The northern province of Lao Cai is improving the quality of itstourism services and developing transport infrastructure towardsbecoming a striking destination in the northern mountainous region.

In the second half of this year, local authorities plan to work withthe Steering Committee for the northwest region to build a nationaltourism plan for 2017 and bolster tourism cooperation with eightnorthwest provinces.

The locality will coordinatewith the management board from the EU, the French Aquitaine region andthe Vietnam National Administration of Tourism to realise signedcooperation agreements on supporting tourism development and humanresources training.

The province is also speeding upthe implementation of transport infrastructure projects, especially inpopular tourism sites such as Sa Pa, Bac Ha and Bat Xat whileconnecting transport networks between the province and its neighbours,upgrading several highways and expanding inter-provincial roads.

The provincial People’s Committee is also directing relevantdepartments and sectors to address issues such as public restrooms,environmental sanitation and waste treatment at tourist sites.

According to the local Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism, theprovince welcomed over 1 million visitors in the first six months of2015, a year-on-year rise of 15 percent.

Thetourism sector fetched nearly 2.3 trillion VND (103 billion USD) inrevenue in the period, a yearly increase of 15 percent.

Sa Pa, Bac Ha, Bat Xat and Muong Khuong are the most populardestinations with 20-30 percent growth in the volume of visitors.-VNA