A young ethnic minority girl walks uphill on a rocky, fog-covered mountain trail, carrying a backpack, with adult trekkers following behind her.

Voices of Action - Child labour

Tourism boom exposes child labour risks in Viet Nam’s northern highlands

Children from ethnic minority communities like 13-year-old Phang Ca work on perilous trails popularized by adventure tourism to help support their families.

29 January 2026

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HANOI (ILO News) – High in the fog-enshrouded heights of Phu Sa Phin, a rugged 2,000-metre ridge on the border of Son La and Lao Cai provinces in northern Viet Nam, 13-year-old Phang Ca juggles schoolbooks with heavy backpacks hauled for trekkers.

At weekends, she navigates steep inclines along the perilous Dragon's Backbone, then tends a makeshift stall to sell water and salted lemon soda to parched tourists for VND 30,000 (US$1.15) a bottle. Once the last visitors depart, she treks alone for two to three hours home through dense forests, handing over her earnings to her parents.

Phang Ca in traditional clothing stands on a foggy mountain ridge, beside a small ground-level stall with bottled drinks laid out on a cloth. — Phang Ca, 13, stands beside her small drink "stall".

Booming tourism brings family income, yet it can also draw children into work that comes at the expense of their education and childhood.

Phang Ca's story is captured in Chốt Cao Điểm – The Vantage Point, a short film commissioned by the International Labour Organization (ILO) as part of its Voices of Action global series. The series features work by journalists producing impactful stories on child labour from around the world and was released ahead of the 6th Global Conference on the Elimination of Child Labour, to be held from 11 to 13 February 2026 in Marrakech, Morocco.

The film, directed by journalist Dao Thanh Hung, spotlights remote ethnic areas where poverty fuels child labour despite national advances. It will be broadcast on Hanoi TV.

An eighth grader at Ban Cong Secondary School in Hanh Phuc Commune, Phang Ca attends classes from Monday to Friday noon before helping with family preparations.

Her father, Phang Chua, leads a Hmong porter team. He recalls how tourism transformed lives over five years: "Five years ago we started guiding trekkers. Later, other Hmong families followed. It brought extra income. Life became less difficult." The family erects forest huts for meals and rest, even invests in drones for tourist photos. Children, though, bear the trail dangers, now somewhat eased by safety cables.

A young ethnic minority girl climbs a rocky mountain trail carrying a backpack, with her mother following behind as a porter carrying supplies in a woven basket. — Phang Ca walks ahead of her mother on a steep trail on Phu Sa Phin.

Phang Ca's routine weaves peril with promise. While her parents' shoulder heavy packs to support trekkers on their ascent to the 2,880-metre summit, she lingers at dawn: "Phu Sa Phin is very beautiful. Every morning, I sit here and watch the clouds. I hope I can study well and one day introduce this beauty to everyone."

Duty pulls her to the ridge, where peers like fifth-grader Giang A Van wait at stalls: "I like to go to school because I can be around my classmates and teachers. My dream is to become a doctor."

Viet Nam's progress on the elimination of child labour

Viet Nam has advanced markedly on the road to ending child labour.

In December 2025, the country marked 25 years since its ratification of ILO Convention No. 182 on the Worst Forms of Child Labour, reflecting sustained national efforts to eliminate child labour. According to the National Statistics Office (NSO) 2023 Labour Force Survey report, as well as the NSO–ILO Key Findings brochure, the proportion of children aged 5 to 17 years old engaged in economic activities fell to 3.5 per cent, roughly 731,600 children, down from 9.1 per cent in 2018. Hazardous work touches 94,300 children, more than 12 per cent facing health risks, mostly in agriculture and services.

A porter walks along a narrow mountain path through mist and dense vegetation, passing a warning sign on a steep ridge. — Phang Ca on the mist-covered ridge of Phu Sa Phin.

Pathways to brighter futures

Viet Nam’s Programme on Prevention and Reduction of Child Labour for the 2021-2025 period, with a vision to 2030, aimed to reduce the child labour rate to 4.5 per cent by 2030.

The ILO urges governments, families, and society to champion decent work for adults. That way, children like Phang Ca can become guardians of their peaks as students and doctors, rather than porters. Voices from Phu Sa Phin affirm it: with collective resolve, these vantage points will launch dreams, not merely hawk drinks.