Overland tourism has huge potential

Viet Nam is in a perfect position to capitalise on visitors driving across its long borders.
The huge international overland tourism potential in the country can be tapped only if the infrastructure is upgraded and service quality improved considerably, experts say.
Vu The Binh, the Travel Department under the Viet Nam National Administration of Tourism (VNAT), said that Viet Nam has a lot of advantages to develop international overland tourism, given its long borders with neighbouring nations.
He said the country has a 4,550-kilometer-long border with nearly 100 overland border gates, many of them in the Tay Nguyen (Central Highlands) and central regions.
The Tay Nguyen and central regions are also sites of stunning natural beauty including mountains, forests and beaches. The most picturesque beaches in the region include My Khe in Da Nang, Lang Co in Thua Thien-Hue and Nha Trang in Khanh Hoa.
The regions are also home to two-eighth of the world’s biosphere reserves, 11 national parks, and 25 out of the country’s 58 natural reserves.
Provinces in the Tay Nguyen and central regions also have many special historical and cultural relics, and constitute a haven for cultural diversity as they are home to several ethnic minorities like the Van Kieu, Ta Oi, Gia Lai and Ba Na.
The regions also host five world cultural heritage sites and arts: the Hue Imperial Relics, Nha Nhac Cung Dinh Hue (Hue royal music), Hoi An Ancient Town, My Son Relic, and Tay Nguyen Gong, Binh said.
Many other experts from travel companies also agreed with Binh, saying international overland tourism could make a significant contribution to socio-economic development in the border localities.
However, authorities were yet to pay due attention to this form of tourism, and thus the potential remains relatively untapped, they said.
Limitations
According to the VNAT, international visitors to Viet Nam through overland international border gates account for just 30 per cent of the total arrivals.
Of more than 200,000 km of roadways in the country, only 5.74 per cent are highways. Most of the roads that lead to international border gates have not been upgraded to express ways. Binh said,"Meanwhile, tourism destinations in the country are widely scattered so visitors have to spend a lot of time travelling."
The travel situation becomes more difficult in rainy reasons with many roads were often damaged heavily by floods. Worse still, services on the roads are still poor with no rest areas, petrol and maintenance stations, he said.
As a result, tourists have to use facilities built for passenger of local cars and trucks that typically do not maintain high standards of hygiene and cleanliness, Binh said.
Caravan tours
Caravan tours were becoming more popular in Viet Nam, but tourists had to complete cumbersome and time-consuming procedures. Most tourists of this kind were high income earners requiring high-quality services, he said.
In recent years, many caravan tours from Thailand and Laos have visited Viet Nam, contributing to increased tourism traffic in the Central Highlands and central regions. Sometimes, the overland international border gates at the regions received up to 2,000 international tourists a day, Binh said.
However, concerned provinces and the domestic tourism industry still had no specific plans to attract tourists of this kind.
To attract international overland tourists to Viet Nam, border provinces, particularly those in the Tay Nguyen and central regions, must attach priority to building tourism infrastructural facilities and ensure high quality services, Binh said.
He also stressed the need to set up close cooperation between Viet Nam and neighbouring countries including Thailand, Laos, Cambodia and China in developing international overland tourism including caravan tours.