Bac Giang looks at ways to expand tourism potential to build economy

Bac Giang (VNA) – The northern province of Bac Giang is promoting its tourism sector by accelerating tourism-related activities to attract more visitors, said Tran Minh Ha, director of the provincial Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism.

Accordingly, it will expand access to ecological tourism, outdoor cultural events, sports and entertainment spaces, and unique cultural and historical relics.

Priority will be given to developing tourist sites to connect regional as well as inter-regional travel corridors and tours that would see Bac Giang team up with Hanoi, Lang Son, Quang Ninh, and Thai Nguyen, he said.

In the future, the province will pour capital to expand five tourism spaces, including Tay Yen Tu in Son Dong, Luc Nam, Luc Ngan and Yen Dung districts; agro-ecological tourism space; tourism space associated with Yen The Uprising; space for tourism, sports and entertainment services; and the Quan ho (love duet) cultural space.

It will also strive to complete the construction of the Tay Yen Tu spiritual and ecological tourism complex, and invite investors to build sports, resort and spiritual entertainment complexes as well as hi-end hotels in Bac Giang city.

Ha went on to say that from now until the end of 2022, the province will actively respond to the "Vietnamese people travel in Vietnam", "Bac Giang people travel in Bac Giang", "Scent of Summer Luc Ngan" programmes and Sweet Fruit Week 2022.

The provincial Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism will coordinate relevant agencies in reviewing the quality of service to improve upon the already outstanding tourism products.

The number of visitors to the province was estimated at 900,000 in the first six months of this year, up 80% compared to the same period last year. Of which, international tourists reached 11,000, up 55% year-on-year and domestic visitors hit 889,000, an increase 75% year-on-year. Room occupancy was estimated at 75%.

The province is striving to turn tourism into one of its pillar economies.

During the 2016-2020 period, tourism became an important economy with a high proportion in local economic structure. The total number of tourist arrivals was estimated at nearly 7.7 million, including around 83,000 foreigners and some 7.6 million domestic visitors earning over 4 trillion VND (171 million USD).

Since 2016, the provincial People’s Committee approved a policy of investing in six tourism projects worth over 2.545 trillion VND. These included Tay Yen Tu spiritual - ecological tourism project worth more than 1.48 trillion VND; Bac Ha hotel valued at around 40 billion VND in Bac Giang city; Bac Ha – Yen Tu rest stop worth nearly 36 billion VND in Tuan Mau commune, Son Dong district and Sun Resort worth 40 billion VND in Yen Lu commune, Yen Dung district.

The province also added new sites, including the Khe Hang Dau ecological area worth over 497 billion VND in Nham Son commune, Yen Dung district, and a smart hotel and shopping mall complex worth 450 billion VND on Nguyen Van Cu street, Bac Giang city.

Bac Giang province possesses huge potential to build various kinds of tourism products. For example, the Lang Son-Hanoi-Hai Phong-Quang Ninh economic corridor has stunning natural landscapes like Tay Yen Tu Natural Reserve, Khe Ro primitive forest, Dong Cao plateau, and Khuon Than lake.

Bac Giang is preserving a number of special cultural heritages, four of which were recognised by UNESCO as intangible cultural heritages. These include the stunning and emotional Quan Ho folk songs which are unique to Bac Giang and worthy of branding as a tourism draw in their own right. More musical features of the region include the Ca Tru (ceremonial singing), Then singing and Vinh Nghiem pagoda’s woodblock.

The province is home to nearly 2,300 historical and cultural relics and a large number of beautiful landscapes. These features are in play to develop numerous tourism models such as eco-tourism, resorts, spiritual tourism and craft village tourism.

Bac Giang province has tremendous possibilities to connect its tourism attractions with key tourism sites in the north such as Mau Son (Lang Son province), Nui Coc Lake (Thai Nguyen province), Ban Gioc waterfall (Cao Bang province), Ha Long Bay (Quang Ninh province), and Con Son-Kiep Bac (Hai Duong province)./.