Co Tien Waterfall in Na Hau

Located 40km from Yen Bai city in the north, Van Yen has kept the unique intangible cultural values of  the ethnic minorities as Long Tong festival of the Tay ethnic group, Cap Sac Ceremony of the red Dao people, worshipping forest spirits (forest festival) of Mong people; “Khu si mo” festival of Phu La people;  Dancing festival of the red Dao people; Pan-pipes dancing, Senh Tien dancing of the Mong people….In addition, Van Yen also preserves, restores and promotes monuments recognized by the state, including 12 provincial relics (Trang temple; Phuc Linh temple; Dai An temple; Go Chua temple; Thanh Mau temple; Muong A communal house….); 02 national relics (Dong Cuong temple; Nhuoc Son temple)…. With many advantages of the natural ecology, natural resources and culture, traditional customs Van Yen has ideal conditions to develop specific types of tourism such as spiritual tourism, ecotourism, cultural and historical tourism, community–based tourism.

With the determination to "awaken" the tourism potentials, exploiting the tourism potentials efficiently to make tourism increase proportion in the economic restructure, and gradually occupy an important position in the field of services, contributing to boost socio economic development. On the basis of tourism development policy of Van Yen district under the Project of tourism development in Van Yen district period 2016 - 2020 and the Resolution of the District Party Committee on "Exploitation of historical cultural sites, tourist attractions for construction, development and exploitation of tourism services in the district".

In 2016, executive committees, governments and the people in Van Yen focused on solutions of lead, direction and effort to implement tourism development tasks. The district coordinated with the Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism and the related authorities to survey and construct the  master plan of development of ecotourism, spiritual tourism and community-based tourism in the district; Maintain community-based tourism models in Khe Tat hamlet in Na Hau commune, Cau Co hamlet in Dong Cuong commune, initially working well and efficiently; Direct the members of the Steering Committee implementing the scheme and the local government having ranked historical relics to coordinate and organize festivals well. Especially, the district focused on directing and organizing successfully Van Yen Cinnamon festival the second time (in 2016). Parallel to that, Van Yen has strengthened propaganda for calling for investment resources from the economic sector to participate in building tourism infrastructure, focusing on infrastructure to develop spiritual tourism, ecotourism. In 2016, Van Yen district mobilized state resources, socialization and merit proceeds with the amount of 40 billion VND for the improvement, restoration, embellishment and infrastructure investment for relics in the district.  Now Van Yen has 27 tourist accommodations. There are some units and villages having products to serve tourists as: Products from cinnamon bark, trunk, oil; medicinal; jungle vegetables; black chicken, fresh pork.... at festivals in the district, these products were consumed in large quantities contributing to create stable income for workers.

After one year of implementation of the project of developing tourism period 2016-2020, Van Yen tourism has changed clearly; economic value of tourism has contributed significantly to the total value of ​​the district in the year. Through propaganda, promotion, the awareness of cadres, party members and people in tourism has gradually improved; tourism infrastructure has been concerned. The travel management has innovated towards profession innovation and modernization. In 2016, the number of tourists coming to the district was estimated at nearly 600 thousand people. The service quality has gradually improved, Van Yen tourism maintains and ensures friendliness, hospitability and is always a safe destination for domestic and foreign tourists.

Mr. Tran Huy Tuan - Secrectary of Van Yen district party committees, Chairman of Van Yen People's Council said: In order to further exploit the tourism potentials, in the future, Van Yen will continue to improve efficency of  promotion of  tourism, trade and investment for specific products of the local to the internal and external markets;  take advantage of  the resources, the support of the province and central agencies to step up the promotion of tourism to the key tourism markets throughout the country; Enhance the training and retraining of tourism human resources, especially paying attention to state cadres, qualified households being capable of organizing community-based tourism models. Also, the district continues to propose to the province and the central government in supporting investment; making connections to call on and mobilize investment capital for the development of tourism projects in the locality; Create favorable conditions for investors, domestic and foreign enterprises to survey, invest in developing types of tourism in the district.

Together the tourism development of Yen Bai province, Van Yen tourism is increasingly prosperous. To have the "spur" commensurate with the available potentials, Van Yen needs to be concerned by departments at all levels to invest, exploit and make Van Yen tourism develop and become a key economic sector in the economic structure of Van Yen district, contributing positively to the closed tour of  the program on tourism development in the three provinces of Phu Tho - Yen Bai - Lao Cai. /