As the host of the 2024 National Tourism Year - Dien Bien, themed “Glorious Dien Bien Phu - Infinite Experiences”, Dien Bien is making efforts to realise the goal of becoming one of the tourism centres of the northern midland and mountainous region.
Dien Bien was named by King Thieu Tri in 1841 with the meaning of a strong border area, which confirms the strategic location of this land. The province features 31 ranked historical relic sites, including the Special National Historical Relic Site of Dien Bien Phu Battlefield; the monument dedicated to General Vo Nguyen Giap at Muong Phang Campaign Command Headquarters; Hoang Cong Chat Temple; and the national martyrs' cemeteries of A1, Him Lam, Doc Lap (Independence), and Tong Khao.
Dien Bien also contains unique cultural values with many traditional customs and festivals that are preserved and promoted by 19 ethnic groups such as Hoa Ban (Bauhinia Flower) Festival, Hoang Cong Chat Temple Festival, Swallow Tail Boat Racing Festival, and the traditional Tet (Lunar New Year) Festivals of ethnic minority groups of Thai, H’Mong, Laos, and Ha Nhi. Specifically, the art of Xoe dance of the Thai ethnic people and the Then ritual practice of the Tay, Nung, and Thai ethnic groups were included in UNESCO’s list of representative intangible cultural heritage of humanity.
In addition, Dien Bien is also endowed with many beautiful and majestic natural landscapes such as Pa Khoang Lake, the historical forest of Muong Phang, the legendary Pha Din Pass, the rocky plateau and cave system in Tua Chua District, and pure hot mineral water spots such as Pe Luong and Uva. These resources can be considered "gold mines" for Dien Bien in developing historical-spiritual tourism products, cultural tourism combined with exploring natural landscapes, resort entertainment, and healthcare. These are also the three main pillars identified in the tourism development orientation of Dien Bien Province until 2025, with orientation to 2030.
Dien Bien has been promoting and operating many tourism products to bring tourists to experience the unique destinations of Dien Bien, notably seven tours: “A Pa Chai – The proud West Pole”, “Majestic Panorama – Legend of Dien Bien Phu”, “Bauhinia Flower Festival – the colour of the Northwest”, “Magnificent Tua Chua”, “Ripe Rice Season: Dien Bien Phu City – Ta Leng – Muong Phang”, “Dien Bien City tour”, and “Dien Bien – Heroic History”. In 2023, in an effort to overcome outstanding difficulties due to the prolonged impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, Dien Bien welcomed 1.1 million visitors, far exceeding the target of 900,000 set at the beginning of the year, and earned an estimated 1.7 trillion VND in tourism revenue.
Entering 2024, selected as the host of the 2024 National Tourism Year, Dien Bien is expected to create an important nudge to help local tourism flourish, strengthen links, and create motivation for tourism development between Dien Bien Province and the Northwest provinces and other localities nationwide.
Nguyen Minh Phu, Director of Dien Bien Provincial Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism, said the 2024 National Tourism Year – Dien Bien is a cultural, economic, and social event of national scale and international level as it is associated with the 70th anniversary of the Dien Bien Phu Victory (May 7, 1954 – 2024). Themed “Glorious Dien Bien Phu – Infinite Experiences”, the 2024 National Tourism Year – Dien Bien features 169 response programmes and events. Among them, there are 13 national programmes hosted and held by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, central ministries, departments, and agencies; 28 events and activities organised by Dien Bien Province; and 128 response activities held by 33 centrally run provinces and cities.
The highlights of the 2024 National Tourism Year – Dien Bien are: the opening ceremony associated with the Bauhinia Flower Festival themed “Visiting the land of bauhinia flowers” at May 7 Square in Dien Bien Phu City on March 16; a special art programme and high-altitude fireworks display on the evening of May 6 at May 7 Square in Dien Bien Phu City; the ceremony to mark the 70th anniversary of Dien Bien Phu Victory at the Dien Bien Province’s Stadium on May 7; the Northwest-Dien Bien Tourism Fair and the 2024 National Cuisine Festival at May 7 Square in August; the Northwest-Dien Bien Industry and Trade Fair 2024 in the second quarter of 2024; and the closing ceremony of the 2024 National Tourism Year – Dien Bien in Dien Bien Phu City in December.
Recently, within the framework of the 2024 National Tourism Year, Dien Bien Provincial People’s Committee held a number of activities and events, including the Northwest Culture and Tourism Week in Ho Chi Minh City; the Dien Bien Culture and Tourism Week in Hanoi; the 9th Swallowtail Boat Racing Festival; the 4th National Paragliding Club Championship; the 2024 Cherry Blossom – Dien Bien Phu Festival; and the 2024 Dien Bien-Thanh Hoa Culture and Tourism Week, aiming to propagate, promote, and spread the 2024 National Tourism Year – Dien Bien to the people and tourists at home and abroad.
According to Vice Chairman of Dien Bien Provincial People's Committee Vu A Bang, Dien Bien is currently the only provinces in the northwestern region with an airport that connects to both Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City and has just been upgraded and expanded to meet the conditions for the operation of A321 aircraft. The province’s road transport system connecting to other localities in the region has been also invested and expanded.
However, in terms of accommodation facilities, the whole province currently has only 205 tourist accommodation facilities with a total of 2,765 rooms and more than 5,000 beds, of which 60% are located in the city. Through the 2024 National Tourism Year – Dien Bien, the province hopes to strongly attract development investment resources, contributing to creating motivation for socio-economic development in 2024 and the following years.
Promoting the role of state management in tourism, Ha Van Sieu, Deputy Director of the Vietnam National Administration of Tourism (VNAT), said the agency is working with localities to come up with solutions to best serve visitors to Dien Bien, such as promoting guidance for the community to participate in the accommodation network to enhance the ability to welcome guests, as well as supporting Dien Bien to recognise standard tourist attractions and accommodation facilities towards ensuring ready conditions for organising events and serving tourists. Vice Chairman of Dien Bien Provincial People’s Committee Vu A Bang noted that the province aims to welcome 1.3 million visitors and increase provincial tourism revenue to 2.2 trillion VND (more than 89.1 million USD).
