Quang Ninh protects Ha Long Bay environment

 

 

Northern Quang Ninh province is taking a number of urgent measures to protect Ha Long Bay’s natural environment, said Deputy Chairman of the provincial People’s Committee Dang Huy Hau on November 14. 

Local authorities will ban the handling of cargo in bulk in the area, and treat wastewater and sewage discharged into the bay by 2013. They will also minimise the encroachment to the sea, closely monitor industrial production establishments and urban projects, and raise the public’s awareness of environmental protection. 

The province will establish an association charged with educating people on environmental matters that affect the Ha Long Bay area, act as an advisor to issue an exclusive decree on Ha Long Bay management and install environmental observation stations around Ha Long Bay. 

By June 2014, the locality will complete the relocation of people living in the bay and arrange resettlement for mainlanders. 

Coal will be transported by covered conveyer belts instead of roads, and coal screening mills relocated far from the bay, and open-air mining of the fuel ended by 2017. 

The activities aim to develop local tourism in a sustainable manner for the future.

Source: VNA

 

HCM City the convergent point of tourism promoters

 

 

A number of programs are hosted in coincidence with the Travel Expo HCMC 2012 (ITE HCMC) from Thursday to Saturday.

Tomorrow India will kick off its tourism promotions in the city with road shows introducing the country’s tourism at the Sofitel Saigon Plaza followed by the Cambodian night on Thursday. In addition, local tourism promotion agencies from Haiphong, Khanh Hoa or Binh Phuoc will also organize scores of other events in HCMC to promote images, events and new products of their localities.

The city has become the focus of tourism marketing activities as the number of agencies engaged in international travel here makes up nearly a half of the total number of tourism companies nationwide. Up to 435 foreign tour operators and 324 domestic ones are present in HCMC, with most of the country’s leading enterprises based in the city.

The number of foreign arrivals to the city accounts for about 58% of the total while the number of domestic visitors of the city also grows by 20-30% annually.

A lot of tourism firms in HCMC have become the major ones to take travelers to other provinces. According to the departments of Culture, Sports and Tourism of Lam Dong and Binh Thuan provinces, the majority of visitors to their localities are handled by city-based tourism companies. In Lam Dong alone, the number of visitors handled by travel agencies in HCMC amount to up to 45% of the total.

Source: SGT

 

Asian tourists push arrivals up 9.4%

The number of foreign tourists who visited Vietnam reached 4.38 million in the first eight months of this year, up 9.4 percent against the same period last year.

Tourists visit Ha Long Bay

With this result, it is possible for the industry to realise its target of 6.5 million by the end of this year.

The good performance stemmed from the rising figures of some markets. Particularly, visitors from South Korea saw a sharp increase at 34.4 percent from the corresponding time last year. Next, visitors from Malaysia accelerated by 23.2 percent, Thailand at 19.6 percent and Japan at 18.9 percent, as well as Taiwan and France.

In contrast, the decline of some markets has partly reined in growth. Cambodian tourists decreased strongly by 23.9 percent, as did Australians, who went down 4.6 percent. Mainland China went down 1.9 percent and the US went down 0.8 percent.

Local tourists hit 20.5 million during the period, a year-on-year increase of 6 percent.

As a result, the non-smoking sector earned a total revenue of VND86 trillion ($4 billion) from international and domestic tourism.

The industrial experts attributed the good result to the fact that the industry had enhanced tourism promotion, improved the quality of tourism products and services, developed tourism infrastructure, trained the labour force and completed a legal framework to bolster the sector's development.

Nguyen Van Tuan, director of the Vietnam National Administration of Tourism (VNAT), said that large-scale and high-quality projects have helped develop infrastructure, such as high-class resorts in Da Nang City and Binh Thuan Province.

Some key tourism areas have formed such as Ha Noi and Quang Ninh in the northern region; Da Nang, Nha Trang and Binh Thuan in the central area; and HCM City and Vung Tau City in the southern region.

The Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism, Hoang Tuan Anh, asked the VNAT to build up specific tourism development plans next year and the up-coming years; improve qualification of the industrial leaders; promote key tourism markets; tighten co-operation among relevant ministries and State bodies to further promote Vietnam's image; and publish the tourism development strategies by 2020 and orientation by 2030.

Under the strategies ratified by Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung last March, Vietnam's tourism sector aims for an annual growth rate of 11.5-12 percent.

Herein, Vietnam expects to approach 10-10.5 million international tourists and 47-48 million domestic ones with a total income of $18-19 billion, contributing about 7 percent of the country's gross domestic products (GDP) by 2020. The industry will likely generate 870,000 jobs.

It is estimated that the industry's total revenue by 2030 will double that of 2020.

