LÀO CAI — The northeast mountainous province of Lào Cai is developing a distinctive wellness tourism ecosystem that combines its natural landscapes, ethnic cultures, medicinal herbs and hot springs to create higher-value products, extend visitor stays, and boost tourism revenue.

With its cool climate, mountain scenery and rich cultural and natural resources, the northern mountainous province aims to turn its advantages into a high-quality tourism brand through smart resort services and health care experiences.

Lào Cai offers diverse experiences, from Sa Pa’s high-end resorts nestled in the Hoàng Liên Sơn range to traditional villages where visitors can explore ethnic cultures, local cuisine and herbal bathing practices.

In Sa Pa, visitors can stay in traditional wooden houses, enjoy Red Dao herbal baths prepared with forest plants, sample regional specialities and experience local cultural activities, including Mông flute performances, Xòe dances and brocade weaving.

Tả Phìn, known for its Red Dao culture and traditional herbal baths made from more than 10 to 30 forest plant species, offers a quieter retreat.

Huỳnh Võ Thanh Định, a student at HCM City University of Fine Arts, said he enjoyed watching local Dao and Mông women embroider patterns, dye fabric with indigo and apply beeswax designs. After exploring nearby villages, he and his friends tried herbal baths to relieve fatigue.

“The place is suitable for people who want to slow down, reconnect with nature, look after their health and restore mental balance,” Định said.

Hoàng Liên National Park is another attraction. French visitor Karlis and his friends explored the Vàng Stream – Love Waterfall area, where a roughly 1,600m waterfall runs through forest rich in plant species. He said the area offered four seasons in a single day, with misty, cool mornings and warmer sunshine at noon.

“We chose to come here not only to relax but also to learn, heal and connect,” he said.

Building a “Wellness belt”

Lào Cai welcomed more than 9.8 million visitors in the first nine months of 2026, generating nearly VNĐ41 trillion (US$1.58 billion) in tourism revenue. During the five-day National Day holiday beginning September 2, the locality served over 450,000 visitors, double the figure recorded in the same period of 2025.

It aims to attract around 17 million visitors and earn approximately VNĐ80 trillion in tourism revenue by 2030. To achieve these targets, the province plans to develop higher-value products that encourage visitors to stay longer, spend more, and return.

The provincial People’s Committee has issued a plan to develop smart cultural and resort tourism combined with health care, linked to Lào Cai’s distinctive tourism ecosystem for 2026-2030, with a vision to 2035.

The plan identifies wellness tourism as a driver of added value, drawing on the province’s climate, hot springs, medicinal herbs and traditional medicine. It seeks to shift tourism from resource exploitation to value creation, from increasing visitor numbers to improving experiences, and from developing individual destinations to building an integrated tourism economy.

According to Lại Vũ Hiệp, deputy director of the provincial Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism, the flagship initiative is the Lào Cai Wellness Belt, envisioned as an ecosystem linking culture, nature, resorts, hot springs, medicinal herbs, traditional medicine, wellness cuisine, agriculture and community experiences.

The belt will comprise two routes, each with at least three stations featuring smart resort complexes combined with wellness services meeting international standards.

One route will connect Mậu A, Văn Chấn, Mường Lò, Hạnh Phúc, Tú Lệ and the Mù Cang Chải area, leveraging hot springs, medicinal herbs, traditional medicine, natural landscapes and community tourism. The other will link Sa Pa, Y Tý, Tả Phìn, Bắc Hà and Bảo Hà, highlighting mountain resorts, climate, medicinal resources, traditional culture and spiritual tourism.

The routes are intended to form connected value chains, allowing visitors to combine relaxation and health care with traditional herbal baths, meditation, tea, wellness cuisine, local culture, nature and smart services.

Moving from having resources to developing products, from products to value chains, and from destinations to ecosystems is the necessary transformation for Lào Cai to establish new competitive advantages and affirm its position as a high-quality, green, smart and culturally distinctive tourism centre in the Northern midland and mountainous region, Hiệp said. — VNA/VNS