Quang Ninh (VNA) – With high per capita income and an increasingly synchronised infrastructure system, the tourism hub of Ha Long city in the northern province of Quang Ninh has become an attractive investment destination for many real estate and resort investors.
Ha Long is a must-go place for those who spend holidays in Vietnam, in particular Quang Ninh province, as it is home to Ha Long Bay, a World Natural Heritage Site, which was recognised by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO). Ha Long Bay has been named one of the seven natural masterpieces of the world.
With its strength, Ha Long has a lot of opportunities to grow into a leading tourism hub of the Southeast Asian region.
In the 2011-2016 period, the GDP growth of Quang Ninh province was 1.5 times higher than the country’s average, reaching 10.1 percent in 2016. The locality has recorded a per capita income of over 4,050 USD, which enabled it to stand in the list of the country’s top localities having highest per capita income.
Under the province’s planning to 2030, Quang Ninh has set to become one of the three economic locomotives of the northern region along with Hanoi and the port city of Hai Phong. It also targets a per capita income of 8,000 USD-8,500 USD in 2020 and 20,000 USD in 2030.
In the recent five years, Quang Ninh in general and Ha Long in particular have attracted many domestic real estate giants, including Vingroup, Sungroup, Bim, and FLC, with some outstanding projects, including the 6.5 trillion VND Ha Long Ocean Park of Sungroup, the 7.5 trillion VND Van Don airport, which is designed to serve 2 million passengers per year, and Vinpeal of Vingroup.
Foreign firms have also shown their interest in Ha Long city, including Wyndham and Starwood of the United States. The Wyndham Legend five-star hotel has 217 rooms and Sehraton Halong Bay provides 330 rooms and apartments.
These real estate facilities have mostly focused on resort and hotel segments, looking to prepare for welcoming the increasing number of tourists to the province and Ha Long.
Last year, Ha Long welcomed 6.3 million tourists and earned 7.7 trillion VND (over 338 million USD) in revenue, respective increases of 14 percent and 65 percent from the previous year. About 2.7 million of the visitors were foreigners, a year-on-year growth of 16 percent.
The number of tourists to this city also increased sharply from the outset of 2017, surpassing 660,000 during the Lunar New Year holiday alone – up 15 percent from the same period last year.
The municipal administration said it has worked to diversify and improve tourism products, upgrade infrastructure, and better tourism workers’ capacity. The sense of responsibility of local residents and service providers has also been improved.
Ha Long also helped to organise some activities of the Ha Long-Quang Ninh Tourism Week, the Yen Tu cherry-yellow apricot flower festival, Ha Long Carnival, the festival of Tran Quoc Nghien Temple, and a spring flower festival, thereby creating interesting tourism products.-VNA
VNA