A number of concrete measures to attract tourists and develop Dong VanStone Plateau in a sustainable manner were presented at a workshop inQuan Ba district of northern mountainous Ha Giang province on June 14.

According to Nguyen Manh Thang, Deputy SecretaryGeneral of the Vietnam National Commission for UNESCO, the conservationof Dong Van Stone Plateau should be attached to local residents,particularly in Dong Van, Meo Vac, Yen Minh and Quan Ba districts wherethe plateau encroaches.

The province should improve people’s awareness of their own responsibility in preserving the heritage, he said.

A trademark for the park needs to be developed based on localspecialities such as tea, honey and medicinal plants. The province’straditional cultural festivals like Khau Vai love market, rain prayingceremony and festivals of Tay, Dao, Pa Then and Mong people alsoneed to be promoted, he added.

Sharing the sameview, Secretary of the provincial Party Committee Trieu Tai Vinh saidthat a concrete strategy is necessary for tourism and sustainabledevelopment.

He pledged that in the coming time, the province will create all favourable conditions for investment in the locality.

According to the province’s master plan, Ha Giang will build fourtourism centres in each of the above-mentioned districts to bring intoplay their cultural values. However, opinions from domestic and foreignexperts are required to organise diverse and qualified tourismprogrammes.

Dong Van Stone Plateau, a member of theGlobal Network of National Geo-parks since 2010, is 80 percent limestoneand contains the fossils of thousands of species of prehistoriccreatures from 400-600 million years ago. It is home to 250,000 peoplefrom 17 different ethnic groups.-VNA