An overview of the meeting (Photo: VNA) London (VNA) – The northern province of Quang Ninh held a tourism promotion programme in London, the UK, on May 14.
She said that in the future, the province will coordinate with the British side to build high-quality tourism products to meet British tourists’ demand.
Quang Ninh hopes to learn from the UK’s experience in developing sustainable tourism and green tourism.
Vietnamese Ambassador to the UK Tran Ngoc An said that in recent years, Quang Ninh’s infrastructure development has made it easier for tourists to reach the locality, especially Ha Long Bay – a UNESCO-recognised World Natural Heritage Site.
Along with Ha Long Bay, Quang Ninh is home many impressive landscapes such as Bai Tu Long Bay, Tuan Chau peninsula, Quan Lan, Co To islands, Yen Tu mountain and Tra Co beach, the diplomat noted.
Edward Vazey, UK Prime Minister’s Trade Envoy to Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia, said Vietnam is an attractive destination for tourists who travel to Southeast Asia.
Vazey lauded the service quality of Vietnam Airlines on the London-Hanoi direct route.
Director of the Quang Ninh Department of Tourism Pham Ngoc Thuy detailed the major tourism products of Quang Ninh, including sea, cultural, spiritual and border tourism for participants.
He stated that the province has lured many tourism projects which have helped it enhance service quality for visitors who can reach the locality through roads, flights or ships.
Richard Skinner from the UK’s Responsible Travel said that Quang Ninh should focus on expanding community-based tourism to ensure sustainable development and bring benefits to locals.
Quang Ninh is endowed with natural advantages for sea and island tourism. It has a coastline of more than 250 kilometres and more than 2,000 islands and islets which account for two-thirds of the total number in Vietnam.
It is home to popular destinations such as Ha Long Bay, Bai Tu Long, Ha Long Bay National Park and some islands.
In particular, Ha Long Bay literally “descending dragon bay”, was twice recognised as a World Natural Heritage site by UNESCO in 1994 and 2000.
The bay spans 1,553 square kilometres and includes 1,969 islands of various sizes.
It features thousands of limestone karsts and islets in various shapes and sizes. The limestone in the bay has gone through 500 million years of formation in different conditions and environments.
The geo-diversity of the environment has created biodiversity, including a tropical evergreen biosystem, oceanic and sea biosystem.
In 2018, Ha Long Bay made it into the top 15 Instagrammed global cruise destinations based on a survey of 1.8 million posts tagged on various ships and ports by travel cruise site SeaHub.
Located 80 km from the mainland, Co To island is another attraction in Quang Ninh. The island district comprises Co To Lon (large Co To island), Co To Be (small Co To island) and 15 smaller islands.
Besides enchanting beaches, the island has natural forests, lighthouses, parks, wharves, fishing villages, bays and a rock garden.
Located in Bai Tu Long Bay, Quan Lan Island in Van Don district has become an ideal destination in summer holidays thanks to its pristine beauty, clear blue seawater and fine white sand bank stretching along the green rows of casuarinas.
Last year, Quang Ninh hosted the National Tourism Year 2018 under the theme “Ha Long-Heritage, Wonder, Friendly Destination”. The province welcomed 12.3 million visitors, including 5.2 million foreigners, and earned 24 trillion VND (1.03 billion USD) in tourism revenue.
The operation of the Van Don International Airport in December 2018 is expected to help Quang Ninh achieve its target of welcoming 15-16 million tourists, including 7 million foreigners, by 2020 and 30 million arrivals, including 15 million foreigners, by 2030.
Therefore, local authorities have been offering many incentives to promote the launch of flights to the airport, the first of its kind invested by a private business in Vietnam.
Passengers on flights to Van Don can visit a number of local attractions including the complex of Yen Tu monuments and landscapes, the world natural heritage site of Ha Long Bay, and Bai Tu Long Bay free of charge within 30 days since their arrival at this airport.-VNA
