Focusing on building and developing unique tourism products, promoting
tourism, managing the tourism business environment, and training human
resources... towards sustainable tourism and service development, Van Don
attracted over 1.52 million visitors in the first half of this year,
reaching 44.7% of the annual plan and increasing by 40% compared to the same
period last year. Tourism revenue in the special economic zone is estimated
at 2,719 billion VND, equivalent to 40.6% of the annual plan and an 86%
increase compared to the same period last year. -
Indochina Junk Halong Bay
Leveraging unique and attractive product lines.
In recent times, in order to diversify tourism products and services in the
area, Van Don has proactively directed the development of products,
coordinated with relevant units and tourism and service businesses to
organize cultural, sports, and tourism activities to attract tourists.
Accordingly, the locality has developed and approved a pilot plan for
eco-tourism products linked to aquaculture in the Van Don Special Economic
Zone; organized meetings with 9 units proposing to participate in the model
of developing eco-tourism linked to aquaculture; and guided units that meet
the requirements to prepare a pilot project proposal for businesses and
cooperatives to submit to the Special Economic Zone People's Committee for
appraisal. The locality will maintain the Van Don Sea Tourism Festival in
2026, scheduled for the end of July and beginning of August; and promote the
two walking routes and two community-based eco-tourism itineraries on Quan
Lan and Minh Chau islands.
Van Don also continues to effectively exploit the tourism products of
tourism and service businesses that have successfully developed in previous
years. These include wellness and wellness products, outdoor sports and
beach activities, campsites, outdoor wedding venues, MICE tourism (meetings,
incentives, conferences, and exhibitions), and night markets at Wyndham
Garden Sonasea Van Don Resort and Sonasea Van Don Harbor City. There are
also high-end beach and resort tourism products combining yoga, onsen,
wellness, and MICE tourism at Angsana Quan Lan Resort… In addition, there
are culinary, entertainment, ecotourism, and experiential tourism products
in many areas throughout the district such as Dong Xa, Van Yen, Ha Long,
Doan Ket…
In addition, the locality regularly organizes cultural and artistic
activities associated with preserving and promoting the national cultural
identity, typically serving the people and tourists in the islands,
residential areas, tourist areas and historical and cultural relics in the
area.
These include mass cultural and artistic exchange programs; folk song and
dance festivals; activities in response to the Ha Long Carnival, Quang Ninh
Summer Tourism Week; mass sports competitions; folk games; cultural and
sports activities on holidays and Tet (Lunar New Year); traditional
festivals; cultural and professional festivals such as: Ngoc Vung Temple
Festival, Cau Ngu Festival, Van Don Orange Festival, Dai Phan Festival of
the San Diu ethnic group, Van Don Peach Blossom Festival… creating an
attractive and vibrant atmosphere to attract tourists.
Ensuring a favorable business environment for tourism
Van Don is a key coastal and island tourism area of the province, attracting
a large number of visitors, especially during the summer. Therefore, to
ensure a favorable business environment for tourism in the area, Van Don has
focused on directing specialized departments and relevant units to seriously
implement the Regulations on the Management of the Tourism Business
Environment; requiring units to regularly inspect compliance with State
regulations in tourism and service business activities during peak periods
and the summer tourism season.
Recently, Van Don has organized three in-person conferences with tourism
accommodation establishments and food service businesses on Quan Lan, Minh
Chau, and Cai Bau islands to discuss solutions to improve the quality of
tourism services and ensure environmental hygiene and food safety to meet
the needs of tourists during the summer. The conference also guided relevant
agencies and tourism businesses to proactively ensure the safety of
residents and tourists before and during the rainy season.
Manage and implement the establishment of boundary buoys, watchtowers, and
related conditions to ensure the safety of residents and tourists swimming
at Minh Chau, Quan Lan, Ngoc Vung beaches and other areas with potential
risks. Establish three self-governing groups for Minh Chau, Quan Lan, and
Ngoc Vung beaches and strengthen safety measures at beaches, bathing areas,
swimming pools, ponds, lakes, and lagoons, and implement drowning prevention
measures in the area. Install hotline and warning signs in areas with high
concentrations of tourists. Direct agencies and units to strengthen the
management of accommodation establishments and organize inter-agency
inspection teams to inspect cultural, sports, and tourism service businesses
in the area...
Assessments show that the management of the tourism business environment in
the special economic zone is ensured, preventing negative phenomena
(touting, haggling, arbitrary price increases during peak seasons, holidays,
etc.). The awareness of organizations and individuals involved in tourism
service businesses has significantly improved. To date, complaints from
tourists about service prices and seafood prices have gradually been
eliminated. Tourism and service businesses have actively implemented digital
transformation, contributing to the promotion of tourism and cashless
payments effectively, bringing satisfaction to tourists.
Efforts are being made to achieve the goal of welcoming 3.4 million
visitors.
This year, Van Don has been assigned a target of attracting over 2.6 million
tourists by the province, and the special economic zone aims for an even
higher target of over 3.4 million visitors and revenue exceeding 6,700
billion VND. Therefore, to achieve this target, the locality will continue
to improve the quality and competitiveness of existing tourism products and
services to increase spending, revenue, and the economic efficiency of
tourism. It will also promote sightseeing tours on Bai Tu Long Bay and pilot
eco-tourism projects linked to aquaculture activities within the special
economic zone.
Diversify tourism forms and products, improve the quality and
competitiveness of tourism services, especially high-end resort tourism,
high-quality island and beach tourism, and nighttime tourism products and
services, both on land and in Bai Tu Long Bay. Along with this, strengthen
inter-sectoral coordination in managing the tourism business environment,
ensuring service quality, security, safety, and addressing complaints and
feedback from tourists; promptly rectify and handle violations in tourism
service business activities...
According to local assessments, Van Don is currently facing many
difficulties in exploiting its unique resource values to become tourism
products, especially in developing marine and island ecotourism associated
with agricultural and rural tourism (experiential tourism involving
aquaculture activities of local residents, water sports activities, and
tourism under the forest canopy), and cultural and historical tourism
associated with experiencing the life of coastal residents (squid fishing,
fishing, etc.).
The reason is that the development of these unique tourism products faces
many legal procedural obstacles, and there are no specific and clear
regulations guiding community-based experiential tourism activities or
encouraging the development of agricultural and rural tourism.
These limitations have significantly impacted the creation of experiential
tourism value, the length of stay of tourists, and the increase in income
and livelihoods for local communities. Therefore, the locality proposes that
ministries and agencies research and develop appropriate regulations and
policies to overcome these difficulties, creating conditions for local
communities to legally benefit, increase production value, and create
livelihoods from tourism activities in the locality.
Source:
Van Don Strengthening Its Sustainable Tourism Strategy
