In Mù Cang Chải, a highland district where over 90 per cent of residents are Hmong, cultural traditions are the heartbeat of a burgeoning tourism sector. A shining example is the Hmong embroidery and weaving cooperative, launched in partnership with Craft Link, a Hanoi-based centre for artisanal crafts.

What began as a 10-woman collective has flourished into a nearly 50-member powerhouse, crafting traditional skirts, blouses, and brocade garments for markets in Việt Nam and Europe.

Lý Thị Ninh, the cooperative’s director, is on a mission to safeguard these ancestral skills. She mentors women to pass down embroidery techniques to their daughters and partners with schools to host workshops, immersing hundreds of students each year in the art of Hmong needlework.

Elsewhere in the lush green highlands of Nà Hẩu in Văn Yên district, the Hmong’s sacred forest worship ceremony draws visitors seeking spiritual and cultural depth. Across Yên Bái, community-based tourism sites maintain regular folk performances and cultural activities, gradually transforming them into engaging tourism products.

Vũ Thị Mai Oanh, Deputy Director of the provincial Department of Culture, Sports, and Tourism, credited timely policies to facilitating cultural preservation while encouraging community-led tourism. As a result, Yên Bái welcomed more than 2.2 million domestic and international visitors last year, generating over 1.9 trillion VNĐ in revenue, up 11.7 per cent from the previous year.