With a coastline of more than 300km with beautiful sandy beaches and renowned Con Dao archipelago, the southeastern province of Ba Ria-Vung Tau has many strengths to develop a brand of sea and island tourism.
Considering tourism as a key economic sector, Ba Ria - Vung Tau has carried out many measures to fully tap tourism potential from the sea and islands, thus contributing to realising a goal of turning itself into a strongly developed locality in marine economy in the southern key economic region and the whole country.
Director of the provincial Department of Tourism Trinh Hang said that the province boasts a lot of beautiful beaches such as Thuy Van, Tam Duong, Dua, Long Hai and Ho Tram; and other destinations such as Nghinh Phong cape, Ba islet, Con Dao National Park on Con Dao archipelago.
Notably, the 16-island Con Dao archipelago, 180km from Vung Tau city, and about 230km southeast of Ho Chi Minh City, has become more and more popular to both domestic and foreign tourists. It is well known for beaches with white sand, deep blue water and colorful coral reefs, along with a historical site which was an infamous prison set up by French colonialists and American imperialists during the wartime.
There are also many high-quality tourism projects in the province, in which several destinations associated with sea and island tourism resources have been formed and operated effectively such as: Vietsovpetro Resort, Ho Tram Strip tourist complex, Ho May Cable Car tourist site, Lan Rung Phuoc Hai resort, Six Senses Con Dao, and Melia Ho Tram Resort. These sites have contributed to increasing the number of visitors and revenue for the local tourism industry.
Secretary of the provincial Party Committee Pham Viet Thanh said that tourism is one of the four pillars of the province's economy. In the 2021-2025 period, Ba Ria-Vung Tau gives priority to creating a land fund with convenient locations to attract investment in large-scale tourism complexes.
In the first ten months of 2022, the local tourism sector reported an impressive growth, as it welcomed more than 11 million tourist arrivals, up nearly 250% year-on-year. The total revenue from tourism services surpassed 11.2 trillion VND (450.7 million USD).
Director of the department Trinh Hang said the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism predicted it won’t be until 2025 that tourism nationwide can regain the momentum of 2019 pre-pandemic numbers.
However, given the positive signs recorded so far this year, Ba Ria – Vung Tau could regain pre-pandemic numbers and revenue levels in 2023, he added./.
VNA