Ninh Binh and Thanh Hoa local authorities have been working on a joint
tourism programme to lure more visitors as they both have possessed
great natural and historical values, the Nhan Dan (People) online
newspaper reported.
Trang An landscape complex in northern Ninh
Binh province has recently been recognised as a UNESCO World Heritage,
while Thanh Hoa province is also planning to host for National Tourism
Year 2015.
Both these provinces have been endowed
with the world heritages, including Ho Dynasty Citadel in Vinh Loc
district, Thanh Hoa province and the Trang An landscape complex in Ninh
Binh province, which have brought these provinces great competitive
advantage.
Ninh Binh is home to a number of ancient worship
places including the century-old Phat Diem stone cathedral and the
newly constructed 700-hectare Bai Dinh pagoda – the largest Buddhist
cultural and spiritual centre in Vietnam. Constructed hundreds of
years ago, a number of these religious sites have been recognised as
special national historical sites, such as the temples commemorating
King Dinh Tien Hoang and King Le Dai Hanh and the ancient Bai Dinh
pagoda.
In addition to religious sites, Ninh Binh also abounds
with spectacular landscapes, such as the Van Long tourist site, the
Trang An cave system, the Tam Coc – Bich Dong river cave and the Kenh Ga
hot mineral spring. Therefore, visitors to Ninh Binh can engage in two
types of tourism – spiritual tourism and landscape tours.
Meanwhile,
Thanh Hoa is renowned for its Dong Son culture, with a series of
archaeological relics and historical monuments such as Nui Do (Do
Mountain), Cong Moong Cave , Ho Dynasty Citadel and Lam Kinh
historical site. Another advantage of Thanh Hoa is a 100km coastal line
with beautiful beaches, and some ecological tourism areas such as Ben
En, Pu Hu, Pu Luong and Tam Quy national parks.
With these
advantages, the cooperation between Ninh Binh and Thanh Hoa will help
promoting tourism services at these two neighbouring provinces. However,
the coordination requires strategic vision to ensure sustainability and
efficiency in tourism development, with concrete plans such as building
tourism products or heritage site tours.
According to many
tourism professionals at a recent seminar on tourism cooperation between
Ninh Binh and Thanh Hoa, upgrading road infrastructure is one of
important factors in developing tourism links between two provinces in
particular and with other provinces in general.
Highway 45
connecting the Trang An Complex and Lam Kinh historical site, Ho Dynasty
Citadel and Sam Son sea tourism area should be upgraded quickly to
prepare for the 2015 National Tourism Year. Besides, other tourism
services such as hotels, restaurants, and tour guides need to be
improved to meet visitors’ demand.
Additionally,
the tourism should be developed with environmental protection and the
preservation of cultural and historical heritage. State management of
tourism must also be strengthened, tourism marketing enhanced and
hospitality sector professionalism increased.
Effective
co-operation will create strong success in reaching the targets of Ninh
Binh and Thanh Hoa provinces’ tourism sector in 2015.-VNA