The recently signed tourism development cooperation agreement among Thai Nguyen, Bac Ninh, Phu Tho, Tuyen Quang, Cao Bang, and Lang Son provides an opportunity for the provinces to strengthen cooperation and develop interregional tourism products

Building shared itineraries by leveraging each province's strengths

Thai Nguyen is well known for revolutionary heritage tourism centered on the ATK Dinh Hoa and ATK Cho Don relic complexes, its reputation as the home of Vietnam's finest tea and its specialty tea-growing areas, as well as its potential for ecotourism, resort tourism, experiential tourism, and community-based tourism. Bac Ninh is the homeland of Quan Ho folk singing, a UNESCO-recognized representative intangible cultural heritage of humanity, and is steeped in the cultural traditions of Kinh Bac. Phu Tho is the ancestral land of the Vietnamese nation, home to the worship of the Hung Kings and Xoan singing, both inscribed by UNESCO. Tuyen Quang is distinguished by revolutionary historical sites associated with the Capital of the Liberation Zone and the Capital of the Resistance, together with rich natural landscapes and diverse ethnic cultures. Cao Bang is home to the UNESCO Non Nuoc Cao Bang Global Geopark, Ban Gioc Waterfall, and numerous distinctive cultural assets. Lang Son benefits from its position as an international trade gateway and possesses a wealth of scenic attractions, historical sites, and the distinctive cultural heritage of Xu Lang.

Developed separately, each province may support only short stays. When connected, however, their distinctive assets can form longer itineraries with multiple layers of experience, encouraging visitors to stay longer and spend more. Pham Van Thuy, Deputy Director of the Vietnam National Authority of Tourism, said cooperation must move beyond joint promotion toward shared products, shared markets, and shared value chains. This represents a shift from a local-linkage mindset to destination integration, with the provinces jointly creating itineraries compelling enough to retain visitors throughout the region for longer periods.

Pham Van Thuy, Deputy Director of the Vietnam National Authority of Tourism, speaks at the tourism development cooperation program among Thai Nguyen, Bac Ninh, Phu Tho, Tuyen Quang, Cao Bang, and Lang Son

To Vu Ninh, Director of the Cao Bang Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism, said Cao Bang's location and distinctive advantages allow it to serve as the final stop for visitors traveling north from southern provinces and as the starting point for international tourists, particularly those arriving from China. From Cao Bang, visitors can continue to other destinations in the region, creating two-way tourism routes. When organized as an integrated chain, each province becomes both a destination and a link guiding travelers toward their next experience.

All six provinces possess outstanding historical, cultural, natural, and human assets that complement one another in the development of interregional tourism products. Improving transportation infrastructure, particularly expressways, national highways, and interprovincial routes, is also creating more favorable conditions for turning cooperation ideas into reality. Shorter travel times make it easier for businesses to design multi-day itineraries linking multiple destinations. Convenient transportation, however, is only a prerequisite. For a road corridor to become a genuine tourism route, destinations along it must offer attractive products and high-quality services that visitors want to choose.

From destination integration to value-chain integration

Experience shows that abundant resources do not automatically translate into appealing tourism products. A heritage site, craft village, tea-growing area, or ethnic village creates real value only when it is developed into experiences aligned with market needs and trends. This is a key challenge facing the six-province partnership during the 2026-2030 period. Rather than merely connecting points on a map, the provinces should jointly study the market, identify commercially viable routes, develop products with clear themes, and assign businesses to pilot and refine them before launch.

Thai Hai Village, where cultural identity and local products come together to create a tourism experience

Thai Hai Village in Tan Cuong Commune, Thai Nguyen Province, which was honored as Vietnam's first Best Tourism Village, demonstrates how cultural values and community life can be transformed into compelling tourism products. When community-based tourism destinations are thoughtfully connected, each can build on its own identity, avoid duplication, and contribute to a diverse visitor itinerary. Businesses play the direct role of bringing products to market within this chain. Stronger business connections among the provinces are therefore essential, including sharing visitor source markets, developing tours, coordinating promotion, and standardizing service quality.

According to Vu Thi Thu Huong, Vice Chairwoman of Thai Nguyen Provincial Cooperative Alliance, if the six provinces are viewed as a single tourism journey, OCOP producers and stakeholders must partner with tourism businesses to incorporate their products into tour programs, develop gift packages and on-site experiences in growing areas, and establish product showcase outlets.

Nui Coc Lake is one of the destinations that contribute significantly to Thai Nguyen's tourism appeal

Standardizing information on destinations, services, itineraries, transportation options, and visitor source markets will make it easier for travelers to search for, select, and use services throughout a single journey. Promotional methods should also be renewed to build a shared regional image while highlighting the distinctive identity of each province.

Thai Nguyen's tourism sector is recording strong growth. In the first seven months of the year, the province welcomed more than 6.1 million visitors, up 15.2% year on year. International arrivals exceeded 233,000, an increase of 35.7%, while total tourism revenue was estimated at VND 8,542 billion, up 69.4%. These results show that tourism is gradually becoming a new growth engine for the province. They also create considerable scope to develop the market comprising experts and workers employed in industrial parks by connecting them with destinations and tourism products in Thai Nguyen and neighboring provinces.

Le Trong Hiep, Chairman of Thai Nguyen Provincial Tourism Association, said Thai Nguyen has an advantage in connectivity, but that advantage becomes a real strength only when the province’s businesses proactively link with those in other localities. “Rather than each place developing products and finding visitors on its own, we need to build journeys together that are attractive enough for visitors to stay longer, spend more, and have more reasons to return,” he emphasized. From this perspective, Thai Nguyen’s role should not be limited to being a destination along the route; it should gradually become a point connecting products, businesses, and visitor flows between the midlands and the northern mountainous provinces. This will also provide a basis for the province’s tourism businesses to expand the scope of their operations and create more opportunities for cooperatives, production establishments, community tourism sites, and OCOP stakeholders to participate more deeply in the tourism value chain.

In the long term, cooperation among the six provinces is not intended to erase their individual identities, but to use those differences as the foundation for a richer regional offering. When their assets are connected by convenient routes, intentionally designed products, and well-coordinated service chains, the provinces can gradually establish signature itineraries for the northern midlands and mountainous region. The ultimate goal is not simply to bring more visitors to each locality, but to create longer, more meaningful, and experience-rich journeys. From transportation and destination links to cooperation between businesses and communities, the region's strength will come from the combined value of its many assets. This is the foundation for an appealing, distinctive, competitive, and sustainable interregional tourism network during the 2026-2030 period.