Binh Thuan – bright spot on Vietnam’s tourism map

Binh Thuan (VNA) – Over the past two years, the south central province of Binh Thuan has made use of its strengths to become a bright spot on Vietnam’s tourism map.

Ngo Minh Chinh, Director of the provincial Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism, said in the period, Binh Thuan has focused on the planning of coastal areas, accelerated the implementation of tourism projects and reclaimed unfeasible ones.

The province is running 378 valid tourism projects with total registered capital of 59 trillion VND (2.53 billion USD), covering 6,300 hectares of land.

Apart from 490 accommodation establishments with 15,000 rooms, and 860 houses and villas in service of holiday-makers, Binh Thuan boasts stable railway and maritime transport systems.

According to Nguyen Van Khoa, President of the provincial Tourism Association, in 2018, Binh Thuan welcomed more than 5.7 million tourists, up 12.8 percent year-on-year, with foreign arrivals reaching 675,000, up 14.3 percent.

Foreign visitors to Binh Thuan mainly came from Russia, China, the Republic of Korea, the UK, France and Germany.

Last year, the province earned 12.8 trillion VND (550.4 million USD) from tourism services in the year, up 18.9 percent against 2017.

Nguyen Ngoc Hai, Chairman of the provincial People’s Committee, said Binh Thuan has become a key national tourism destination with diverse products.

Tourism spurred local economic development, generating jobs for thousands of labourers, especially those in rural and coastal areas, and preserving the historical and cultural values of the locality.

To turn tourism into a spearhead economic sector, Binh Thuan has stepped up investment attraction, accelerated the implementation of expressway projects and intensified tourism connectivity with the Central Highlands province of Lam Dong, other south central provinces and Ho Chi Minh City.

The locality aims to serve 7 million travellers by 2020 and earn 18.3 trillion VND (786.9 million USD) from the tourism sector, which is expected to contribute about 10 percent of the province’s gross regional domestic product.

Binh Thuan has a coastline of 192km, with various beautiful landscapes such as Mui Yen, Cau isle, Ke Ga lighthouse, Ganh Son, Gieng Tien, and the Hon Cau Marine Protected Area where hundreds of rare species live.

In addition, Binh Thuan boasts Phu Quy island which is known as “the pearl in the middle of the sea” and located about 56 nautical miles off the coast. Meanwhile, Mui Ne beach, with its warm and windy climate, has served as a venue for well-known surfers from the UK, France, Russia, Germany, and Australia.-VNA