The haunting beauty of Eo Gio cliffs

 

Those who are visiting Quy Nhon City in the central province of Binh Dinh must make plans to come to the nearby Eo Gio for a number of reasons.
Firstly, come to listen to the haunting sound of  the wind and waves through cliffs and caves and admire some spectacular stone shapes which seem to hold the endless sea in their embrace.
Eo Gio, whose cliffs join together to form an arc, is located in Hung Luong Hamlet, Nhon Ly Commune off Quy Nhon City. People call it Eo Gio or Eo Cua Gio (wind channel) as it is a small channel created from two mountain ranges holding a corner of the sea that looks like the shape of a funnel.
To get to the site, tourists have to pass Thi Nai Bridge to reach Nhon Ly Commune which is about 20 kilometers from Quy Nhon downtown.
The road to Eo Gio looks both beautiful and wild where you can feel the cold sea air on your face as the wind sweeps through your hair and not to forget the white sand dunes spread out on the road. Eo Gio appeals to people’s minds thanks to its high cliffs with their unique shapes of a crocodile or a buffalo looking onto the sea. Local people call them various fun names and you can make up your own.
Eo Gio’s appeal lies in the fact that it has barely been touched by nature. Especially, there’s no tourist service so travelers just have to pay parking fees at nearby households then spend their time enjoying the beauty of primitive rock and beach.
Tourists are advised to climb up to the peak to enjoy the panoramic view of the site and feel the power of the wind and waves from above.
Visitors need to bring their cameras to take some snaps of the colorful stalactites inside the caves. Sometimes tourists will gasp when they are caught unaware by a flock of birds flying out from caves or smile when listening to the birds singing inside the caves.
 
Source: Saigon times
 

Pristine Co To island opens up to tourism development

VietNamNet Bridge – The fresh smell of the sea and a summer breeze in the early morning energised a large number of people from different parts of Viet Nam to elbow their way ashore to Co To’s crowded dock.

Out of the way: An earial view of Co To Island. — File Photos

It seemed that there was no space to stand or oxygen to breath. Understandably, the ferry was full owing to a national holiday for International Labour Day.

Co To, dubbed “a green pearl”, is one of the farthest inhabited islands from the mainland. But it is now experiencing speedy tourism development.

The development can be described in a wink. Four years ago, it used to took up to five hours for travellers to reach the island.

However, an advanced, high-speed boat now reduces the travel time to less than an hour and half at the reasonable cost of VND150,000 (US$7) per person. The boat with its comfortable seats and spacious room also helps passengers avoid becoming seasick and tired.

Beached: Co To’s pristine coastline offers white sandy beaches.

Vu Thanh Minh, a local tour guide, welcomed us at the pier on our arrival. His services are professional, evidenced by the way he helped a member of our group, a foreigner, who forgot to bring his passport – an absolutely necessity for travelling non-nationals.

“It is my duty to help any travellers to come to the island,” Minh, 32, said in an eager voice. “It’s not the first time foreign tourists have forgotten to bring their passports.”

According to a local resident, the untouched and pristine island, once had a population of up to 1,500 people. Most of them were fishing families.

The tourism sector, however, is a recent development that has already promoted changes – in every aspect.

Many new houses are sprouting up, transforming a landscape that was once covered with old trees and a few farms.

Nguyen Duc Thanh, chairman of the district’s People’s Committee, said: “Five quality hostels have been built and listed in the local guideline book.

“Many people have built new houses for rent. Prices range from VND100,000 (US$5) to VND400,000 ($19) a day.

“If you do not want to enjoy a night near the sea, camping has been a popular alternative for several years. It normally costs a group of 10 people VND1.3 million ($60) per night,” said Thanh.

Jobs on the island are changing towards the tourism sector and tourism services are now blooming.

“Hardly any fisherman now appear on the sea during the day when a large number of tourists come to the island,” said Minh.

“They are now serving tourism in different ways.

“Although their services are at an amateur level, there is plenty of variety, from fishing, kayaking and biking around the island. All are cheap and cost no more than VND1 million ($50).

Getting around: Xe om service is available on the island.

“Motorbikes can be rented for sightseeing at VND50,000 ($2.50). You can drive yourself to all the favourite locations within a day.

“Any traveller can book our tour online or see our agents in Ha Noi directly. The total cost for the trip to the island is VND2.2 million ($104).” he said.

Travel growth is claimed to have enhanced island people’s incomes in the last three years. Before they were lucky to earn VND2 million ($95), now many make VND4 million ($190).

Ngo Thi Thuy, 37, who has been living in Co To for dozens of years, said the money earned from house renting had helped her family earn enough money for her three children to go to school.

“I do hope they study tourism so that they can benefit either themselves or the island,” Thuy said.

But soaring tourism is also facing challenges.

According to one property investor looking for an investment opportunity: “A large number of foreign travellers have returned to Viet Nam to explore new charming sites. The island is one of their selected destinations.

“However, many of them prefer living and eating at quality hotels and restaurants, but the shortage of facilities and equipment, such as a national electric system, infrastructure and clean water, prevents us at present.”

VietNamNet/Viet Nam News