PM urges Hoa Binh to become tourism locality

PM Nguyen Xuan Phuc in a working session with Hoa Binh province (Photo: VNA)

The northern mountainous province of Hoa Binh should bring into play the full potential of its land, people and culture to become a tourism locality, Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc said in a working session with local officials on December 11.

Hoa Binh province has huge potential for tourism development as it is known for being the cradle of ancient Vietnamese with cultures of the Muong ethnics- Muong Bi, Muong Vang, Muong Thang and Muong Dong.

It houses four renowned natural reserves of Ngoc Son-Ngo Luong, Thuong Tien, Hang Kia-Pa Co, and Pu Canh, and the Da River reservoir which is being developed into national tourism site, PM Phuc said.

The local authority needs to improve its underdeveloped tourism infrastructure, he said, adding that the Government always pays due attention to the development and arising issues in the province.

He hailed comprehensive socio-economic development achievements of the province in the past time, with positive changes in culture, society, security and politics.

He advised the province to take advantage of its geographic location of just 30 kilometres from the capital city of Hanoi, for its socio-economic growth.

The locality needs to promote the development of forestry and wood processing industry to contribute to the effort to turn Vietnam into a wooden furniture production centre of the world, he said.

The Government leader asked the province to address its shortcomings, including small-scale business, modest foreign investments, and high proportion of impoverished households.

Hoa Binh is among the provinces with the lowest rankings of the Provincial Competitiveness Index (PCI) as administrative procedures and inspections have caused troubles to local businesses, he underlined.

As part of the efforts to branch out local forestry and high-tech agriculture, the locality must give top priority to come up with a sustainable planning scheme, promote regional linkages, production and value chain as well as enhance market access ability.

PM Phuc asked the locality to outline rational programmes in response to natural disasters and entrusted the Electricity of Vietnam (EVN) to join hands with relevant organisations to ensure safety for local residents in the context of extreme weather.

In 2018, Hoa Binh posted a GRDP growth of 8.36 percent, welcomed around 2.5 million visitors, including 310,000 foreigners. However, the proportion of poor households remains high, at 14.9 percent.

The same day, PM Phuc attended the investment promotion conference of Hoa Binh province in 2018.

VNA