With more than 3,000km of coastline – including dozens of islands andbeautiful beaches – Vietnam should be one of Asia’s top sea tourismdestinations, said the Communist Party of Vietnam (CPV) OnlineNewspaper.
According to the Vietnam National Administration ofTourism (VNAT), the country has over 100 beaches favourable for tourismdevelopment such as Sam Son, Lang Co, Da Nang, Nha Trang, Phan Thiet andVung Tau. Many coastal provinces and cities such as Hai Phong, QuangNinh, Hue, Da Nang and Quang Nam are endowed with stunning naturallandscapes and the country’s coastal areas as a whole boast over 1,400hotels and over 45,000 rooms.
But according to Mai Tien Dung,Deputy Director of the Hanoi municipal Department of Culture, Sports andTourism, sea and island tourism in Vietnam are underdeveloped as thecountry only exploits a small part of its sea and island resources.
Forexample, in the north, Hai Phong authorities have focused all theirenergy on Do Son beach, ignoring other locations, while Quang Ninh hasfocused mainly on promoting Ha Long Bay without exploiting otherdestinations. Only recently have strategic tourism programmes begun inQuang Ninh’s Bai Tu Long Bay and Co To Island.
Tourism expertshave praised recent moves to make Co To a more popular destination, butthey say many necessities are still lacking there.
“Compared toother islands, Co To has a big advantage because it has been connectedto the national power grid. However, power still does not reach alllocations on the island, including beaches,” said Dung.
“Cleanwater accommodations still fail to meet standards. Other services suchas entertainment and shopping are very limited [on Co To]."
NguyenDuc Thanh, Chairman of the Co To district People’s Committee, saidthere are only five passenger ships from the mainland to the island sothey are often overloaded.
Tourism human resources and manpowerare also lacking. The island district is home to only 30 people trainedin tourism at the intermediate and college levels.
Ly Son Islandin Quang Ngai province, often called "Vietnam’s Jeju", is in a similarsituation as Co To. Currently, the island district has only 12accommodation establishments with about 80 rooms. Moreover, the islandis not connected with the national electricity grid. The island’s lonediesel power plant can only provide power from 5pm to 11pm, an extremeinconvenience for any visitor.
Cruise tourism in Vietnam is also undeveloped because of poor seaport infrastructure, tourism experts said.
Vietnamhas no dedicated port for cruise ships and most ports welcomingtourists were built for cargo ships, therefore, cruises have to berthafar and tourists are taken to the mainland by small boats.
Accordingto Nguyen Cong Hoan, Deputy General Director of Hanoi Red Tours,another important reason for Vietnam’s cruise industry woes is that thehotels and resorts at many would-be cruise destinations are simply notbig enough to accommodate a ship full of visitors. It’s extremelydifficult to find a seaside destination in Vietnam that can provideinternational standard services to 2-5,000 visitors.
"Touristsfrom cruise ships are usually luxury tourists so their demands arerelatively high compared to the general services at these destinations,”said Hoan.
“When a cruise with about 2-3,000visitors arrives, there must be 1-2,000 high-quality rooms available.But in the current condition, hotels and resorts in Vietnam have not metthe demand. This is one of the reasons that cruise companies arereluctant to take visitors to Vietnam.”
Asia is an attractivedestination for cruises thanks to its many modern seaports. Vietnam iseasy to access and is connected to modernized international seaportcentres such as Hong Kong and Singapore, which serve cruises to Asia.Many famous cruise companies in the world have arrived in Vietnam suchas Star Cruises, Phoenix Cruises, Orion Expedition Cruises, Super StarAquarius. But there are only a few places these ships can visit inVietnam so far, according to tourism experts.
Analysts say thatnot investing in cruise tourism development could mean squandering thepotential of Vietnam’s natural coastline.
To exploit thestrengths and potentials of sea and island tourism in Vietnam, theGovernment’s project on tourism development with a vision to 2030includes a strategy to promote sea and island tourism development in thecoming years.
