The northern highlands province of Ha Giang has been named Asia’s leading emerging destination, according to Vice Chairman of the provincial People’s Committee, Tran Duc Quy. Ha Giang won this honor at the World Travel Awards (WTA) 2023 held in Ho Chi Minh City, surpassing nine other contenders including Bandar Seri Begawan in Brunei, Flores in Indonesia, Koh Kood in Thailand, Melaka in Malaysia, Morioka and Okinawa in Japan, Phnom Penh in Cambodia, Sumba Island in Indonesia, and Taipei in Taiwan.

The “Asia’s leading emerging destination” category at the WTA evaluates criteria such as environmental landscape, cultural identity, heritage values, security, safety, civilized friendly people, and experiences. Winning this award has elevated Ha Giang’s image and solidified its position on the regional tourism map, demonstrating the efforts made by the province’s tourism industry.

Ha Giang has focused on developing its tourism industry by improving linkages with other localities in Vietnam and promoting its attractions on digital platforms. In 2022, the province attracted about 2.3 million visitors and generated tourism revenue of over VND 4.5 trillion (USD 187 million). By August 2023, it had already welcomed more than 1.9 million visitors, including nearly 189,000 international visitors, with total tourism revenue estimated at nearly VND 4 trillion (USD 166.2 million).

Ha Giang is an old land, hosting over 20 ethnic groups with their own traditional cultures, lifestyles, and customs. The province offers exciting festivals and opportunities for visitors and researchers to explore ethnic minority cultures. It also boasts historical relics and majestic landscapes, such as the Heaven Gate, the Quan Ba double mountains, the Mong King’s Vuong Palace, the Lung Cu National Flag Pole, the Ma Pi Leng Pass, and picturesque terraced fields in Hoang Su Phi. In 2010, the Dong Van Karst Plateau in Dong Van district was recognized by UNESCO as a global karst geo-park, and the Terraced Rice Fields in Hoang Su Phi District have been listed as national relics and intangible cultural heritage.

Ha Giang offers visitors a wild and magnificent landscape, with rugged rocky mountains, golden terraced rice fields, sparkling water, beautiful violet buckwheat flowers, and peaceful houses-on-stilts belonging to the local ethnic residents. The Dong Van Karst Plateau, located at an elevation of 1,000-1,600m above sea level, showcases its beauty during the season of light violet buckwheat flowers and yellow mustard flowers. In late September and early October, the terraced rice fields in Hoang Su Phi turn golden as the ethnic Mong people harvest their rice.