The coastal central province of Binh Dinh aims to serve 3.3 million
tourists and earn 3.4 trillion VND (156.4 million USD)—accounting for
10-12 percent of its GDP—by 2020.
To that end, the
locality has put upgrades to its tourism infrastructure into its tourism
and socio-economic development planning, and integrated tourism
development with industrial and agricultural development and cultural
promotion.
The upgrades include infrastructure in
and roads to tourist attractions, including seaports and coastal roads,
while developing Quy Nhon into a green-clean-beautiful city.
Priority is also given to attracting investments to build hotels,
trade centres and entertainment venues. By 2020, the province strives to
offer 180 accommodation facilities with 5,000 rooms, 35 percent of
which will meet three- to five-star standards.
In
the short term, Binh Dinh is calling for investments in the
400-million-USD Thi Nai lagoon eco-tourism project, the 120-million-USD
Mui Rong-Tan Phung tourism site project and the five-million-USD Nui Mot
lake project.
It also focuses on speeding up the
implementation of the Vinpearl Quy Nhon tourism complex project worth 4
trillion VND (184 million USD), the 500-billion-VND Linh Phong pagoda
project and the Thi Nai bridge tourism site.
According to Vice Chairman of the provincial People’s Committee Ngo Dong
Hai, the province’s strategy to develop a tourism product system
encourages investors to focus on developing coastal resort complexes
like Nhon Hoi, Phuong Mai and Nui Ba, and the sea-island tourism route
comprising Dua beach, Seo and Hai Au isles, Hoan Can beach and Thay Boi
tower.
Binh Dinh is also working to submit a request
for UNESCO recognition of its traditional martial arts as an intangible
cultural heritage of humanity.
The local Bai choi
singing, unique to the coastal central region and often seen at local
spring festivals and resembles a game, using playing cards and village
huts, has also received attention. Restoration efforts have also been
focused on traditional festival and trade villages as well as historical
and cultural relic sites.
According to Vice
Chairman Hai, Binh Dinh targets 4,300 people working in the tourism
sector—70 percent of whom receive professional training—in 2015.
It has carried out support policies for human resources training,
intensified domestic and international cooperation, and accelerated
communications to raise local awareness of tourism.