I have just spent 4 days in Sa Pa, and I absolutely loved it. Yes, it has become a very tourist oriented place, but it seems to me that the locals are benefiting from it more than they are suffering from it. Tourism is creating a lot of jobs opportunities and business opportunities. It is my 4th trip to Vietnam and it seems to me that people are living better now than they did 16 years ago when I visited for the first time. The only thing I didn’t like was the obvious exploitation of minorities. I cringed at the sight of 3 or 4 year-old native kids dancing and posing in their local outfits for tourists money. They were very obviously not enjoying themselves. Kids should not be subjected to this awful exploitation.
I have just spent 4 days in Sa Pa, and I absolutely loved it. Yes, it has become a very tourist oriented place, but it seems to me that the locals are benefiting from it more than they are suffering from it. Tourism is creating a lot of jobs opportunities and business opportunities. It is my 4th trip to Vietnam and it seems to me that people are living better now than they did 16 years ago when I visited for the first time. The only thing I didn’t like was the obvious exploitation of minorities. I cringed at the sight of 3 or 4 year-old native kids dancing and posing in their local outfits for tourists money. They were very obviously not enjoying themselves. Kids should not be subjected to this awful exploitation.
The local Vietnamese will suffer for over tourism, the housing and all basic necessities will rise its prices.
But if many tourists come here, it will also help develop the local economy, and moreover, Vietnam will be known more to the world.