A corner of Cat Ba town in Hai Phong (Photo: VNA)Hanoi (VNA) – Favourable transport infrastructure and beautiful landscapes areexpected to boost tourism in the northern port city of Hai Phong.
Cat Bi International Airport and the Hanoi-Hai Phong expressway, which were putinto service in early 2016, have helped cut travel time from Hanoi to HaiPhong.
Direct flights between Hai Phong and foreign countries like Thailand and theRepublic of Korea, or localities such as Ho Chi Minh City and Phu Quoc islanddistrict in Kien Giang province in the south, Da Lat city in the CentralHighlands province of Lam Dong, and Nha Trang city in the central coastalprovince of Khanh Hoa, have been launched.
Along with favourable transport infrastructure, efforts made by agencies intourism and the involvement of big investors have turned Hai Phong into apopular tourist destination.
At a workshop on Hai Phong tourism held by the municipal Department of Tourism,leading experts in this field across the country discussed promoting localtourism through social communication and developing standard tourism products.
Various tourism promotion activities have been conducted in Cat Hai district,which is the administrative management unit of Cat Ba archipelago – anattractive tourist site with leisure, exploration and ecological tourism in theCat Ba National Park in the island commune of Viet Hai.
Firms like Vingroup, Sungroup and Him Lam have invested in luxurious resorts inCat Ba and Do Son. Once operational, the projects are expected to become idealdestinations for both domestic and foreign holiday-makers.
According to the Vietnam National Administration of Tourism (VNAT), Hai Phong,particularly Do Son beach town, has experience in tourism development.
The northern port city welcomes a large number of visitors every year. In 2016,the locality is expected to greet 5.7 million tourists, the agency said, notingthat the target is within reach as about 5.6 million tourists visited Hai Phonglast year.
Nguyen Quy Phuong, head of the VNAT’s Travel Department, at a recentworkshop on tourism development in Hai Phong said the city should makebreakthroughs in tourism and consider the sector a driving force for localeconomic development.
He also suggested the city step up State management to synchronously conducttourism activities.
To that end, Hai Phong should revamp the municipal Tourism Department, ensuringit has enough human resources capable of implementing the city’s guidelines andplans, Phuong said.
At the same time, it is necessary to develop spearhead tourism products likeleisure tourism on Cat Ba island in a sustainable manner, he added.
Nguyen Thi Ha, Director of Viettravel Hai Phong, described tourism products asdecisive to tourism promotion, saying Hai Phong should connect with otherlocalities to promote tourism products for the northern coastal region.
Travel companies will introduce products to their customers, she said,underlining the need for Hai Phong to turn itself into an attractive and safedestination different from others in culture and landscape.
Channels should be built and updated with new mechanisms, policies andinformation about tourist attractions and Hai Phong’s connection with foreignand domestic localities, Ha suggested.
In particular, information about Ca Bi International Airport needs to beupdated more regularly for partners and tourists, she added.
Tran Thi Kim Quy, Deputy Director of Hung Vuong Investment JSC - theinvestor of international brand names like Cat Ba Resort and Flamingo Dai Laiin the northern province of Vinh Phuc, said Cat Ba archipelago has advantagesfor tourism development with the most noteworthy being its biodiversity and CaiBeo, the most ancient fishing village in Vietnam.
However, Cat Ba has failed to fully tap its potential, she said, suggesting HaiPhong extend the duration of tourism projects in the islands to 70 years andshorten the time for administrative procedures while upgrading infrastructurein Cat Ba.-VNA
VNA
