With Dải Yếm Waterfall, the Love Glass Bridge, the over-100-year-old Vắt Hồng Pagoda, and the unique cultural traits of the Thai ethnic community in Vặt Village (Mường Sang Commune, Mộc Châu District, Sơn La Province), this area has become an appealing community-based tourism destination, attracting visitors to the Mộc Châu Plateau.

Visitors experience local culture at a homestay in Vặt Village

What impressed us most upon arriving in Vặt Village were the professionally invested homestays—carefully decorated, surrounded by clean and refreshing landscapes, blooming flowers year-round, vast fields, and lush vegetable gardens. We stopped at Mai Thuận Homestay, located at the village entrance, featuring a traditional stilt house that can accommodate 35 guests in the communal space and 4 private rooms. Retaining the original Thai-style stilt house structure, the upper floor is used for guest lodging, while the lower floor opens into a spacious garden-style setting where guests can relax, enjoy drinks, and join evening cultural exchanges.

Ms. Đinh Thị Thuận, owner of the homestay, shared: “My family received financial support from the project to renovate our house while preserving the traditional Thai stilt-house architecture. We were supported in building bathrooms, toilets, planting flowers, constructing fences, and improving the surrounding landscape. We also had the opportunity to visit and learn from community tourism models in other provinces, which helped us develop a more professional approach to tourism to better meet visitors’ expectations. Thanks to that, the number of guests has significantly increased, providing my family with a monthly income of 15–20 million VND.”

At Hoa Mộc Miên Homestay, run by Ms. Lường Thị Hồng Tươi, head of Vặt Village’s community tourism development group, the stilt house can host 30 guests and features a strawberry garden, a restaurant, and clean sanitary facilities. While guiding us through the homestay, Ms. Tươi shared: “In 2019, Vặt Village was selected as a pilot site for community-based tourism. I and other households received training in tourism services. Standards were established for decoration, cleanliness, room preparation, cuisine, guest services, and community-based tourism activities. Households no longer operated spontaneously as before but followed clear development plans. Thanks to this, Vặt Village has changed and become more widely known.”

Ms. Nguyễn Huyền Anh, a visitor from Nghệ An Province, said: “In Vặt Village, we joined activities with local residents such as picking strawberries, weaving fabric, bathing in streams, catching fish, and visiting Vắt Hồng Pagoda. At night, we cooked Thai ethnic dishes using fresh ingredients from the garden, enjoyed traditional performances, and relaxed in the fresh air. We were truly impressed and delighted by these experiences with the local community.”

Ms. Đinh Thị Hường, Head of the Culture & Information Department of Mộc Châu District, noted: “During the implementation and support process for community-based tourism development in Vặt Village, our department cooperated with the Australia-funded GREAT Project to create detailed plans—from restoring and constructing houses in traditional Thai architecture, to organizing training classes in community tourism knowledge and skills, as well as providing financial support for households. We encouraged residents to maintain environmental cleanliness, preserve traditional cultural values, and share them with visitors.”

Community-based tourism in Vặt Village continues to attract more visitors each year. Currently, the village has 20 households providing tourism services. The community tourism model in Vặt Village has been generating clear economic benefits and transforming the local landscape. Local households are continuing to expand and diversify tourism services, enriching the tourism experience with more nature-based attractions, tours, and activities, contributing to the sustainable development of local tourism.