Vice Chairman of the Sapa district People’s Committee Phan The Phuong granted an exclusive interview to VOV reporter on the issue.
Reporter: Over the past two years, Lao Cai province has co-ordinated with the Republic of France to implement an overall and detailed planning project of Sa Pa resort to turn it into a world famous tourism site. Could you tell us about the main goals and activities of the project?
Mr Phuong: The project aims to turn Sapa into a famous tourism site of international standards. In October 2004, the provincial People’s Committee has announced the planning of the project. Before the project got off the ground, Sapa town covered an area of 150 hectares. According to plan, it would expand to 700 hectares and be divided into 13 functional sections to comply with specific regulations of management. For example, the town’s ancient streets would be upgraded but still reflect ancient characteristics. In addition, infrastructure facilities would be built under the planning of the project including roads, electricity, water, and landscape to ensure harmony between traditional and modern architecture.
Reporter: No wonder Sapa would have a new facelift and better conditions for developing tourism. In your opinion, what measures would take to seize these opportunities?
Mr Phuong: As you know, Sapa has great tourism potential with its beautiful landscape and culture imbedded with traditional national identity. In 2006, Sapa had 126 hotels, guest houses and rest areas. Around 67 households from six communes took part in tourism activities.
To maintain and further develop its tourism sector, it is necessary to invest in tourism infrastructure which helps promote eco-tourism and community-based tourism to attract foreigners. Besides, it is necessary to put the project under state management for the purpose of maintaining political security and social order in the province.
Reporter: In 2006, Sapa made encouraging progress in socio-economic development. The rate of poor households dropped considerably. Could you elaborate further on this?
Mr Phuong: Sapa achieved positive results in 2006. Economic growth rate was 13 percent with GDP per capita reaching VND5.5 million. The number of visitors to the district was approximately 260,000 (up 9,000 arrivals compared to the set target), including more than 61,400 foreign tourists, reaping a revenue of VND100 billion from the tourism and service sectors.
Mr Phuong: For agro-forestry development, the total food output of the Sapa district in 2006 stood at 12,974 tonnes, surpassing the set target. As a result, living conditions of local people, particularly ethnic minority people in difficult areas of Sapa improved remarkably. In 2004, the number of poor households in Sapa accounted for 40.8 percent of its population according to the new poverty line. Thanks to the active implementation of the district’s policies, the number of poor households dropped to 34.9 percent in 2005 and 2006, representing a decrease of nearly 7 percent annually. Last year, Sapa experienced many positive changes, with local people's daily lives improving considerably.
Sapa district also succeeded in using new varieties in agricultural cultivation such as rice, peanut and soybean to increase the number of crops. In addition, with an area of 3,300ha under cardamon trees, Sapa harvested more than 260 tonnes of dry cardamon. The district had a vegetable-growing area of about 400ha, and in 2006 alone it exported approximately 100 tonnes of vegetables to
Sapa district is now implementing a project to raise salmon in Thac Bac and Ban Khoang that has revealed initial success. In 2006, the district achieved about 20 tonnes of salmon, and this is a good start so that Sapa can expand aquaculture activities with the aim of raising 100 tonnes of salmon in 2007.
Reporter: With promising results from 2006, what is Sapa supposed to do to boost socio-economic development and improve local people’s daily lives?
Mr Phuong: 2007 is the first year Sapa will implement its major programmes. The Lao Cai provincial Party Committee has approved seven programmes and 29 key projects involving socio-economic development. Four major programmes, include:
Developing rural agriculture (developing agro-forestry, investing in agricultural infrastructure, reducing poverty, zoning residential areas), in which Sapa paid due attention to developing high-quality agriculture and shifting structures of plants and animals.
Developing tourism sector sustainably (boosting tourism promotion, increasing urban tourism management, improving tours and resorts, and upgrading tourism infrastructure).
Developing culture, education and healthcare services. For education development, Sapa will complete secondary educational universalization in 9 out of its 18 communes.
It’s worth noting that Sapa is striving to record a GDP growth rate of 14 percent in 2007, and GDP per capita will reach VND6.2 million a year. The district aims to welcome about 300,000 visitors in 2007 and reduce the number of poor households to 29 percent.
Reporter: Thank you.
Bình luận của bạn đang được xem xét
Hộp thư thoại sẽ đóng sau 4s