Illustrative image (Photo: VNA) HCM City (VNS/VNA) - Quitting his job in HCM City in 2014, Nguyen VanGioi returned to his native Phu Quy Island in the south-central coastalprovince of Binh Thuan to start a homestay service.
“I want more and more people in the country know about myisland like the islands of Phu Quoc, Ly Son and Con Dao,” he says.
When his friends did not know where Phu Quy was on thecountry’s map, he says he would feel “sad”.
“I was determined to make the island famous. I startedwriting about the island’s beauty on a website for people who like to travelwithout using tourist companies and Facebook pages.”
And then he brought several of his friends to the island fora visit and put them up in unused rooms in his house.
Those people went back and told their family and friendsabout a place that has since been hailed as one of the most beautiful islandsin the East Sea by US news site CNN.
High-speed boat services to the island, situated 120km fromthe resort town of Phan Thiet, began last year.
Not surprisingly, it has become a popular destination fortourists, especially young people.
Gioi says: “The island’s inhabitants arehospitable to tourists. In the past, travelling from the island to the mainlandwas difficult so they were happy if anyone visited them. The hospitableattitude keeps tourists returning.”
Many young people who want to travel to the island call Gioito ask for information and book his homestay service. He is one of the firstfew people to offer homestay on the island.
According to statistics from the island People’s Committee,the number of tourists coming to the island has risen this year. Last year, itreceived 16,500 visitors, and in the first five months of this year thenumber was 10,000, including nearly 2,000 foreigners.
Ngo Tan Luc, the committee’s vice chairman, says the homestayservices have been developed to provide enough accommodation for tourists,many of them by young locals.
Twenty households have been licensed to provide the services.
“Homestay services help the island develop tourismsustainably and not have adverse impacts on the landscape and environment,” Lucsays.
So authorities plan to develop them professionally by gettingexperts to provide training, he says, adding that young owners have also beentrained to become professional tour guides.
Gioi says that following the training, the people providinghomestay services have linked up and share guests in case their place is full.
“Sharing helps serve tourists well. Besides traditionalfishing and purchase of seafood, tourism and homestay are new occupations forlocal residents to earn an income.”
Loan of the HCM City University of Sciences and Humanitiessaid tourism is one of the five industries fetching the highest foreignexchange earnings for the country annually, leading to a boom in theaccommodation business, especially homestays.
Many young people offer homestay services by taking advantageof unused rooms in their house and offering to tourists who want to stay withlocals when travelling.
Some others even rent apartments and houses to tourists,she said.
According to statistics from accommodation-sharing siteAirBnB, 25,000 households in the city offered rooms to tourists as of June lastyear.
The accommodation business accounts for nearly 70 percent ofthe tourism industry’s revenues, Loan said.
According to the Vietnam National Administration of Tourism,the number of accommodation business establishments in the country increasedfrom 9,080 in 2007 to 25,600, including homestays, in 2017.
The northern region accounted for 45 percent of them, thehighest in the country, followed by the central and southern regions.
Phu Quoc Island and the cities of Ha Long, Hanoi, Hue,Nha Trang, Phan Thiet, Da Nang and Ho Chi Minh City have the highestnumber of such establishments in the country.
At a recent conference in HCM City on developing tourism,Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc said community-based tourism, includinghomestays, should be encouraged by local authorities around the country becauseit could help develop tourism in the most sustainable manner.
Local people have the deepest understanding of culture andhistory, and would be the best tour guides, he added. –VNS/VNA
“I want more and more people in the country know about myisland like the islands of Phu Quoc, Ly Son and Con Dao,” he says.
When his friends did not know where Phu Quy was on thecountry’s map, he says he would feel “sad”.
“I was determined to make the island famous. I startedwriting about the island’s beauty on a website for people who like to travelwithout using tourist companies and Facebook pages.”
And then he brought several of his friends to the island fora visit and put them up in unused rooms in his house.
Those people went back and told their family and friendsabout a place that has since been hailed as one of the most beautiful islandsin the East Sea by US news site CNN.
High-speed boat services to the island, situated 120km fromthe resort town of Phan Thiet, began last year.
Not surprisingly, it has become a popular destination fortourists, especially young people.
Gioi says: “The island’s inhabitants arehospitable to tourists. In the past, travelling from the island to the mainlandwas difficult so they were happy if anyone visited them. The hospitableattitude keeps tourists returning.”
Many young people who want to travel to the island call Gioito ask for information and book his homestay service. He is one of the firstfew people to offer homestay on the island.
According to statistics from the island People’s Committee,the number of tourists coming to the island has risen this year. Last year, itreceived 16,500 visitors, and in the first five months of this year thenumber was 10,000, including nearly 2,000 foreigners.
Ngo Tan Luc, the committee’s vice chairman, says the homestayservices have been developed to provide enough accommodation for tourists,many of them by young locals.
Twenty households have been licensed to provide the services.
“Homestay services help the island develop tourismsustainably and not have adverse impacts on the landscape and environment,” Lucsays.
So authorities plan to develop them professionally by gettingexperts to provide training, he says, adding that young owners have also beentrained to become professional tour guides.
Gioi says that following the training, the people providinghomestay services have linked up and share guests in case their place is full.
“Sharing helps serve tourists well. Besides traditionalfishing and purchase of seafood, tourism and homestay are new occupations forlocal residents to earn an income.”
Loan of the HCM City University of Sciences and Humanitiessaid tourism is one of the five industries fetching the highest foreignexchange earnings for the country annually, leading to a boom in theaccommodation business, especially homestays.
Many young people offer homestay services by taking advantageof unused rooms in their house and offering to tourists who want to stay withlocals when travelling.
Some others even rent apartments and houses to tourists,she said.
According to statistics from accommodation-sharing siteAirBnB, 25,000 households in the city offered rooms to tourists as of June lastyear.
The accommodation business accounts for nearly 70 percent ofthe tourism industry’s revenues, Loan said.
According to the Vietnam National Administration of Tourism,the number of accommodation business establishments in the country increasedfrom 9,080 in 2007 to 25,600, including homestays, in 2017.
The northern region accounted for 45 percent of them, thehighest in the country, followed by the central and southern regions.
Phu Quoc Island and the cities of Ha Long, Hanoi, Hue,Nha Trang, Phan Thiet, Da Nang and Ho Chi Minh City have the highestnumber of such establishments in the country.
At a recent conference in HCM City on developing tourism,Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc said community-based tourism, includinghomestays, should be encouraged by local authorities around the country becauseit could help develop tourism in the most sustainable manner.
Local people have the deepest understanding of culture andhistory, and would be the best tour guides, he added. –VNS/VNA
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