Hanoi (VNA) – The tourism sector inthe northern coastal province of Quang Ninh has been growing at a fast pace inrecent years, establishing its important role in the province’s economy andmoving towards sustainability.

Quang Ninh is endowed with naturaladvantages for sea and island tourism. It is home to the Ha Long and Bai TuLong Bays, the Ha Long Bay National Park and some islands, the best known ofwhich is Co To and Van Don.

In particular, Ha Long Bay has been twicerecognised as a World Natural Heritage site by the United Nations Educational,Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO). The Heritage site has become amagnet drawing visitors to Quang Ninh.

In 2017, a total of 9.87 million touristsvisited the province, including 4.28 million foreigners. More than 70 percentof the tourists came in sea and island tours.

The province aims to attract over 12 million visitors this year,including 5 million foreigners.

Quang Ninh is expanding the space for seaand island tourism farther from Ha Long Bay towards islands such as Co To, VanDon and Hai Ha.

Equipped with a strategic vision fordeveloping the sea-based economy, the province in 2014 approved an Overall Planfor tourism development to 2020 with a vision to 2030. Under the scheme, thesea space in Quang Ninh is divided into five zones, which are the strictlypreserved Ha Long Bay, the conservation area in Bai Tu Long National Park, thetourism zone, the zone with restricted development to serve national defenceand security, and the zone with no development. Each zone, with their specificcharacteristics, has close links with each other to support the development ofsea-based tourism and economy while ensuring national defence and security andserving the province’s sustainable development.

The Overall Plan has made positive impactson the local tourism sector, helping attract a series of investment projects.Many big investors such as Vingroup, Sun Group, Myway, Tuan Chau and FLC havepoured money into tourism infrastructure and entertainment facilities in QuangNinh.

Also during the 2010-2017 period, theprovince’s administration issued many directives, resolutions and decisions onconcentrating resources on tourism development, especially Resolution 07-NQ/TUdated May 24, 2013 of the provincial Party Committee. At the same time, theprovincial authority strengthened leadership and guidance over tourismdevelopment.

Guided by the strategic orientations, QuangNinh’s tourism sector has recorded high growths in the number of visitors,revenues, workforce and service infrastructure.

The province has paid attention to thecreation of new tourist products and improvement of service quality. A diverserange of sea and island tours are now available for visitors, from relaxationto entertainment and adventure.

All those efforts have contributed tobuilding and establishing a unique trademark for Quang Ninh sea-based tourism.

This year, Quang Ninh ishosting the National Tourism Year 2018 which has the theme “Ha Long - Heritage,Wonder, Friendly Destination.”

Under the Overall Plan forTourism Development in Quang Ninh, Quang Ninh strives to become aninternational tourism centre and a leading tourism destination in Vietnam withmodern infrastructure and diverse, high quality and competitive tourismproducts.-VNA