With joint efforts from three provinces, the programme is expected to attract visitors and promote trade in the northwestern region.

The opening ceremony will be held from February 3-5 in Viet Tri City, Phu Tho province. The official ceremony will be held at the city’s stadium and broadcast live by Vietnam Television.

Many people wonder why the region is only focusing on festival tourism while it possesses a variety of natural advantages. Vice Chairman of the Phu Tho provincial People’s Committee Nguyen Ngoc Hai explained, “We co-operate according to the principles of volunteering, equality, effectiveness and mutual benefits. We plan to welcome 3.5 million local and international visitors and earn VND350 billion in revenue. Therefore, we will focus on developing festival tourism as it is one of the potential advantages of the three provinces“.

Obviously, each province boasts its own advantages. For example, Phu Tho province has a tourist resort with Thanh Thuy hot mineral springs and Ao Chau pond. Yen Bai province has Lake Thac Ba which is one of the Vietnam’s largest artificial lakes, and Suoi Giang  Mount with its fresh air, a unique taste of tea and beautiful landscapes. Lao Cai province is famous for Sa Pa resort, Bac Ha highlands, Fanxipan Mount, and the original villages of ethnic minority groups.

“We cannot organise dozens of festivals during the whole year in all three provinces of Phu Tho, Lao Cai and Yen Bai, but we will try to keep a special identity for each festival,” said Mr Hai. “In addition, we will explore and make use of the potential advantages of each locality so as to promote socio-economic development and contribute to the common development of the three provinces and the economic corridor between Kunming (China) and Hai Phong (Vietnam).”

According to vice chairman of the Lao Cai provincial People’s Committee Nguyen Ngoc Kim, one of difficulties is the poor infrastructure at tourist sites. Furthermore, while Vietnam’s tourism is developing, the tourism sectors in Phu Tho, Lao Cai and Yen Bai are now in only infancy. Accordingly, these provinces still lack tourism staff and facilities. Therefore, it is essential to mobilise the participation of local people in order to avoid an overloaded situation during major festivals, he added.