Vietnam is to have at least six tourist destinations of international stature in the region by 2020, according to the project “Developing sea, island and coast tourism by 2020” approved by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism.
The six international standard tourist sites which will be developed to compete with destinations of neighbouring countries in the region are Ha Long – Bai Tu Long – Cat Ba, Lang Co – Canh Duong, Hoi An – Cu Lao Cham, Nha Trang – Cam Ranh, Phan Thiet – Mui Ne, and Phu Quoc. Some tourism ports will be built first and used, such as Ha Long, Da Nang, Nha Trang, Ho Chi Minh city and Phu Quoc.
The project also targets attracting about 22 million foreign tourist arrivals and 58 million domestic visitors by 2020. Total sea tourism turnover is expected to reach more than USD10 billion, creating 600,000 direct jobs and 1.1 million indirect jobs.
The tourism industry needs a total capital investment of USD5.57 billion from now until 2015 and USD7.08 billion by 2020.
The project also points out seven major development orientations for the sea tourism market, promotion and advertising, human resource development, territory organizing, investment and development, and developing sea tourism in combination with ensuring security – national defence.
Aiming to reach the targets, the project also introduced major solutions to develop sea, island and coast tourism by 2020. It emphasized prioritizing the development of sea tourist products with the focus on nearby markets and high income markets, such as ASEAN, China, Japan, the Republic of Korea, Australia, New Zealand and Europe. For domestic markets, it will target Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh city and major coastal cities./.