Thai Hai ethnic village turns cultural heritage into sustainable tourism

Nestled amidst the lush greenery of the Tan Cuong tea-growing region in Thai Nguyen, the Thai Hai Ethnic Village Ecological Conservation Area creates a unique destination: where Tay culture, traditional stilt houses, agricultural production, ecology, and community tourism are all interconnected within a unified space. In 2022, Thai Hai was recognized by the World Tourism Organization (UNWTO, now UN Tourism) as one of the 32 "Best Tourist Villages in the World", becoming the only representative from Vietnam on that list.

Preserving the soul of the Tay village amidst a green space
The first thing that impresses visitors to Thai Hai is not the modern buildings, but the system of traditional stilt houses nestled amidst greenery, hills, and water. According to UN Tourism, the village has about 20 hectares of green forest space with more than 30 traditional stilt houses. This is where the Tay ethnic community has lived together for generations, preserving their language, customs, rituals, costumes, and traditional cultural values.

Each stilt house in Thai Hai is not simply a tourist attraction; it's an integral part of community life. Visitors can step into the living space of the Tay people, enjoy traditional food, learn about handicrafts, participate in agricultural activities, and experience local life. This unique approach sets Thai Hai apart from newly built resorts. Here, cultural life is part of the tourism product , and the local people are not detached from tourism but directly participate in creating experiences for visitors.

UN Tourism evaluated Thai Hai based on its cultural and natural values, community tourism, sustainable development, and ability to utilize indigenous values ??to create unique tourism products. The "Best Tourism Villages" program was established to recognize rural areas that know how to develop tourism while simultaneously protecting the landscape, culture, local knowledge, and developing livelihoods for the community.

Tourism begins with conservation
In Thai Hai, preservation is inseparable from development. The stilt houses, language, clothing, food, customs, and community life all become valuable "resources" when properly preserved. Notably, the local people don't just showcase their culture to tourists; they continue to live within that cultural space. Festivals, rituals, traditional crafts, production activities, and cuisine are maintained in daily life and then offered to visitors for shared experience.

UN Tourism notes that Thai Hai organizes traditional spiritual festivals and employs people knowledgeable in local culture and language to guide tourists. Traditional stilt houses are also maintained and used as accommodation, allowing visitors to learn more about Tay cuisine, agricultural production, livestock farming, and handicrafts. This is a key aspect of community-based tourism: visitors connect with a living community, not just visit a model built to serve tourists.

From agriculture to tourism products
Another unique feature of Thai Hai is the combination of tourism and agricultural production. According to UN Tourism, the village applies the VAC model - garden, pond, livestock - in its production organization. This approach not only creates a local food source but also gives tourists the opportunity to observe and participate in traditional agricultural production activities.

From an ecological area, Thai Hai has developed a relatively complete range of experiences: visiting stilt houses, learning about Tay culture, staying in homestays, enjoying local cuisine, experiencing agricultural production, exploring the landscape, and participating in community activities. This is also a direction that aligns with the trend of green tourism. Instead of exploiting resources extensively, the Thai Hai model focuses on increasing the value of what the locality already possesses. Greenery, stilt houses, culture, cuisine, agriculture, and people are connected into a unified product.

In the context of many rural areas facing urbanization pressures, preserving ecological spaces and traditional culture is even more significant. Tourism, if properly organized, can become a driving force to help communities generate additional livelihoods, while also providing an economic justification for preserving inherent values.

Thai Nguyen 's international mark
In 2022, UN Tourism announced the list of "Best Tourism Villages" for 2022. Thai Hai was among 32 villages selected from 136 applications from 57 member countries. This is an international program aimed at developing rural tourism linked to cultural and landscape preservation, job creation, and income improvement for communities.

Therefore, the title "Best Tourism Village in the World" should be correctly understood as a title from the UN Tourism's Best Tourism Villages program, not a ranking in which Thai Hai is ranked number one. In 2022, 32 villages in 22 countries were recognized.

To date, Thai Hai remains one of the bright spots in Vietnam's community-based tourism. According to the Thai Nguyen Provincial Electronic Information Portal, in January 2025, the product "Tay Ethnic Culture Tourism, Thai Hai Village" was recognized as a 5-star national OCOP product; the conservation area also received the ASEAN Homestay Award. These recognitions show that the value of Thai Hai lies not only in an international title awarded in 2022, but also in the process of maintaining and upgrading tourism products based on community culture.

A destination for green tourism
In the current context of tourism development, Thai Hai suggests a noteworthy approach: it's not necessary to build many new structures to attract tourists. An ancient stilt house, a traditional dish, a garden, a cultural story, or a community activity, if preserved and organized into suitable products, can all create value.

That is also why Thai Hai aligns with the principles of the Best Tourism Villages program: economic development while simultaneously caring for society , the environment, culture, and sustainable development goals. UN Tourism identifies this program as contributing to reducing rural development disparities, creating jobs and income, protecting resources, reducing waste, promoting innovation, digital transformation, and enhancing community capacity.

From a mountainous region of Thai Nguyen, Thai Hai has brought the story of stilt houses and Tay culture to domestic and international tourists. The greatest value of the model perhaps lies in transforming seemingly ordinary aspects of life into cultural, ecological, and economic assets.

In the context of Vietnam's green tourism landscape, Thai Hai is more than just a tourist destination. It's also a story about how a community preserves the memories of its village, conserves its living space, and creates livelihoods from its indigenous values. Following its title as "World's Best Tourist Village" in 2022, the challenge for Thai Hai is to continue maintaining its original character during its development, so that each visitor, upon leaving, remembers not only a beautiful tourist spot but also a Tay cultural space that is being lived, preserved, and continued.

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