A fisherman’s dream of building an eco-tourist site

      Duong Van Vi, a 40-year-old fisherman, has opened a restaurant on Binh Thuan’s Phu Quy Island, to provide tourists to the coastal city with an ideal venue for enjoying seafood while admiring the surrounding scenery.
Affectionately known by locals as “a fisherman doing tourism,” Vi smiled gently and said “my homeland is very poor and is experiencing difficult traffic conditions, but it would be a shame not to develop its tourism potential. I would like to offer visitors accommodation and entertainment after a difficult journey on the sea.”
For a long time he dreamed of building a Long Vi Sea eco-tourist site, but in 2005 was disappointed when local authorities refused his project. However, it seems his dream may come true after all, as last year the authorities gave him the nod of approval. With a modest investment of VND2.5 million, he began the project by building Long Vi Restaurant.
Located at the foot of Thay Tomb relic site, Long Vi Restaurant is a wooden, bungalow style building overlooking the sea. Patrons of the restaurant will experience the unique sensation of hearing the whispers of waves lapping at the shore while they enjoy fresh seafood dishes, which include grouper, lobster, crab, ray, and tortoise.
The restaurant is just the first stage of the Long Vi Beach ecological tourism project. Other phases will include accommodation and water sports, such as diving and canoeing.
Despite the difficulties of managing a project of this size, Duong Van Vi is quite confident that he will succeed, thanks in large part to the support he has received from locals, friends and his five children.