Deputy Prime Minister Trinh Dinh Dung has assigned the Ministry of Construction to review the Moc Chau Tourism Plan in the northern province of Son La to ensure quality and progress.

The plan was adopted in 2014 and aims to develop tourism in Moc Chau district by 2020 with a vision to 2030.

A tourism zone spanning Moc Chau and Van Ho districts covers 206,150 ha and encourages tourism development in the province and nearby areas.

The zone is bordered to the east by Hoa Binh province, to the west and northwest by Yen Chau district in Son La, to the south by Thanh Hoa province and Laos, and to the north by Phu Yen district in Son La.

The tourism zone will have three keys areas: the Moc Chau Resort, the Moc Chau Ecotourism Center, and the Moc Chau Entertainment Center.

The plan targets welcoming 1.2 million tourists by 2020, 10,000 of which are to be international tourists. By 2030 the zone is to welcome 3 million tourists, of which 50,000 are international tourists.

By 2020, revenue is expected to reach VND1.5 trillion ($70 million) and VND6 trillion ($270 million) by 2030. About 10,000 jobs will be created via tourism by 2020 and 30,000 by 2030.

Development directions

The zone will prioritize attracting domestic tourists from the Red River Delta and northern provinces and then target those from the central region, central highlands and the south.

It will also focus on attracting tourists from Western Europe, North America, Northeast Asia, and Southeast Asia, then gradually attract tourists from Eastern Europe and the Middle East.

In terms of accommodation, homestays will be given priority to create more community tourism destinations.

By 2020 the zone is to attract one or two luxury hotels of at least four-star standard. Muong Thanh Holiday Moc Chau is the first four-star hotel in Moc Chau and opened this month with 169 rooms catering to 350 guests.

The development of certain destinations will receive focus, such as pine forests in Ban Ang village, Dai Yem waterfall, Long Sap border gate, caves in Ban On village, the Po Cop ecotourism destination, and the Xuan Nha ecological forest. Some villages are to become tourism villages, including Ban Ang, Vat, Ta Phinh, and Muong Khoa.

The main tourism products of the zone are ecotourism destinations, agricultural areas such as tea plantations, dairy farms and strawberry farms, and villages of ethnic minorities with traditional food and festivals.

The plan also targets creating tourism routes, such as Moc Chau to Dien Bien and Lai Chau province (in northwest Vietnam), and Moc Chau to Hoa Binh and Hanoi. International tourism routes will also be established, such as Moc Chau to Laos via the Long Sap border gate, which is also expected to connect local tourism destinations with countries such as Thailand and Myanmar.

According to figures from Vietnam Administration of Tourism (VNAT), more than 3.2 million foreigners visited Vietnam in the 2016's January-April period, up 17.8 per cent over the same period last year, with the highest number of visitors coming from China and South Korea.

VNAT estimated that international visitors in May totaled 757,244, a fall of 4.1 per cent over April but up 30.2 per cent compared to May last year.

Total international arrivals in the first five months stood at 4,005,878, an increase of 20 per cent year-on-year.

Vietnam hopes to welcome 8.5 million foreign visitors and cater to 60 million domestic travelers this year, earning a total of VND370 trillion ($16.8 billion) in revenue.