With nearly 200 km of coastline, and many beautiful lagoons and bays; such as Xuan Dai Bay, O Loan Lagoon, and Da Dia Reef, the south-central province of Phu Yen is an alluring destination welcoming millions of tourists every year.
Da Dia Reef in Tuy An district is a must-see place for visitors to Phu Yen province.
Encouraging signs of tourism
In 2022, the number of tourists to Phu Yen reached the highest ever with 2.2 million people, an increase of 491.4% year-on-year and up 20.2% over the same period in 2019, before the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic. Total tourism revenue was estimated at VND 2,760 billion, an increase of 620.2% year-on-year and up 42.2% over the same period in 2019.
Notably, Phu Yen ranked third in the top 10 trending tourism keywords on Google’s search engine in Vietnam in 2022.
In the first quarter of this year, the province welcomed 721,100 arrivals, including 4,830 foreigners, 4 times higher and 5.5 times higher than the same period last year, respectively.
Total revenue from tourist activities is valued at VND 995.6 billion, 4.8 times higher than the same period; in which accommodation revenue reached 142.7 billion VND, 2.5 times higher than the same period of 2022.
Visitors to Phu Yen mainly come from Ho Chi Minh City, Hanoi, Da Nang, Binh Dinh, Khanh Hoa, and the Central Highlands provinces.
These figures are good signals of Phu Yen tourism, contributing to promoting local socio-economic development.
The encouraging results are the outcomes of tremendous efforts made by the local authorities and businesses, in mobilising investment resources to improve tourism infrastructure, diversify and enhance the quality of tourism products, and step up tourism promotion programmes to further advertise the land, culture, and people of Phu Yen, to visitors both at home and abroad.
Tourism businesses operating in the province have made greater investments in developing their facilities and services. To date, the province has 400 tourist accommodations with a total of 6,250 rooms and 700 of which have met the three-to-five-star hotel standard.
According to Nguyen Thi Hong Thai, Director of the provincial Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism, the local hospitality sector has paid due attention to accelerating tourism promotion activities by hosting and participating in communication events, both inside and outside the province.
Phu Yen is also willing to cooperate with other localities to develop tourism. Accordingly, the province inked a tourism development cooperation programme with the five provinces of Binh Dinh, Dak Lak, Gia Lai, Kon Tum, and Quang Ngai, for the 2022-2027 period. In addition, it has coordinated with Binh Dinh, Phu Yen, and Khanh Hoa provinces to design a joint tour targeting the Northeast Asian market.
A website of the tourism alliance in the Central-Central Highlands region, grouping four provinces of Phu Yen, Binh Dinh, Dak Lak and Gia Lai, has been launched to support businesses in tourism promotion.
Developing tourism into a spearhead economic sector
Le Tan Ho, Standing Vice Chairman of Phu Yen Provincial People's Committee, said that the Phu Yen Provincial Party Committee and People's Committee have issued plans on developing tourism in the 2021-2025 period, targeting to turn tourism into a spearhead economic sector by 2030.
An aerial view of the walking route along Doc Lap Street, Tuy Hoa City (Photo: nld.com.vn)
During this period, the province’s tourism sector strives to attain an annual growth rate of more than 14%. The number of international visitors will increase by 15-20 %/year, and tourism revenue will up by more than 14 %/year.
The sector sets a target of contributing 10% or more to the province’s GRDP, and tourism revenue will reach about 12.6 trillion VND by 2023.
According to Vo Dinh Tien, Director of the provincial Department of Planning and Investment, to date, Phu Yen has attracted 36 coastal tourism projects with a total registered capital of 42.8 trillion VND. These projects have gained encouraging results, contributing to the socio-economic development of the locality and helping to lure more visitors to Phu Yen province.
Another important solution that has drawn much attention from the authorities is improving infrastructure. Over the past years, the province has allocated public investment in the transport system through many projects such as the inauguration of a walking route along Doc Lap Street, a coastal public space at the intersection of Nguyen Huu Tho and Doc Lap Streets, and many public parks.
Most recently, the People's Council of Phu Yen province issued a resolution on allocating more than 3.4 trillion VND, to complete the seaside road connecting Tuy An district and Tuy Hoa City, to enhance regional transport connectivity and fuel economic growth.
The 42-meter-wide coastal road would run from the An Hai bridge in An Ninh Dong commune, Tuy An district, to the naval submarine maintenance centre in An Phu commune, Tuy Hoa City. The project will be implemented between 2023 and 2027.
The Tuy An-Tuy Hoa route is part of a 132-kilometre seaside road that passes through Phu Yen. Up to now, 95.5 kilometres of the entire route has been completed.
The investment in the entire seaside route would create an economic growth driver to attract investors in seaside projects, especially tourism ones associated with popular destinations in the province, such as O Loan Lagoon and Da Dia Reef.
Trinh Ke - Translated by NDO