Lao Cai, Ha Giang, Yen Bai … are placed in the northern mountainous areas that record crowded situations, difficult travel, queues for photos, homestays full…
At 8 am on September 2, at the top of Fansipan (Sa Pa, Lao Cai) thousands of tourists flock here by cable car and also from the trekking routes. Early in the morning, it rained lightly, foggy, but around 9am the weather was more beautiful, the rain stopped, and it was sunny. Tourists are increasing.
Hoang Dao (Hanoi), a tourist trekking Fansipan peak by road, said that his group of 12 people started the climb from the early morning of September 1, until about 7am today, they reached the top. At this time, Fansipan peak was raining but still quite empty. But just an hour later, when the cable car opened, a large number of tourists poured in.
On the way to trekking, Mr. Dao also met many delegations. The path to the forest road is quite small, so everyone has to stand on the side of the road to allow the groups to move in the opposite direction. “Once again meeting a group in the opposite direction, this also affected the speed of the whole group, but everyone was happy and sympathetic because they went on a holiday,” said Mr. Dao.
Sa Pa town, on September 2, also recorded a larger number of tourists flocking to the center. A representative of Viettrekking Sa Pa said that the tables at many cafes started to get crowded as soon as 6am. Guests who arrive early are usually trekking groups and tourists who have just got off the bus waiting for check-in time. From 9am to 4pm, restaurants, eateries and entertainment venues are crowded.
Ms. Minh Nguyet (Hanoi), a visitor to Sa Pa, said: “My family came to Sa Pa from September 1, it was not too crowded, the weather was very cool and pleasant, but this morning there were more guests than usual. I and my family wanted to take pictures at the stone church and had to wait for 15 minutes before stopping.”
Y Ty (Bat Xat district, Lao Cai), about 80 km from Sa Pa town, also recorded a similar crowded situation, although this is a difficult place to travel. Most accommodation facilities in Y Ty are in a state of fire.
Ms. Hau Thi My, owner of A Ho homestay, said that on normal days, the number of visitors to her family is quite small. But on this 2/9 holiday, the number of visitors increased dramatically. Her family has a total of 30 community bedrooms and 2 private rooms, all of which were booked out nearly two weeks ago. Particularly on September 1 and 2, A Ho homestay welcomes more than 40 guests per day.
The owner of A Ho Homestay added that this is a good sign and an opportunity to improve income for homestay people like her. Although the reception, service and food preparation stages are more difficult than usual, the family actively strengthens the support staff and operates at full capacity.
Nguyen Van Dat (Bac Ninh) and two friends planned a trip to Y Ty on the occasion of the ripe rice season a few weeks ago. However, when he contacted many homestays in Y Ty, he received a full answer. On the next day, he found three places to sleep at A Ho homestay. He said that finding accommodation in Y Ty was already difficult because it was limited in facilities, food services… on the occasion of the 2/9 holiday, the challenge increased. Mr. Dat also said that this trip, because it coincided with the holiday, he avoided as much of the places as frequented by tourists, so he did not feel too much pressure.
As noted, in the afternoon of September 1, at a famous destination of Y Ty such as Choan Then park, tourists gathered more crowded than usual. The bus station is busier than usual. However, there is no jostling or cramming of guests.
In Ha Giang, Mr. Tran Minh Thai, homestay Chong Pua (Meo Vac, Ha Giang) said that all rooms of Chong Pua homestay from September 1 to September 3 were fully booked by guests from a month ago. Because there is early preparation and staff reinforcement to best respond, it is not passive in the reception. The number of guests booking homestay on this holiday accounted for 60% of foreign guests. Mr. Thai expects more international visitors to Ha Giang from September to November.
Similarly, in H’Mong Village (Quan Ba, Ha Giang), Mr. Lai Quoc Tinh said that 20 bungalows and dormitories in the community room from September 30 to September 3 were empty from a month ago. The homestay staff are mobilized to work at full capacity in the reception and food service preparation stages. In addition, many accommodation establishments in Dong Van and Meo Vac (Ha Giang) had to refuse guests because they ran out of rooms early.
According to forecasts from before the holiday, this September 2, destinations in the northern mountainous region will attract tourists, of which Sa Pa alone is expected to welcome about 90,000 guests, 95% of the rooms are full. The reason, tourists have come to the sea a lot in 2-3 summer months. In addition, the northern mountainous region is in a beautiful season when the weather is cool and the rice is ripening in many places, creating beautiful scenery.