Quang Ninh (VNA) – The tourism sector of the northern coastalprovince of Quang Ninh is diversifying its products based on local advantageswith a focus on enhancing tourists’ experience towards the goal of becoming afour-season destination.

Chairman of the provincial People’s Committee Nguyen TuongVan said the province aims to attract 10 million tourists this year, including1.5 million foreign visitors.

To achieve this goal, Quang Ninh is implementing a host of solutions, one ofwhich is to continue investing in infrastructure, especially accommodations andtourist sites, in order to create the best services for visitors.

The province will continue to diversify tourism products in the direction ofdeveloping sea-island tourism, trade tourism, health care tourism and MICE(Meeting, Incentives, Conference and Exhibition) tourism.

Spiritual tourism attracts visitors not only in spring

Quang Ninh has an advantage in spiritual tourism which canattract visitors not only in spring but all the year round, as the province ishome to the Yen Tu historical relic and landscape area onYen Tu mountain, the birth place of Truc Lam - the Vietnamese Zen Buddhismfounded by King-Monk Tran Nhan Tong (1258 - 1308). It was also associated withthe formation and development of the Tran Dynasty (1225 - 1400). The siteboasts harmonious combination of natural landscapes and architecturalstructures with special values.

Yen Tu is not the only spiritual destinationin Quang Ninh. Many temples  andhistorical sites in the province are well known among people nationwide, likethe Tran Dynasty Historical Relics in Dong Trieu district, CaiBau pagoda, or Cua Ong –Cap Tien temple.

Summer is the peak time for sea – island tourism

Sea tourism will continue to be the biggest driver for QuangNinh tourism, with several records made recently.

As of the end of July, Ha Long city, home to the famous Ha Long Bay, a WorldCultural Heritage site, served 4.7 million visitors, equal to 104.4% of thefigure projected in the best scenario for the year. It earned an estimated 9.25trillion VND (390 million USD) in tourism revenue, 415% of the figure in thesame period last year.

Meanwhile, the province recorded 6.9 million tourists in the period, up 268%year on year, and total revenue of 14.68 trillion VND, an increase of 296%.

For sustainable development of sea tourism and preventingthe problem of overloading in summer and few visitors in winter, the tourismsector of Quang Ninh has consulted foreign experts.

Dr. Celal Kaplan from Kiran Consulting Group, which is conducting a survey onevaluation of Ha Long Bay’s tourism capacity, affirmed that the bay is facing localizedoverloading in some attraction sites at certain times. To prevent thesituation, the city needs to apply smart management tools to regulate thevolume of boats and passengers on the bay.

Keeping visitor flows in autumn and winter

After August, the volume of domestic travelers to Quang Ninhwill drop significantly. Tourism businesses should upgrade available productswhile developing new ones, continue to improve service quality, and givetourism personnel training, in order to attract visitors, both domestic andinternational, and maintain the pace of recovery.

Aware that connectivity will be useful for recovery, theQuang Ninh tourism sector is intensifying advertisement and promotionactivities in adjacent localities and across the country. In August, theprovincial tourism department and tourism association held discussions withtheir counterparts in Da Nang city on resuming the Van Don – Da Nang airservice.

In October, Quang Ninh will host the 17th General Assembly of the East Asia Inter-Regional Tourism Forum (EATOF), which will be an opportunity for the province toenhance its linkage with EATOF member countries, contributing to tourismrecovery in the new normal./.