Son La city is blessed with a diverse system of caves, lakes, and hot springs. Ethnic groups there have a unique cultural identity, creating favourable conditions for the development of valuable cultural tourism products.

Lu Thi Doan, head of the municipal Cultural Division, said the city currently counts seven operational homestays that are operating successfully, including Minh Chau and Long Trang in Hum hamlet, Chieng Xom commune; Minh Truong in Hun hamlet, Chieng Cọ commune; Tien Quan, Xuan Phuong, and Lu Hom in Bo hamlet, Chieng An ward; Son Khe and Quang Hom in Monghamlet, Hua La commune. They attracts thousands of visitors annually, offering opportunities for them to visit and experience local life, thereby contributing to the preservation, promotion, and enhancement of ethnic cultural identities.

As one of the pioneers in developing the homestay model in Bo hamlet, Chieng An ward, Lu Tien Quan, the owner of Tien Quan Homestay, said since its opening in July 2017, he has renovated one stilt house and built an another to accommodate up to 40 guests per day. In 2021, the project on “building livelihood improvement models through promoting agriculture-based tourism among ethnic minority-inhabited hamlets in mountainous areas of Son La province” helped his family with constructing an 80-square-meter net house to grow lisianthus flowers, giving a facelift to the homestay, thus attracting more visitors.

When visiting Hun hamlet in Chieng Co commune, tourists can participate in activities such as farming, fishing, and picking plums and coffee cherries. In early August, the city Cultural Division, in collaboration with the Chieng Co commune People's Committee and Tay Bac University, organised a training course for 35 households engaging in community-based tourism services in the commune.

Tong Van Truong, the owner of Minh Truong Homestay in Hun hamlet, said through the training course, he and other business households gained useful knowledge, especially about sanitation, environmental protection, reception, housekeeping, communication skills, tourist services, financial management, and revenue maximisation to improve the quality of tourism services.

The community-based tourism site in Mong hamlet, Hua La commune, located about 3 kilometers from the centre of Son La city, offers hot spring baths, and opportunities to experience the Thai culture and cuisine, making itself an attractive tourist destination. Currently, local households have renovated and upgraded their homestays, bathhouses, and dining facilities. Mong hamlet has also established a club featuring the cultural features of various ethnic groups and a Thai dance club in service of tourism.

Nguyen Khanh Hien, a visitor from Hanoi, said during her visit to relatives in Son La, she toured Mong hamlet to take a hot spring bath and to enjoy the Thai ethnic cuisine. She found the prices reasonable and was satisfied with the quality of tourism services there.

To further develop community-based tourism while promoting the traditional values of ethnic groups, the city continues to focus on the planning, construction, preservation, and protection of potential tourist attractions such as stilt houses, rice fields, caves, lakes, fishing ponds, streams, hills, forests, gardens, and apricot, plum and coffee plantations.

The city is also directing communes and wards to encourage households to invest in infrastructure to accommodate tourists and support various tourist activities. Efforts are being made to improve the quality of amateur art troupes, revive traditional crafts, and organise folk games and cultural activities, contributing to showcasing and promoting the beauty, potential, and strengths of Son La city.