The Central Highlands province of Dak Lak, home to a large number
of ethnic minorities and their distinct cultures and heritages, is
looking to develop tourism while preserving traditional cultures.
Dak Lak is proud to fall within the cultural space of gongs,
recognised by UNESCO as an intangible and oral masterpiece of human
culture in 2006.
Boasting traditional craft
villages and a series of festivals, the locality has great potential to
develop community-based and cultural tourism.
In order to
implement its strategy of tourism development and cultural conservation,
local authorities have focused investing in constructing and upgrading
infrastructure. Natural landscapes have been preserved while cultural
and historical relic sites have been restored and embellished.
The organisation of traditional festivals contributes to promoting the locality’s image to domestic and foreign visitors.
In recent years, Dak Lak has seen a considerable amount of socio-economic development, especially in tourism.
In 2011, the province welcomed about 310,000 tourists, earning 235
billion VND (10.8 million USD). The number of visitors to the locality
increased to 467,000 in 2014, raking in 360 billion VND, up nearly 16
percent against the previous year. According to Nguyen Thuy
Phuong Hieu from the provincial Department of Culture, Sports and
Tourism, the local cultural sector is working with travel firms to
develop cultural and tourism activities, generating jobs for local
residents and preserving cultural values.
The locality is set to become one of the nation’s tourism centres, making tourism its spearhead economic sector.-VNA