A plan to expand the boundaries of Da Lat in Vietnam’s Central Highlands province of Lam Dong by merging the city with neighboring Lac Duong District is expected to foster growth throughout the region.

The Lam Dong People’s Committee has greenlighted a plan to rearrange administrative units in the province for the 2023-30 period, allowing the province’s nearly 12,000-square-kilometer Lac Duong District to merge with the 396-square kilometer tourist hub of Da Lat.

Considering the two locales share similar climates and soil characteristics, the merger hopes to capitalize on their similarities and strengths in order to foster the development of tourism and agriculture.

“Da Lat has become a big-name brand in Vietnam’s agricultural product and tourism sectors. The expansion of Da Lat’s administrative boundaries will help more residents benefit from the city’s popularity,” said Dr. Truong Binh Nguyen, a professor at Da Lat University.

Despite its popularity paling in comparison to Da Lat, Lac Duong is home to several large and well-known tourist sites, many of which are misbelieved to be located in Da Lat, according to Cil Proh, vice-chairman of the Lac Duong People’s Committee.

“This shows that Da Lat and Lac Duong have few differences and share many similarities. The separation in the administrative boundaries should be removed in order to lay the ground for future development,” Proh noted.

Expansion: motivation for economic development

In 2019, the central government began offering incentives to Da Lat and its neighbors as a means of facilitating the attraction of investment, access to loans, and infrastructure development. 

Locally, the Lam Dong People’s Committee asked Da Lat to build a dossier and plan in order to apply to join the Creative Cities Network in music.

The Creative Cities Network was set up in 2004 to boost international cooperation among honored cities by using cultural resources as a foundation for sustainable urban development.

Van Tuan Anh, director of the Cu Lan Village tourist site in Lac Duong District, said that the village was opened 12 years ago in Lac Duong thanks to the large amount of land available in the district.

“[Opening in Lac Duong] was a tough decision because, at the time, tourists only know Da Lat and Lac Duong was still a new name on Vietnam’s tourism map,” Anh said.

The expansion of Da Lat’s administrative boundaries also means an enlargement of the influence of the Da Lat tourism brand, according to Tuan Anh, who noted that investors can see that Lam Dong’s tourism is developing under its current model – relying on Lac Duong for sightseeing, relaxation, and nature and Da Lat for service, culture, art, sports, and lodging. 

The merger of the two localities will likely see some of these functions began to shift from Da Lat to Lac Duong and vice versa.

Within the tourism industry, the prospect of merging is quite popular.

“Our brand is Dalat Tourist but one-third of our products are in Lac Duong District, meaning that in tourism, the differentiation of Da Lat and Lac Duong is not particularly important,” said Nguyen Nhat Vu, deputy general director of Dalat Tourist, a travel company in Lam Dong.

“However, when the Da Lat brand is officially shared with Lac Duong, investors will be more confident and find it easier to promote their tourism products.”

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