Sa Pa, Ha Giang struggle like never before during peak season

In early October, many accommodation, food service and tourist attractions in Ha Giang and Sa Pa, two prominent tourist destinations in the northern mountainous region, reported a drop in revenue of up to 80% compared to the previous year. Some food service establishments in the center of Ha Giang City and Sa Pa Town agreed to temporarily close because their revenue could not cover their expenses.

Nguyen Quang Huy, the owner of an accommodation in Ha Giang City, said the lack of guests has lasted for more than a month and the few guests are mostly foreigners. "The guests who requested to cancel or reschedule their stay in September have not returned yet," Huy said about the impact of storm No. 3.

The owner of a motel in Sa Pa town said "even with a 20% to 50% discount, there are still no reservations."

Chairman of Lao Cai Tourism Association Pham Cao Vy said this is a difficult time for everyone. Hotel occupancy in Sa Pa dropped by about 85% in September.

Food and beverage businesses in the center of Ha Giang City are also struggling due to the prolonged slump. The owner of a restaurant on Lac Long Quan Street, Ha Giang City said that many restaurants are "half-dead because they have been open but have no customers" for more than a month. They have had to cut staff to save on operating costs.

The daily revenue of the restaurant on Lac Long Quan Street is now only a few million VND, while it used to be nearly 100 million VND at peak times. The restaurant has absolutely no group customers.

According to Nguyen Duc Kien, owner of Con Sui restaurant in the center of Sa Pa town, the restaurant is still trying to stay open to maintain jobs for employees even though revenue has decreased by more than half.

Tourist attractions in Sa Pa such as Cat Cat village and Rong May glass bridge also recorded similar situations during the October tourist season. Mr. Nguyen Trung Kien, representative of Cat Cat tourist area, said that information about landslides had created a domino effect for the entire tourism industry.

According to Lao Cai statistics, the province had 14 landslides in September. In Ha Giang, 2 serious cases were recorded.

Minh Tan, 33 years old, from Ho Chi Minh City, planned to go to Ha Giang with his family in mid-October to see the rice fields in Hoang Su Phi, then go to Nho Que River and Tu San Gorge, Meo Vac. However, the landslide in Bac Quang district on October 1 made him decide to cancel the trip.

Mr. Dang Quoc Su, Director of Ha Giang Tourism Promotion Center, also said that the sluggish tourism situation in the province stems from the fear of tourists after the landslides. The locality has actively coordinated with businesses to find solutions and provide information about safe routes to attract tourists, but has not been effective.

"There are programs that will not take place until November, but customers still cancel due to weather concerns," said Mr. Su, adding that the locality continues to develop policies and increase propaganda to stabilize the psychology of tourists when coming to Ha Giang during this period.

The tourist season in Ha Giang, Sa Pa in particular and the northern mountainous provinces in general is usually bustling from the end of September to January of the following year. September-October is the season of ripe rice, November-December is the season of buckwheat flowers and mustard flowers. Near Tet, apricot and plum flowers are in full bloom.

One month after storm No. 3, most accommodation and food service establishments in Sa Pa, Ha Giang have overcome the consequences of the storm and flood and are ready to welcome guests back.

Mr. Pham Anh Vu, Deputy General Director of Viet Tourism Company, hopes that tourism service providers in Ha Giang, Sa Pa, and local authorities will have more policies and tourism stimulus packages to attract Vietnamese tourists back.

"Hopefully, Sa Pa tourism will improve in the last two months of the year," said Chairman of Lao Cai Tourism Association Pham Cao Vy.