According to Do Trong Nguyen, head of the Office of Culture and Information of Sa Pa district, of the total, 3,100 were foreigners and 43,900 were Vietnamese.
Nguyen attributed the rise to the ongoing Sa Pa Autumn Festival that runs from September 1 until October 30 with various activities, including a photo exhibition, a street festival and activities to explore the culture of the Mong, Tay and Xa Pho ethnic minority groups.
Located 350km northwest of Hanoi, Sa Pa is 1,600m above sea level, with average temperatures of 15-18°C. The town is dominated by the Hoang Lien Son mountain range, which is home to Fansipan, Indochina’s highest mountain, at a height of 3,142m above sea level.
Sa Pa has many natural scenic sites such as Ham Rong Mountain, Thac Bac (Silver Waterfall), Cau May (Rattan Bridge), Bamboo Forest and Ta Phin Cave. The hill town is home to six main ethnic minority groups, including Kinh, Hmong, Dao, Tay, Day and Xa Pho with various traditional festivals and unique cultural practices.
Currently, Sa Pa has nearly 500 accommodation facilities with some 6,000 rooms for about 13,000 tourists. Homestays in villages have also become attractive accommodation options for visitors.
