Sa Pa Ward in the northern province of Lao Cai held on the first day of the new year a ceremony to welcome the first tourist group visiting the National Tourist Area, comprising 60 domestic and international visitors.
The event aimed to reaffirm the image of Sa Pa as a safe, attractive and friendly destination rich in cultural identity, while creating an upbeat start for the tourism sector in the very first days of the new year.
Extending New Year wishes to the first tourist group arriving in Sa Pa, Vice Chairman of the Sa Pa Ward People’s Committee Pham Tien Dung said this was a warm and friendly greeting from Sa Pa to visitors from near and far, marking the opening of a new tourism year filled with positive expectations.
“In 2025, Sa Pa reached an impressive milestone, welcoming more than 4.3 million visitors. Entering 2026, the locality is committed to further improving infrastructure and services to build the image of Sa Pa as a safe, friendly, civilised destination rich in cultural identity,” he stressed.
At the Sa Pa Cultural Park, the 60 visitors experienced the traditional “lucky wrist string tying” ritual, conveying wishes for peace in the new year, joined in a New Year toast and explored the space themed “Sa Pa – where quintessence converges."
A visitor from Son La Province said she was pleasantly surprised and deeply moved by the meaningful gifts and the warm welcome from local authorities and tourism businesses in Sa Pa Ward.
Meanwhile, Dean, a visitor from the UK, shared that his time in Sa Pa has been truly fascinating, and it's wonderful to be here right at the New Year's occassion.
During the four-day New Year holiday in 2026, Sa Pa is expected to welcome more than 300,000 visitors, with estimated tourism revenue of around VND1.8 trillion. This serves as a strong motivation for the locality to strive towards its 2026 goal of receiving over 5 million visitors, with total tourism revenue of about VND31 trillion, moving towards building Sa Pa into a green, distinctive, sustainable and smart tourism city of international standing.
