Ninh Binh targets higher tourism quality

The provincial Tourism Department has closely coordinated with relevant departments and agencies, the People's Committees of Hoa Lu district and Ninh Hai commune, and the management board of the Tam Coc - Bich Dong tourism site to encourage organisations and individuals to observe regulations in the sector. Besides, communication work has been stepped up to raise public awareness of preserving and promoting values of the Trang An Landscape Complex, a UNESCO-recognised Cultural and Natural Heritage Site. Regulations of the Tam Coc - Bich Dong tourism site have also been popularised among tourism service providers and visitors. The management board of the Tam Coc - Bich Dong tourism site has promptly planted boards of regulations in both English and Vietnamese at the Dong Gung parking area, the Dinh Cac Wharf and the Hang Ba (Ba Cave) area. Apart from increasing security guards and inspectors of tourism activities from the Dinh Cac Wharf to the Hang Ba area, the board has set up a hotline to receive and handle feedback of tourists. The provincial Tourism Department has assigned the tourist support centre to team up with relevant units to assist vacationers, especially during holidays and weekends. In the first nine months of this year, the centre has provided help for 76,559 visitors, including 25,305 in the Tam Coc - Bich Dong tourism site. According to the department, between January and September, Ninh Binh welcomed more than 6.3 million tourists, completing 88.5 percent of the yearly target and up 4.9 percent year-on-year. During the period, the province earned some 2.4 trillion VND (103.2 million USD) from the sector, representing a year-on-year rise of 18.9 percent. Ninh Binh served more than 7 million visitors and pocketed over 2.5 trillion VND (107 million USD) from this industry in 2017, respectively rising by 9.5 percent and 43 percent year-on-year. The locality is striving to become one of the tourism hubs of Vietnam by 2020 and to turn tourism into a spearhead industry of the local economy by 2030. It looks to attract 1 million foreign arrivals and 7 million domestic visitors by 2020, 1.5 million and 9 million by 2025, and 2.1 million and 11.2 million by 2030. Meanwhile, tourism revenue is expected at over 4.2 trillion VND (179.7 million USD), 11.8 trillion VND (504.8 million USD), and 27 trillion VND (1.15 billion USD), respectively. The Trang An Landscape Complex was recognised by UNESCO as the world's mixed cultural and natural heritage, the first of its kind in Southeast Asia. In UNESCO's words, "Trang An is a resplendent complex of limestone karst peaks which are permeated with valleys, including submerged ones, and surrounded by steep, almost vertical cliffs," nestling on the southern shore of the Red River Delta. Archaeological traces of human activity dating back thousands of years have been found within the complex. The 12,250-hectare complex boasts several nationally recognised sites like the Trang An ecotourism site and Hoa Lu, Vietnam's capital in the 10th and 11th centuries. The area also has many temples, pagodas, paddy fields, villages and other sacred sites. It is home to about 500 flora species, 73 species of birds and 41 species of other animals and has a diverse ecosystem. Together with other famous sites in the province such as Tam Coc Grottos and Van Long Lagoon, the Trang An Landscape Complex was also used as a location for the movie Kong: Skull Island, one of the biggest Hollywood blockbusters of 2017. The locations opened to tourists last April. Ninh Binh province has been listed as one of the 50 best spots to visit in 2018 by US travel site Insider.

(Source: VNA)