Lao Cai expects one-millionth tourist by October end

The northern mountainous province of Lao Cai expects to welcome the one-millionth tourist this year during a festival celebrating the 110th anniversary of Sa Pa , the province’s renown resort town, slated for October 25 - November 3.

The northern mountainous province of Lao Cai expects to welcome the one-millionth tourist this year during a festival celebrating the 110th anniversary of Sa Pa , the province’s renown resort town, slated for October 25 - November 3.

Terraced rice field in Sa Pa

A wide range of activities will be held during the event, including an exhibition highlighting Sa Pa and its journey to become a national tourism urban centre, and an international conference on preserving cultural heritage of mountainous ethnic groups in combination with developing sustainable tourism products in the context of globalisation.

A Sa Pa street carnival and a programme to discover Fansipan, the highest peak in Indochina , and a fireworks display will also take place within the framework of the event.

On this occasion, a ceremony to announce the recognition of terraced rice fields in Sa Pa as a national landscape site will be held on November 2.

As of the end of September, the number of visitors to the province reached 956,290, a year-on-year increase of 13.9 percent, representing 95 percent of the set target for 2013.