After Lo Lo Chai village, located on the Dong Van limestone plateau in Tuyen Quang Province (the former Ha Giang area) at Vietnam's northernmost tip, was named the UN World Tourism Organization's (UNWTO) "Best Tourism Village 2025," the airline industry moved all at once. Vietnam Airlines, VietJet, Bamboo Airways, Qatar Airways, and Emirates have all added or launched flights from Hanoi and major international cities to northern Vietnam, intensifying competition for access to this remote ethnic minority settlement. Chosen from more than 270 nominees worldwide, Lo Lo Chai is a settlement of just a few hundred people from the Lo Lo ethnic group, yet it earned international recognition for balancing sustainable tourism with cultural preservation.
The full picture of the UNWTO “Best Tourism Village 2025” selection
On October 17, 2025, at the UNWTO Tourism Summit held in Huzhou, Zhejiang Province, China, Lo Lo Chai village was chosen as "Best Tourism Village 2025" from more than 270 nominated regions worldwide. Selection was based on the nine criteria below, and Lo Lo Chai scored especially highly in three areas: "cultural preservation," "community-led tourism," and "sustainability."
| UNWTO selection criteria | Lo Lo Chai’s applicable points |
|---|---|
| Cultural and natural resources | Located within the Dong Van Karst Plateau (a UNESCO Global Geopark) |
| Cultural preservation and sustainability | Inheritance of the Lo Lo people’s bronze drums, hand embroidery, and earthen-wall architecture |
| Economic sustainability | Over 50 homestays operated by local residents |
| Social inclusion | Embroidery workshops for ethnic-minority women serve as a source of income |
| Environmental conservation | Restrictions on plastic use, maintenance of traditional earthen-wall architecture |
| Tourism development and value chain | Integrated provision of local guides, cuisine, and lodging |
| Infrastructure and connectivity | Within walking distance of the Lung Cu Flag Tower (the northernmost point of the border) |
| Health and safety | A community-led safety management system |
| Governance and priorities | Integrated Into Tuyen Quang Province's Tourism Sustainability Plan |
From Vietnam, Quynh Son village was awarded at the same time, bringing Vietnam’s cumulative total to five villages recognized as UNWTO “Best Tourism Villages.”
Background: The Rapid Growth of Tourism in Tuyen Quang Province (the Former Ha Giang Area) and the Reality of the "Hidden Gem" Boom
Tuyen Quang Province (the former Ha Giang area) is a mountainous province on Vietnam's northernmost border, meeting China at the Lung Cu Flag Tower. The Dong Van Karst Plateau was recognized as a UNESCO Global Geopark in 2010, and its distinctive landscape is made up of jagged limestone peaks that jut skyward one after another.
It was once a remote land visited only by backpackers, but entering the 2020s, the Ha Giang Loop (the Ma Pi Leng Pass and the sheer cliffs of the Nho Que River) spread on social media (especially TikTok and Instagram), and tourists rapidly increased.Safety regulations were strengthened in 2026Behind this lies the frequent accidents due to the increase in motorbike tourists.
Tuyen Quang Province (the former Ha Giang area) currently has no commercial airport; the nearest airports are in Hanoi (Noi Bai, about a 7-hour drive) or Lao Cai Province (about a 5-hour drive). This difficulty of access creates the province's "hidden gem" feel, while also capping how far tourism can scale.
The flight-increase competition among five carriers: heading to Ha Giang via Hanoi
Since Tuyen Quang Province (the former Ha Giang area) has no airport of its own, the five airlines' added flights are taking the form of expanded international and domestic routes into Hanoi and Lao Cai.
| Airline | Flight increases and new routes | Relevance to Ha Giang | Fare guideline (yen conversion) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Vietnam Airlines | Bangkok, Seoul, Tokyo → Hanoi flight increases | To Ha Giang via Hanoi (about 7 hours by bus) | 25,000–50,000 yen one way |
| VietJet | Ho Chi Minh City, Da Nang → Hanoi domestic flight increases | Bus travel after arriving in Hanoi by domestic flight | 5,000–15,000 yen one way |
| Bamboo Airways | Hanoi → Hong Kong, Singapore new services | Hong Kong, Singapore → Ha Giang via Hanoi | 20,000–40,000 yen one way |
| Qatar Airways | Doha → Hanoi aircraft upsizing and flight increases | Europe, Middle East → transfer in Hanoi | 60,000–120,000 yen one way |
| Emirates | Dubai → Ho Chi Minh City flight increases (linked with Hanoi connections) | Middle East, Africa → Ho Chi Minh City → via Hanoi | 50,000–100,000 yen one way |
The entry of the two Middle Eastern carriers Qatar Airways and Emirates is a move anticipating an increase in long-haul travelers visiting northern Vietnam from Europe, the Middle East, and Africa. It can be said to be the result of Lo Lo Chai’s UNWTO award pushing up the international profile of northern Vietnam as a whole.
The Lo Lo Chai village experience: a “living museum” of bronze drums and earthen walls
Lo Lo Chai village is located at the foot of the Lung Cu Flag Tower (Vietnam’s northernmost border marker), a settlement where the ethnic minority called the Lo Lo people live. The Lo Lo people number only about 4,500 across all of Vietnam, and a considerable number of them reside in this Lo Lo Chai village.