It is hoped that when the project is implemented,Vietnam’s target of becoming the nation with the most developed seatourism in the region will come true in the future.-VNA
According to the Vietnam National Administration ofTourism (VNAT), the country has over 100 beaches favourable for tourismdevelopment such as Sam Son, Lang Co, Da Nang, Nha Trang, Phan Thiet andVung Tau. Many coastal provinces and cities such as Hai Phong, QuangNinh, Hue, Da Nang and Quang Nam are endowed with stunning naturallandscapes and the country’s coastal areas as a whole boast over 1,400hotels and over 45,000 rooms.
But according to Mai Tien Dung,Deputy Director of the Hanoi municipal Department of Culture, Sports andTourism, sea and island tourism in Vietnam are underdeveloped as thecountry only exploits a small part of its sea and island resources.
Forexample, in the north, Hai Phong authorities have focused all theirenergy on Do Son beach, ignoring other locations, while Quang Ninh hasfocused mainly on promoting Ha Long Bay without exploiting otherdestinations. Only recently have strategic tourism programmes begun inQuang Ninh’s Bai Tu Long Bay and Co To Island.
Tourism expertshave praised recent moves to make Co To a more popular destination, butthey say many necessities are still lacking there.
“Compared toother islands, Co To has a big advantage because it has been connectedto the national power grid. However, power still does not reach alllocations on the island, including beaches,” said Dung.
“Cleanwater accommodations still fail to meet standards. Other services suchas entertainment and shopping are very limited [on Co To]."
NguyenDuc Thanh, Chairman of the Co To district People’s Committee, saidthere are only five passenger ships from the mainland to the island sothey are often overloaded.
Tourism human resources and manpowerare also lacking. The island district is home to only 30 people trainedin tourism at the intermediate and college levels.
Ly Son Islandin Quang Ngai province, often called "Vietnam’s Jeju", is in a similarsituation as Co To. Currently, the island district has only 12accommodation establishments with about 80 rooms. Moreover, the islandis not connected with the national electricity grid. The island’s lonediesel power plant can only provide power from 5pm to 11pm, an extremeinconvenience for any visitor.
Cruise tourism in Vietnam is also undeveloped because of poor seaport infrastructure, tourism experts said.
Vietnamhas no dedicated port for cruise ships and most ports welcomingtourists were built for cargo ships, therefore, cruises have to berthafar and tourists are taken to the mainland by small boats.
Accordingto Nguyen Cong Hoan, Deputy General Director of Hanoi Red Tours,another important reason for Vietnam’s cruise industry woes is that thehotels and resorts at many would-be cruise destinations are simply notbig enough to accommodate a ship full of visitors. It’s extremelydifficult to find a seaside destination in Vietnam that can provideinternational standard services to 2-5,000 visitors.
"Touristsfrom cruise ships are usually luxury tourists so their demands arerelatively high compared to the general services at these destinations,”said Hoan.
“When a cruise with about 2-3,000visitors arrives, there must be 1-2,000 high-quality rooms available.But in the current condition, hotels and resorts in Vietnam have not metthe demand. This is one of the reasons that cruise companies arereluctant to take visitors to Vietnam.”
Asia is an attractivedestination for cruises thanks to its many modern seaports. Vietnam iseasy to access and is connected to modernized international seaportcentres such as Hong Kong and Singapore, which serve cruises to Asia.Many famous cruise companies in the world have arrived in Vietnam suchas Star Cruises, Phoenix Cruises, Orion Expedition Cruises, Super StarAquarius. But there are only a few places these ships can visit inVietnam so far, according to tourism experts.
Analysts say thatnot investing in cruise tourism development could mean squandering thepotential of Vietnam’s natural coastline.
To exploit thestrengths and potentials of sea and island tourism in Vietnam, theGovernment’s project on tourism development with a vision to 2030includes a strategy to promote sea and island tourism development in thecoming years.
It is hoped that when the project is implemented,Vietnam’s target of becoming the nation with the most developed seatourism in the region will come true in the future.-VNA
