The ward has encouraged and facilitated investment from organisations and individuals to diversify service offerings, meeting the rising and increasingly varied demands of residents and visitors. Its geographic advantages, natural landscapes, and high-tech agriculture are being transformed into distinctive commercial and tourism products with high added value, helping draw tourists while boosting local incomes.

Nguyen The Nghia, Vice Chairman of the Thao Nguyen ward People’s Committee, emphasised that the ward’s central location, unique climate, and scenery have created strong momentum for investment and growth in trade and services. “By maximising our role as an driving urban centre, leveraging our natural strengths and human resources, we aim to develop Thao Nguyen into a modern, ecological, smart and livable tourism urban centre,” he said.

Where lodging services were once limited to traditional hotels and guesthouses, the ward now boasts a surge in diverse accommodation models. Standouts include the high-end Thao Nguyen Resort and the four-star Muong Thanh Moc Chau Hotel, both offering premium leisure experiences.

Le Van Anh, Director of Thao Nguyen Hotel & Resort, noted: “We are committed to creating an upscale accommodation environment aligned with the global shift toward green and sustainable tourism. Moving forward, we plan to upgrade our facilities and expand our conference spaces to host large-scale national and international events.”

Food and shopping services have flourished, with ethnic specialty restaurants, scenic cafés, convenience stores, mini-marts, and shops showcasing local OCOP (One Commune One Product) items and Moc Chau specialties such as tea, dairy products, plums, and strawberries.

A standout feature of Thao Nguyen and of the wider Moc Chau National Tourism Area is the ability to transform agriculture into an attractive tourism offering. The ward has supported cooperatives and households in developing experiential agro-tourism models. Plum orchards, orange groves, persimmon gardens, tea hills, and dairy farms have become iconic check-in spots for visitors to the Moc Chau plateau.

Tourists can enjoy fresh produce on-site and capture memorable photos, creating dual revenue streams for farmers through both service tickets and produce sales. Nguyen Thi Lan, owner of Lan Duong persimmon garden, shared: “Seeing the growing demand for experiential tourism, instead of only selling fruit to traders, our family invested in landscaping, photo zones, and ethnic costumes. Income from entrance fees and on-site product sales has significantly outpaced wholesale revenue.”

Today, Thao Nguyen ward features numerous popular tourist sites such as the Moc Chau Night Market Walking Street, the Na Ka Plum Valley, and the tea hills. Tourism infrastructure is relatively complete, with more than 200 hotels, guesthouses, homestays, and restaurants. Recognising service quality and human resources as crucial factors, the ward has coordinated with relevant agencies to organise training in tourism management, communication skills, and foreign languages for service providers. Management of pricing, food safety, and security at tourist sites and businesses has also been strengthened to maintain a healthy tourism environment.

Linking trade and service development with tourism has not only boosted economic growth but also reshaped the urban landscape and improved residents’ quality of life. Thao Nguyen ward is steadily moving toward becoming a vibrant tourism and service hub, worthy of its status as the centre of the Moc Chau National Tourism Area, one of the world’s leading nature destinations.