Vietnam has succeeded in developing its sea and island tourism with attractive tourism products, leading to a rise in both domestic and international visitors. However, the rapid growth of the industry requires planning to ensure sustainable development in the future.
An overview of the Ha Long Bay in the northern coastal province of Quang Ninh. VNA/VNS Photo Minh Duc
Strong development has been an economic goal of coastal areas, helping reduce poverty and improving the lives of people in many localities throughout the country.
In the coastal seas, Vietnam has more than 2,500 big and small islands, many of which are enormously valuable to tourism.
The three island districts of Van Don in the northern Quang Ninh Province, Con Dao in southern Ba Ria-Vung Tau Province and Phu Quoc in southern Kien Giang are among key islands for the high-quality tourism development.
Many other islands have become popular destinations for holidaymakers, including Co To, Thanh Lan in northern Quang Ninh Province, Cat Ba, Cat Hai in northern Hai Phong City, Ly Son in central Quang Ngai Province, Phu Quy in southern Binh Thuan Province and Con Co in central Quang Tri Province.
Foreign tourists kayaking at Ha Long Bay. Kayaking through the bay is a must-do bucket list activity and the best way to explore the bay. VNA/VNS Photo Huy Hung
Figures from the National Administration of Tourism showed that the growth rate of the number of international tourists to Viet Nam’s islands in the period 2015-2019 reached 23 per cent. In 2019, more than 1.5 million visitors came to the islands, mainly Cat Ba and Phu Quoc.
Sea and islands in the north attract tourists from China, Japan, South Korea, Germany, and the Netherlands, while those in the central region are favoured by tourists from Europe, Laos, and Japan. Those in the south are favoured by visitors from the UK, Italy and France.
Shortcomings
Cat Ba Island in the northern Hai Phong City’s Cat Hai District is a major tourist hot spot in the north with beaches, an ancient fishing village and hundreds of serene islands covered with dense greenery for discovery and adventure tourism.
However, the island has not really made a breakthrough to develop tourism. It is only crowded in the peak summer season and has few tourists during winter from November to March.
According to travel companies and tour operators, Cat Ba still lacks accommodation facilities, high-quality hotels, entertainment areas and professional tourism services.
A shortage of entertainment spots makes it hard to keep visitors staying longer on the island while tour activities are not diversified. There are few activities available at night.
In particular, the situation of traffic congestion on weekends and peak hours as well as the overcharging of tourists still occurs.
Cat Ba National Park, an emerging tourist site for a diverse range of wild species and biosphere reserve in the city for trekking or hiking, only attracts young people, they said.
In the south, Phu Quoc Island in the southern Kien Giang Province has been a phenomenon of Vietnamese tourism. Blessed with white sand, turquoise beaches and bright sun almost all year round, with tropical forests covering two-thirds of the island, Phu Quoc offers diversified travel experiences with high-quality services.
Between 2014-18, the resort island welcomed less than one million visitors annually, but this number increased to five million in 2019. In the first quarter of this year, nearly 1.6 million visitors have come to the island shortly after VIet Nam reopened on March 15.
However, Phu Quoc is being threatened by environmental pollution caused by rubbish dumps.
Hundreds of tonnes of waste are discharged every day, but only 60 per cent is collected properly. Uncollected and untreated wastewater drifts along sewers, canals and rivers into the sea causing environmental pollution.
Some beaches have been seriously polluted by garbage. In addition, the marine ecosystem including coral reefs and seagrass beds in the core area of the island’s marine protected area has shown signs of decline in quantity and quality due to overexploitation.
It is forecast that by 2030, Phu Quoc will become the leading tourist destination, and the amount of solid waste from tourism and daily life activities will increase rapidly. Therefore, the island needs a solution for sustainable tourism development.
Nguyen Anh Tuan, director of the National Administration of Tourism’s Tourism Development Research Institute, said tourism at some islands such as Phu Quoc, Cat Ba and Con Dao have been rapidly growing while other facilities remained unchanged.
Tuan said tourism development in the coastal islands of Viet Nam still faces many difficulties. Some islands such as Phu Quoc, Cat Ba, Van Don, Con Dao, Cu Lao Cham and Ly Son have limited infrastructure, traffic, electricity, water supply and telecommunications.
In addition, human resources are insufficient and inadequate, failing to meet development needs.
The rapid growth of the annual number of tourists and improper tourism activities are the causes of negative impacts on the environment as well as the natural eco-system of nature reserves, leading to unstainable development of the islands.
Action plans
Viet Nam’s tourism development strategy by 2030 has identified seven key priority areas for tourism development, and five of them are in coastal areas with typical tourism products in each region, including the Red River Delta and the Northeast Coast, the North Centre, the Southern Central Coast, and the Southeast and Mekong Delta.
There are seven world heritages and six biosphere reserves, as well as national parks and nature reserves and many cultural and historical sites located in these regions, attracting between 48-65 per cent of tourists to Viet Nam.
According to experts and researchers, an effective tourism development plan is needed for the harmonious and sustainable development of sea and island tourism, which ensures national defence and security and promotes its key role in the development of the marine economy.
The State should have preferential policies for investment and development of high-quality sea and island resorts in a number of key areas, and the development of marine and island eco-tourism products.
Nguyen Thi Phuong Linh, a representative from the National Administration of Tourism’s Tourism Development Research Institute, said each locality needs to review and perfect the policies for tourism development in the seas and islands and make a development plan in accordance with the general guidelines and policies of tourism development of the locality and the country.
The most important, Linh said, is to ensure the sovereignty of seas and islands and sustainable development with green growth plans and waste and wastewater treatment.
On the other hand, localities must have response plans to deal with climate change and natural calamities to ensure people’s safety and minimise damages.
Young people clean up Nguyen Tat Thanh Beach in central Da Nang City. VNA/VNS Photo Tran Le Lam
Recently, many localities have prioritised the protection of the marine environment.
On Phu Quoc Island, a group of volunteers and businesses in HCM City have organised regular activities such as picking up trash and cleaning the beaches on the island.
The People’s Committee of Con Dao District in southern Ba Ria-Vung Tau Province, in collaboration with the World Wide Fund for Nature in Viet Nam, has launched a campaign to reduce plastic waste. The district has signed a commitment to become a plastic-reducing city, aiming to have zero plastic waste in nature by 2030.
The district’s authority believes that this will contribute to building the image of Con Dao – an attractive tourist destination in the eyes of international friends.
Quang Nam Province, which is famous for Hoi An ancient town, My Son Temple complex and Cu Lao Cham World Biosphere Reserve, has called on local people and tourists to join hands to clean up tourism sites.
According to experts, developing green tourism at sea and islands will be a global tourism trend, especially as climate change and environmental pollution have increasingly affected people’s lives. A harmonious and sustainable tourism development plan will promote a sense of respect for nature, the ecological environment and restore biodiversity protection among people and tourists.