Quang Ninh (VNA) – Being favoured by nature with a range of stunninglandscapes, clear turquoise sea and spectacular limestone pillars together withnumerous tourism investment projects, the northeastern province of Quang Ninh boastshuge potential to develop sustainable green tourism.

Quang Ninh has a coastline of more than 250 kilometres and over 2,000 islets whichaccount for two-thirds of the total number in Vietnam. The spectacular stretchof coast connects the UNESCO-recognised World Heritage Site of Ha Long Bay withmajestic natural scenery, Bai Tu Long Bay, Van Don and Co To islands and Tra Cobeach with Cat Ba National Park in the northern port city of Hai Phong.

Ha Long Bay, Cat Ba island and Do Son beach (Hai Phong city) are prioritised todevelop into national tourism sites.

Along with the renowned Ha Long Bay, Quan Lan, Minh Chau, Ngoc Vung, Daibeaches in Van Don island district and Tra Co and Vinh Thuc in Mong Cai cityhave grown in stature among domestic and international tourists thanks to theirbreathtaking sea and coral reef.

Advantages in terms of geographic location, terrain and natural resources have turnedQuang Ninh into a magnet for investors. Since the end of 2013, the province hasattracted more than100 projects with total investment of 5.5 billion USD, mostof which have been poured into tourism.

Tuan Chau Group splashed out nearly 50 trillion VND (2.2 billion USD) todevelop Tuan Chau Marina - Vietnam’s largest port, entertainment zones, villas,coastal four-star hotels and a golf course, among others.

Vietnam’s leading real estate developer Vingroup’s Vincom Centre Ha Longshopping mall and high-end Vinpearl Ha Long Bay Resort were put into operation.The group also invested over 12 trillion VND (528 million USD) on a 68-hectaretourism resort and new urban area.

Sun Group and FLC Group are also helping give a facelift to Quang Ninh with opulenttourism resorts, a golf course, entertainment complexes and a cable car system.

In addition, the province has been juiced up with big foreign investmentprojects from the US, China, Thailand and the UAE. Renowned names like Wyndham,Starwood, ISC Corp, Amata and Nakheel have come to the locality to develop tourisminfrastructure.

Accordingto Trinh Dang Thanh, Vice Director of the provincial Department of Tourism, theprovince prefers projects promoting sustainable green tourism and protectingnatural landscapes.

In its development plan, Quang Ninh province is calling investments in 14 largeeco-tourism property projects during 2016-2020 to branch out four key tourismsites: Ha Long, Mong Cai-Tra Co, Van Don-Co To, Uong Bi-Dong Trieu- Quang Yen.

Comprehensive planning and spot-on stance on investment attraction will be thekey to balancing economic benefits and natural resource protection in QuangNinh province.

By 2020, Quang Ninh aims to welcome 15-16 million tourists, including sevenmillion foreigners, and rake in 30-40 trillion VND (1.3-1.7 billion USD) inrevenue. The tourism sector is expected to contribute 14-15 percent to thegross regional domestic product (GRDP).

 In 2016, Quang Ninh welcomes 8.3 milliontourist arrivals, a year-on-year increase of seven percent, and earned over 13trillion VND (571 million USD) in revenue, up 23 percent, according to theQuang Ninh Department of Tourism.

Particularly,Ha Long welcomed 6.3 million tourists and grossed 7.7 trillion VND (over 338million USD) in revenue, representing respective increases of 14 percent and 65percent from the previous year. About 2.7 million of the visitors wereforeigners, a year-on-year growth of 16 percent. -VNA