Binh Thuan develops coastal tourism

In recent years, tourism has played an important role in Binh Thuan Province economic development strategy, contributing to promoting economic and labor restructuring, creating jobs, eliminating hunger and reducing poverty for local people.
To build a strong brand name for Binh Thuan tourism, the province has made ceaseless efforts to improve policies, reform administrative procedures and create an open environment to attract investors. Vietnam Economic News' An Duyen spoke with Le Tien Phuong, the Binh Thuan Province People's Committee chairman about this issue.
Tourism has been an important economic sector for Binh Thuan Province. How do you assess your achievements?
Located in the coastal area in the south central region, Binh Thuan has an important geographical position, being a gateway for economic, cultural and social exchanges among the southeast, south central region and Central Highlands. The province also acts as a bridge connecting the large tourist sites of Nha Trang, Da Lat, Ho Chi Minh City and Vung Tau. With 192 km coastline, beautiful beaches and famous tourist sites of Hon Rom, Mui Ne, Doi Duong, Cu Lao Cau, Khe Ga and Hon Lan, Binh Thuan has great potential for tourism development. In addition, the province has a number of unique cultural and historical heritage sites such as Duc Thanh, Co Thanh Pagoda, Ta Cu Mountain and Poshanu Tower at the Lau Ong Hoang religious site which had close attachment with famous poet Han Mac Tu. At present, infrastructure system in the province has been improved with 155 hotels and resorts, including a large number 3-4 star standards, two five star resorts, two golf courses and a range of high quality restaurants.
Since the solar eclipse in 1995, the pristine beauty of the province has been awakened. The face of the tourism sector has changed, increasingly meeting the standards of an international tourist site. In the last five recent years, the number of tourists to Binh Thuan has grown 15 percent annually, with international tourists increasing more than 16 percent annually. A large number of tourists have returned to Binh Thuan with their staying duration lengthened and their spending increased. In 2005, international visitors stayed in Binh Thuan for an average of two days. This figure increased to 4 days in 2010. Last year, the province welcomed more than 2.5 million tourists, 10 percent of who are international tourists. In 2011, it is estimated that this figure will be raised to 2.8 million with the number of international tourists accounting for 12 percent. Revenue from tourism increased from VND1 trillion in 2005 to nearly VND2.6 trillion in 2010. The estimated revenue of 2011 will be more than VND3 trillion.
As a major tourism center, what will the province do to attract domestic and foreign investment capital?
To attract further investment, apart from increasing the number of tourists and revenue, the province will focus on promoting tourism products and tourist sites. While completing investment projects in Ham Tien - Mui Ne, Binh Thuan is appealing for more investment projects in other places such as Tien Thanh, Ham Thuan Nam, Lagi, Tuy Phong and Bac Binh. A sea encroachment project and a project on building a tourism complex are the largest. Moreover, Binh Thuan will focus on developing typical tourism products such as overnight stays on the sea and combined adventure and leisure tours. Therefore, many projects focused on building tourism complexes, stop-overs combined with tourism activities, eco-tourist sites and a Formula 1 track have been approved. Until now, total investment capital in Binh Thuan tourism has reached VND60 trillion with more than 400 projects, 35 of which have been undertaken by foreign investors.
What methods are you using to encourage investment projects to effectively exploit Binh Thuan tourism potential?
We have had preferential policies on land rents and purchases. The province has added more regulations on transferring land use rights and renting land in planned areas of Ham Thuan - Da Mi, Bai Chua - Hoa Thang, paying investment deposits, granting land and collecting resettlement tariffs. A team of officers who are responsible for checking investment projects in the province has been established to deal with difficulties. Apart from perfecting policies, Binh Thuan has also drafted plans on urban development, improving infrastructure system serving tourism development, enhancing tourism promotion programs, strengthening the quality of human resources in the tourism sector, effectively dealing with social and environmental issues and reinforcing the management apparatus of the tourism sector.
We are striving to turn Binh Thuan, Mui Ne into a high-grade coastal tourism center which meets international standards. The province is encouraging investment into five star hotels and resorts and luxury tourism services, improving entertainment centers and services such as sailing, water skiing, diving and skating and building logistics centers to serve international vessels and sailing boats to Binh Thuan. However, apart from luring investment capital, the province has paid special attention to protecting the environment and improving people and tourist awareness of environment protection.