A visit to the local tour operators in Hanoi revealed that the current tourism development in Sapa is lacking clear structure. Sapa is facing an increase in tourist visitations, but with the lack of facilities and amenities, the region is slowly reaching its capacity and becoming overcrowded. The tour operators in Hanoi have been seeing the rapidly increasing demand for homestays, but as many homes do not meet the criteria of the tour operators, they are not considered for their clients. Simultaneously, some villagers are not motivated to upgrade their homes, because they had yet to witness the influx of tourists in the village themselves; this creates a problematic catch-22 situation.
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| Meeting with Mr. Hoang Nguyen, HandSpan Travel IndoChina |
Mr. Hoang Nguyen, the Vice Director of HandSpan Travel Indochina shared that his experiences working with the local women of Sapa have been positive- but not without its own set of challenges. He has the drive to work directly with the locals there, because it helped him create authentic experiences for his clients, and because it also helped enrich the lives of the local community. According to Mr. Hoang, he felt that enforcing modern living standards and infrastructure in the homes would challenge the truly authentic village experience. To quote him, “the soul of the homestay is important”.
Late last summer, our CBT Vietnam project linked the Hmong women of Lao Chai with the tour operators of Hanoi, by bringing a small group of women to the big city. One of the women's meetings was with HandSpan Travel Indochina. When they met with Mr. Hoang’s company, the representatives liked the women's proposal and took the opportunity to form a business partnership with them. Unfortunately, he still struggles to meet the demand of his clients, because there wasn’t enough developed homestays. He felt that HandSpan simply required more support from larger tour operators to affect real change. In fact, he has already tried calling the big players to encourage them to work with the locals more, and use local services (like staying at homestays and eating traditional home cooked meals). He believes that those companies can and should assist with the development because they possess a larger client base and expertise.
In the village of TaPhin, Lao Cai, Vietnam
Looking into the future, the homestay owners still need some support from companies to develop the structures and systems needed for a tourist destination to thrive. If both parties can come together and form a synergetic relationship, then the goal can be accomplished and the needs of both parties can be met.
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