Binh Thuan - green tourism model in South Central coastal region

Binh Thuan (VNA) – The south central province of Binh Thuan, host of the 2023 National Tourism Year, has recorded rapid development this year, realising most tourism targets ahead of schedule.

Deputy Director of Binh Thuan’s Department of Culture, Sport and Tourism Nguyen Lan Ngoc talked to VietnamPlus about the province’s success in tourism.

Reporter: The 2023 National Tourism Year, themed “Binh Thuan – Green Convergence” has almost come to an end. How do you assess the performance of Binh Thuan’s tourism sector during the year?

Nguyen Lan Ngoc: Binh Thuan is honoured to be the host of the 2023 National Tourism Year themed “Binh Thuan – Green Convergence”. Hundreds of activities were organised across the country and especially in the province. By this time, we have basically completed the set agenda, with visible outcomes.

Through the results, we can see that the hosting of the National Tourism Year has created consensus and stirred up pride among local people to introduce the province’s attractions to domestic and foreign visitors.

Deputy Director of Binh Thuan’s Department of Culture, Sport and Tourism Nguyen Lan Ngoc (Photo: VietnamPlus)

After just nine months, the province’s tourism sector had surpassed the goals set for the entire 2023. Specifically, Binh Thuan welcomed nearly 7 million visitors in the first nine months of the year (up 75% from the same period in 2022), equivalent to 104% of the yearly target. Foreign visitors topped 200,000, up four-fold year on year.

Revenues from tourism activities were estimated at over 17.67 trillion VND (727.67 million USD at current exchange rate), nearly doubling the figure of the same period last year and surpassing the yearly plan by 7.1%.

With such results, we have completed the yearly plan three months ahead of schedule.

The results can be attributed to the provincial tourism sector’s promotional activities and large-scale events, particularly those in response to the 2023 National Tourism Year themed “Binh Thuan – Green Convergence”.

Binh Thuan has focused on promoting green and sustainable tourism, contributing to creating breakthroughs in local tourism and socioeconomic development.

Among more than 200 events and activities in the programme of the 2023 National Tourism Year, Binh Thuan organised 31 cultural, sport and tourism events at inter-provincial, national and international levels.

Bau Trang in Hoa Thang commune (Bac Binh district) is a crowd-drawing destination (Photo: VNA)

Reporter: Binh Thuan was successful in mobilising social resources for local activities. What has the province done to attract investors in local tourism? What difficulties did the province find in this field?

Nguyen Lan Ngoc: Public-private partnership has become a trend in many fields and our province has also paid attention to attracting investment from all sectors in culture-sport-tourism. Binh Thuan took the approach of promoting cooperation between the State and the business community when organising tourism events.

We also worked with other provinces in organising sport and tourism festivals and events with a view to raising the scale of the events and drawing more visitors to Binh Thuan.

So far, we have not encountered any problems in cooperating with the private sector. Our coordination is smooth, with the State side facilitating and supporting the business side in organising work.

Reporter: Binh Thuan began to develop sea tourism later than other localities, but the province has managed to attract many big investors in building quality seaside resorts. What is your assessment of the operation of the high-end resort segment in the province, and the attraction of international visitors?

Nguyen Lan Ngoc: With our advantage in transport infrastructure, particularly after Binh Thuan officially commissioned the Phan Thiet-Dau Giay expressway connecting the province with Ho Chi Minh City and other southern localities, Binh Thuan has seen many big investors arrive to survey and seek investment opportunities.

Sea tourism in Binh Thuan appeals to domestic tourists. (Photo: Collaborator/VietnamPlus)

Those investors were planning for large-scale projects with diverse services so Binh Thuan will go in the direction of attracting high-end visitors who are willing to spend and stay longer.

Like other localities in the country, attracting international tourists is one of the main goals for Binh Thuan. There are two obvious tourism seasons in the province, one of domestic travelers and the other of international arrivals.

For the international market, Binh Thuan strives to design suitable policies, plans and products to attract visitors from different countries. 

We offer international visitors a chance to tour and explore local culture, especially the culture of the Cham ethnic group with visits to ancient towers and temples, as well as local life with activities in fishing and craft villages.  

Visitors can enjoy various sport and entertainment activities such as surfing, kitesurfing, SUP, along with memorable experiences on the local sand dunes.

In addition, our standard golf courses can meet the needs of high-end visitors for both sport and relaxation or MICE tours.

Reporter: Thank you