
