Hanoi (VNA) – Ha Tien city and Kien Luong district in the Mekong Delta province of Kien Giang have yet to fully tap their potential for tourism due to the lack of policies to attract investments in local infrastructure, especially routes linking these localities with Phu Quoc island district and the southern metropolis of Ho Chi Minh City.
Visitors to the Hon Phu Tu tourist site in Kien Luong district (Photo: VNA)
The Ha Tien-Kien Luong region is home to Hai Tac (in Ha Tien) and Ba Lua (in Kien Luong) archipelagoes with more than 70 islands that create “Ha Long Bay in South Vietnam,” limestone mountains running along beaches, caves and other tourist sites.
Tens of trillions of Vietnam dong poured into real estate in Ha Tien
According to Ha Tien’s planning bureau, by 2020, the city is set to accommodate 210 projects, including Bai No Port (419 billion VND), Mui Nai-Nui Den tourist site (300 billion VND), Ta Lu-Mui Nai tourist site (100 billion VND), and Nam Ha Tien tourist site (918 billion VND), among others.
Tran Thai Group has invested in the Dong Ho Cultural Park and Eco-Village covering 33 hectares in Dong Ho ward.
Other major groups have also landed in Ha Tien to build commercial centres, and implement real estate projects in service of leisure purposes at Ong Cop Cape, Hai Tac (Pirate) archipelago and the Ha Tien new urban area.
Apart from real estate, the city has also attracted huge investments in industry, with the most noteworthy a high-tech complex developing the largest shrimp value chain in Southeast Asia. Located in Ha Tien, Kien Luong and Gia Thanh districts, the complex is expected to employ about 40,000 workers, with total export value exceeding 2 billion USD each year.
Synchronous solutions for tourism development
Apart from landscape, the Ha Tien-Kien Luong region is home to special culture and festivals. Besides, the Ha Tien international border gate has served as a destination of shopping tourism for visitors from Cambodia and Thailand.
Tourists at Hang Pagoda in the Hon Phu Tu tourist site, Kien Luong district (Photo: VNA)
However, the region has yet to fully tap its potential, which requires synchronous and effective solutions to boost local tourism in a sustainable way.
Experts pointed out the lack of specific policies to attract investments in upgrading and developing local infrastructure, especially routes linking the region and Phu Quoc island district and the southern metropolis of Ho Chi Minh City, as well as investments in technical infrastructure and local tourism products.
Other problems lie with tourism promotion, the shortage of tourism workers and the low quality of tourism products and services.
Nguyen Van Xuan, Vice Chairman of the People’s Committee of Ha Tien, said Ha Tien aims to welcome about 3 million domestic and foreign holiday-makers by 2025.
To that end, the locality has mobilised investments in infrastructure, with attention paid to the transport sector, especially downgraded National Highway 80.
Ha Tien is calling for investors in tourism, especially strategic and professional ones, and working hard to enhance connectivity with other localities and the neighbouring country of Cambodia.
Ha Tien city has a total area of 100.49 sq.km. It borders Giang Thanh district to the east, the Gulf of Thailand to the west, Kien Luong district to the south and Cambodia to the north.
The city encompasses Binh San, Dong Ho, My Duc, Phao Dai and To Chau wards, and Thuan Yen and Tien Hai communes.
Kien Giang provinces welcomed about 7.6 million tourist arrivals in 2018, including 580,000 foreigners, up 25.5 percent and 57 percent against last year, respectively.
According to the provincial Tourism Department, besides Phu Quoc island - one of the hottest holiday spots in Vietnam in recent years, Kien Giang’s other destinations such as Nam Du and Lai Son islands in Kien Hai district, Ba Lua island in Kien Luong district and Hai Tac island in Ha Tien city have become more popular to both domestic and foreign visitors.
The quality of services at tourist attractions has been improved, and tourism promotion activities intensified.
The locality is also speeding up construction of tourism development projects, especially those on Phu Quoc. This year, an expanded terminal was inaugurated at Phu Quoc International Airport, helping raise the airport’s capacity from 2.6 million to 4 million passengers a year.
Next year, the southern province hopes to serve 8.3 million holiday-makers. To that end, it will intensify tourism promotion at home and abroad, while focusing resources on upgrading infrastructure, improving the quality of products as well as the capacity of human resources working in this field.
The province will also put forward preferential policies to attract more investors to local tourism./.