The village’s greatest cultural heritage is the “Lo Lo people’s bronze drum.” Used in religious rites, forest worship, new-rice festivals, and funeral ceremonies, this drum is said to be an instrument inherited only by the Lo Lo people in Vietnam. A hands-on bronze-drum demonstration experience is also offered in the village.
In terms of architecture, traditional houses built with earthen walls about 1 meter thick line up. This earthen-wall structure has insulating function against the plateau’s harsh climate (dropping to near 0°C in winter), and the design that minimizes windows serves both as windbreak and heat retention. Over 50 homestays are operated by local residents, and you can stay in a traditional house for 200,000–400,000 VND per night (about 1,200–2,400 yen).
The local response: “The world recognized it, but the roads and lodging capacity can’t keep up”
After the UNWTO award, the following reactions stand out on Vietnamese travel forums and social media (the Facebook “Ha Giang Phuot” group, TikTok) (paraphrased, anonymized).
“I’m proud that Lo Lo Chai was chosen as the world’s best tourism village, but unless we do something about the 7-hour access from Hanoi, the reception capacity will hit its limit right away.”
“If tourists come from all over the world to 50 homestays, the village’s tranquility will be lost. Whether we can protect UNWTO’s ‘sustainability’ is the real test.”
“When I went on the weekend, the sunrise hike (leaving at 4 a.m.) was already crowded. The embroidery workshop with a Lo Lo grandmother is a genuine cultural experience—it’s worth going just for that.”
“Korean and Western tourists are rapidly increasing. My impression is that the clientele changed completely before and after the UNWTO award.”
The impact on Japanese travelers: a “destination” has been added to the Ha Giang Loop
Among Japanese motorbike tourists, the “Ha Giang Loop” was known as a standard route in northern Vietnam, but much of it was aimed at “scenic driving,” not a style of visiting a specific village deeply. Lo Lo Chai’s UNWTO award adds a new layer of a “cultural-experience destination” to Ha Giang travel.
Here’s an example of an experience plan in Lo Lo Chai village.
| Experience | Time required | Estimated cost | Yen conversion |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sunrise hike (Lung Cu Flag Tower) | 4:00–6:00 a.m. | Free (100,000 VND with a guide) | About 600 yen |
| Bronze-drum demonstration and hands-on experience | About 30 minutes | 50,000–100,000 VND | About 300 to 600 yen |
| Lo Lo embroidery workshop | About 2 hours | 150,000–200,000 VND | About 900–1,200 yen |
| Traditional-cuisine experience (au tau porridge, grilled corn cakes) | About 1 hour | 50,000–80,000 VND | About 300–480 yen |
| Earthen-wall traditional-house homestay (1 night) | One night | 200,000–400,000 VND | About 1,200–2,400 yen |
The Ha Giang Loop’s 2026 strengthened safety regulations—after checking this in advance, it’s realistic to build an itinerary of about three nights and four days. From Hanoi to Ha Giang city, an overnight bus (about 7 hours, about 300,000 VND one way = about 1,800 yen) is common, and from Ha Giang city to Lo Lo Chai village takes a further roughly 2.5 hours by car.
Ripple effects on the industry: the development and dilemma that “remote-land recognition” brings
The UNWTO "Best Tourism Village" title is accelerating the Vietnamese government's tourism development plans. Tuyen Quang provincial authorities are rapidly pushing ahead with infrastructure around Lo Lo Chai — widening roads, stabilizing the power supply, and adding cell towers. At the same time, there are warnings that overdevelopment risks undermining the very "sustainability" that earned the award.
What the five airlines' rush to add flights shows is a structural shift: the airline industry is starting to bet on "northern Vietnam as a destination." Vietnamese air travel demand has until now been concentrated in the three major cities of Ho Chi Minh City, Hanoi, and Da Nang, but when a remote area like Tuyen Quang Province (the former Ha Giang area) wins an international tourism award, it creates ripple effects across nearby air routes.Phu Quoc’s mega-hotel development toward APEC 2027—in contrast to this, Lo Lo Chai is drawing international attention with a different model of “small-scale × sustainable.”
Practical information
| Item | Details |
|---|---|
| Location | Lo Lo Chai Village, Lung Cu Commune, Dong Van District, Tuyen Quang Province (the Former Ha Giang Area) |
| Access from Hanoi | About 7 hours by overnight bus (about 300,000 VND = about 1,800 yen), then about 2.5 hours by car from Ha Giang city |
| Lodging | Over 50 homestays (200,000–400,000 VND/night = about 1,200–2,400 yen) |
| Best season | September–November (buckwheat-flower season), March–May (the terraced-field flooding period) |
| UNWTO recognition | Best Tourism Village 2025 (announced October 17, 2025, in Huzhou) |
| Cautions | New safety regulations in 2026 (confirm motorbike license requirements); temperatures drop to near 0°C in winter |
Summary
Lo Lo Chai village’s UNWTO “Best Tourism Village” award is an event that redraws the map of Vietnamese tourism. The fact that five airlines responded with flight increases to Hanoi and surrounding airports is proof that this remote settlement has begun to be recognized as an international tourism destination. A bronze-drum demonstration, a homestay in an earthen-wall house, a 4 a.m. sunrise hike at the Lung Cu Flag Tower. Lo Lo Chai, offering Lo Lo culture as an “experience,” isHo Chi Minh City’s Noong Oi—at the opposite pole from a concept café like this, it’s a “genuine ethnic-minority cultural experience.” Worth visiting even if it takes 7 hours from Hanoi, Vietnam’s last remote land has begun to open to the world.
