How to travel effectively?

I just had a visit to Ha Giang province. It is the northernmost province of the country, where Lung Cu flagpole is located. Ha Giang is also a province where the mountainous area occupies a large area. There is also Dong Van Karst Plateau Geopark. It must be said that compared to the western part of Nghe An, the terrain, living conditions and activities of the people of Ha Giang are much more difficult. The Mong, Tay, Nung, Dao people... all live under the towering rocky mountains that seem to touch the sky. The people live mainly by planting corn and rice in the rocky holes. Yet everywhere you look you can see corn and rice. The people there are really diligent and hardworking.

Ha Giang tourism has been affirming its position in the hearts of tourists. Illustration photo: Nguyen Duc Phuoc/VnExpress

But what is most impressive is that the people of Ha Giang, whether adults or children, are very good at tourism. In the rocky mountains, there are more trees than trees, and difficulties surround them, but in return, the highland districts of Ha Giang have very unique natural landscapes. And this is the ideal environment and terrain to develop the smokeless industry. The people of Ha Giang, whether Mong or Red Dao, are very professional when participating in the tourism service supply chain.

When arriving at Dong Van Stone Plateau, tourists are welcomed very politely and gently. If they see you, the local children will greet you very politely. There is absolutely no way to cling to sell the bouquet of flowers in their hands. You also do not have the opportunity to give the children money, because they will not accept it. They will only take 10 thousand from you if you buy a small bouquet of flowers that a girl or boy picked up in the mountains and brought to the street to sell to visitors from far away.

The people of the highland villages of Ha Giang do not encourage tourists to give money to children. They believe that if they keep giving money to children, they will not work, and moreover, it will create a bad precedent, and more importantly, the children will drop out of school because of money. The people also believe that when someone is paid by a tourist, they must really deserve it.

In the tourist areas of Ha Giang, the prices of goods, souvenirs, and tourist products are also very diverse, their prices are also reasonable, not expensive as people often see at destinations of many localities. The friendliness, politeness, and hospitality are making anyone who comes to Ha Giang feel loved...

Tourists experience Homestay tourism and explore Giang River in Con Cuong. Photo: Ba Hau

Our Western Nghe An also has many famous places. Many destinations have been built to develop tourism and services. However, our way of doing tourism still has many limitations. In which, we must mention the human factor. We are doing tourism in the Western villages in an arbitrary way. The natural potential is there but making it bring practical value is still very modest. If we want to do tourism effectively, the first factor that needs to change is none other than human awareness and behavior.