Hanoi (VNA) - The Ba Ria - Vung Tau Tourism Week 2023 began on November 17 with an art performance programme in Cot Co Park, Vung Tau city of the southern province of Ba Ria - Vung Tau.
The programme began with the performance of 200 light drones forming 11 images during more than 14 minutes. Images creating multi-colour visual effects came first, followed by images of iconic symbols of the province such as the Hai Dang lighthouse, a cruise ship, an oil rig, the province's logo and the map of Con Dao island, among others.
The Ba Ria - Vung Tau Tourism Week 2023 themed “LET’S GO!!! Ba Ria – Vung Tau” will feature a series of activities held at San Ho Xanh tourism site and Cot Co Park in Thuy Van street, and Ho Tram beach in Xuyen Moc district.
Spaces for food and beer exhibition, and a trade fair introducing OCOP products will be organised in Vung Tau city throughout the week.
Other activities such as a sand model display, a paragliding show, a kite festival, and a forum on green tourism development are scheduled in the city on November 18-19. Water sports such as Kayaking, and kite flying are taking place on Ho Tram beach.
In the framework of the event, the provincial Department of Tourism in collaboration with SZC Entertainment will host the Vung Tau Discovery Night Run tournament on the nights of November 18 – 19, attracting over 1,300 runners. Meanwhile, a friendship golf tournament gathering over 100 golfers will be held in The Bluffs Grand Ho Tram golf course on November 19.
According to Tran Thi Thu Hien, Deputy Director of the provincial Department of Tourism, Ba Ria-Vung Tau’s tourism industry has recorded strong development recently with many high-quality tourism products that can meet the increasing demand of tourists, contributing to establishing Ba Ria-Vung Tau’s position as one of the dynamic and creative localities in the Southeast region.
Apart from calling for investment in developing quality products to increase the experience for tourists, the local tourism industry is focusing on organising activities and events to create good impression for tourists, she said.
Le Ngoc Khanh, Vice Chairman of the provincial People’s Committee said the locality pays attention to renewing festivals and events with local characteristics.
The provincial Department of Tourism has developed monthly and quarterly tourism programmes, and diversified tourism products to attract more holiday-makers to the locality, he said.
Vung Tau city is aiming to become an international-standard tourism centre.
The city now has more than 1,300 accommodation establishments and over 15,000 rooms, about 850 restaurants and eateries. Typical tourism products vary from resort, swimming combined with MICE (Meeting Incentive Conference Event), sports and mountain climbing, water sports to eco-tourism.
In addition, Vung Tau also owns an 18-hole golf course in the downtown area, attracting high-class golfers at home and abroad.
For tourism products, there are currently 27 investment projects on a total area of 631.46 hectares. Among them, 19 are domestic-invested with a combined capital of 10.2 trillion VND (418 million USD), and eight FDI ones worth 5.86 billion USD. Eight have been put into operation, and five are underway, while the remaining 14 projects are in the process of completing land and construction procedures.
Each year, Vung Tau serves over 6 million domestic and foreign visitors. From 2019, Vung Tau has been recognised as an official member of the Tourism Promotion Organisation for Asia Pacific Cities (TPO). In 2022, Vung Tau was the only locality in Vietnam recognised to meet the ASEAN Clean Tourist City Standard twice.
By October 2023, Ba Ria – Vung Tau welcomed 13 million visitors. It is expected to serve about 14-15 million visitors during 2023./.