The People’s Committee of the southern central coastal province of Binh Thuan has issued a plan to boost tourism through 2020, aiming to make tourism a spearhead sector of the province and turning the locality into a national sea tourism-sports centre.
It has pursued an ambitious plan to make Mui Ne a national tourism site, Phu Quy island a national destination, and Phan Thiet city an urban tourism area. Ngo Minh Chinh, Director of the provincial Department of Sports and Tourism, said the province is blessed with 200km coastline and favourable conditions for tourism development and has effectively tapped the advantages for sea sports and festivals. As of January 2017, the province had 388 investment projects in tourism with a total investment of over 54.07 trillion VND. Of the total, 23 projects are foreign-invested. Infrastructure and services for tourism have been rapidly developed in both quantity and quality with 417 accommodations with 13,120 rooms and 300 houses and villas for hosting tourists. Binh Thuan has become a national tourism centre with diverse tourism products, he said, adding that tourism has significantly contributed to the province’s economic growth, helping create jobs for thousands of locals, especially those in rural areas, and contributing to preserving and promoting its historical, cultural values and natural resources. It is striving to turn the industry a major economic sector with synchronous infrastructure system. The sector expects to attract seven million visitors with a growth of 12-14 percent each year, including 10-12 percent growth each year in domestic tourists, and 10 percent contribution to the province’s gross regional domestic products. To this end, it will focus on 10 measures, including increasing communications on tourism, adjusting and building tourism growth planning and further fostering regional connectivity. It will speed up cooperation programmes with Ho Chi Minh City and the Central Highlands province of Lam Dong to promote the “Saigon market-Da Lat flower and Mui Ne beach” tourism product, while improving the infrastructure system, diversifying tourism products and bettering service quality, said Chinh. He also stressed the need to step up the administrative reform and develop human resources for tourism and strengthen State management over environment protection. In 2016, Binh Thuan welcomed 4.5 million visitors, a rise of 8.8 percent over the same period in 2015, including 530,800 foreign arrivals, up 11.2 percent year on year. The sector earned 9.04 trillion VND in the year, a surge of 18.4 percent over 2015. In 2017, Binh Thuan aims to serve 5 million visitors.
