On March 19, 2024, in Vân Hồ district, Sơn La province, TABA organized a successful kick-off workshop for the project “Conservation of Landscape Systems in the Development of Ecotourism for Ethnic Minority Communities in Vietnam.” The event saw the participation of 30 representatives from the Institute for Tourism Development Research – Vietnam National Tourism Administration; the Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism of Sơn La province; the People’s Committee of Vân Hồ district; representatives from enterprises, community tourism villages, and cooperatives in Vân Hồ, Mai Châu, and Mộc Châu.
Opening the event, Ms. Maija Seppälä, Development Policy Advisor at the Finnish Embassy in Vietnam, introduced the collaboration between the Finnish and Vietnamese embassies within the Local Cooperation Fund (FLC) and expressed hopes for continued partnership in the project in Sơn La.
To provide an overview of the project, Ms. Nguyễn Thị Hoa, Project Manager at TABA, introduced the project’s formation, goals, and implementation framework. The overarching aim is to contribute to the conservation of natural landscapes while developing ecotourism in the ethnic minority areas of Sơn La province.
With years of experience in tourism policy research and implementation in Sơn La, Mr. Bùi Khắc Bảo, Head of the Tourism Management Department, shared four core topics regarding the current state, orientation, and organization of tourism development in Sơn La for 2020-2025, highlighting important legal bases from both central and provincial levels regarding tourism development.
Adding to the specialized knowledge on tourism, Ms. Nguyễn Thị Lan Hương from the Institute for Tourism Development Research spoke about “Ecotourism – Trends and Issues in Natural Landscape Conservation.” She mentioned the ecological value model of grasslands as a prime example of ecotourism linked to landscape protection, sharing lessons learned for developing ecotourism in Vietnam. She emphasized that ecotourism must also be connected to livelihoods, transforming heritage into assets and culture into commodities, thereby creating sustainable livelihoods.
What opportunities exist for communities in developing ecological models? To help the delegates understand the potential and developmental direction, tourism expert Thái Huyền Nga presented criteria for evaluating sustainable ecotourism development, emphasizing the role of natural landscapes and the trends and benefits of community tourism.
Following this, a roundtable discussion provided various perspectives on the practical issues faced by businesses and localities in developing ecotourism, leading to solutions that enhance community and business participation in preserving natural landscapes in tourism areas.
In a lively atmosphere, businesses and community tourism cooperatives contributed ideas for promoting ecotourism in Sơn La. The organizers believe that the kick-off workshop for the project “Conservation of Landscape Systems in the Development of Ecotourism for Ethnic Minority Communities in Vietnam” provided valuable information and knowledge, as well as opportunities for participants to connect resources. This will lay a foundational opportunity for all parties to engage and promote ecotourism development for ethnic minority communities in Vietnam.
The project “Conservation of Landscape Systems in the Development of Ecotourism for Ethnic Minority Communities in Vietnam” is funded by the Finnish Embassy and will be implemented from 2024 to 2025. The overall objective is to contribute to the conservation of natural landscapes while developing ecotourism in the ethnic minority regions of Sơn La province.
