Quang Ninh looks to become four-season destination

The tourism sector of the northern coastal province of Quang Ninh is diversifying its products based on local advantages with a focus on enhancing tourists’ experience towards the goal of becoming a four-season destination.

Part of Sun World Ha Long Park, a tourist attraction in Quang Ninh province (Photo: VNA)

Chairman of the provincial People’s Committee Nguyen Tuong Van said the province aims to attract 10 million tourists this year, including 1.5 million foreign visitors.

To achieve this goal, Quang Ninh is implementing a host of solutions, one of which is to continue investing in infrastructure, especially accommodations and tourist sites, in order to create the best services for visitors.

The province will continue to diversify tourism products in the direction of developing sea-island tourism, trade tourism, health care tourism and MICE (Meeting, Incentives, Conference and Exhibition) tourism.

Spiritual tourism attracts visitors not only in spring

Quang Ninh has an advantage in spiritual tourism which can attract visitors not only in spring but all the year round, as the province is home to the Yen Tu historical relic and landscape area on Yen Tu mountain, the birth place of Truc Lam - the Vietnamese Zen Buddhism founded by King-Monk Tran Nhan Tong (1258 - 1308). It was also associated with the formation and development of the Tran Dynasty (1225 - 1400). The site boasts harmonious combination of natural landscapes and architectural structures with special values.

Yen Tu is not the only spiritual destination in Quang Ninh. Many temples  and historical sites in the province are well known among people nationwide, like the Tran Dynasty Historical Relics in Dong Trieu district, Cai Bau pagoda, or Cua Ong –Cap Tien temple.

Summer is the peak time for sea – island tourism

Sea tourism will continue to be the biggest driver for Quang Ninh tourism, with several records made recently.

As of the end of July, Ha Long city, home to the famous Ha Long Bay, a World Cultural Heritage site, served 4.7 million visitors, equal to 104.4% of the figure projected in the best scenario for the year. It earned an estimated 9.25 trillion VND (390 million USD) in tourism revenue, 415% of the figure in the same period last year.

Meanwhile, the province recorded 6.9 million tourists in the period, up 268% year on year, and total revenue of 14.68 trillion VND, an increase of 296%.

For sustainable development of sea tourism and preventing the problem of overloading in summer and few visitors in winter, the tourism sector of Quang Ninh has consulted foreign experts.

Dr. Celal Kaplan from Kiran Consulting Group, which is conducting a survey on evaluation of Ha Long Bay’s tourism capacity, affirmed that the bay is facing localized overloading in some attraction sites at certain times. To prevent the situation, the city needs to apply smart management tools to regulate the volume of boats and passengers on the bay.

Keeping visitor flows in autumn and winter

After August, the volume of domestic travelers to Quang Ninh will drop significantly. Tourism businesses should upgrade available products while developing new ones, continue to improve service quality, and give tourism personnel training, in order to attract visitors, both domestic and international, and maintain the pace of recovery.

Aware that connectivity will be useful for recovery, the Quang Ninh tourism sector is intensifying advertisement and promotion activities in adjacent localities and across the country. In August, the provincial tourism department and tourism association held discussions with their counterparts in Da Nang city on resuming the Van Don – Da Nang air service.

In October, Quang Ninh will host the 17th General Assembly of the East Asia Inter-Regional Tourism Forum (EATOF), which will be an opportunity for the province to enhance its linkage with EATOF member countries, contributing to tourism recovery in the new normal./.

VNA