Massive cave seen as new tourist lure

Central Viet Nam has abundant tourism potential that has yet to be fully developed. One example is a limestone cave in Quang Binh Province big enough to fit 1,000 people at a time.
Ho Khanh, 41, a construction worker in Quang Binh Province, says he will never forget the feeling of being the first man to step into the newly discovered Thien Duong (Paradise) Cave, which is slated to become a major tourist attraction in Central Viet Nam.
"During a trip to jungle, a sudden heavy rain forced me to find shelter, which is when I saw the cave. I was afraid there might be animals living inside that would attack me. But curiosity overtook my fear, and I began to step farther inside," he says.
The cave, located in the province's Phong Nha-Ke Bang area, was discovered by Khanh and then explored by members of the British Cave Research Association (BCRA) in 2005. BCRA lists it among the top caves in the world because there are so many unanswered questions surrounding it: Have humans ever lived there? What is its origin? The explorers say that Thien Duong Cave is much more beautiful, wild and mystical than the nearby Phong Nha Cave, which is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
The cave is hidden within a dense, primitive jungle that shelters visitors from sunlight on their way to its opening. Along the path, visitors may see troops of monkeys, flying squirrels, wild goats and deer.
Provincial authorities announced the cave will officially open to tourists at the end of this month. Truong Thinh Corp will offer a package that includes lodging at Sun Spa Resort and visits to Paradise Cave and Hang Tam Co (Cave of Eight Heroines).
Located 60km north-west of Dong Hoi, Paradise Cave is 31km long – a record for a limestone cave. It is 100m high and more than 200m wide, large enough to hold 1,000 people at a time, and is splendidly beautiful with strange stalactites and stalagmites.
The provincial government asked the Truong Thinh Group to invest in developing tourism around the cave. It's initial investment reached VND83 billion (US$4.3 billion).
Provincial chairman Nguyen Huu Hoai says Quang Binh has World Natural Heritage Phong Nha-Ke Bang National Park with hundreds more grandiose caves like Paradise Cave on offer.
"We consider tourism as a key economic sector. I believe this project will attract tourists to Quang Binh," he says.
Provincial People's Committee statistics show that the number of visitors to Quang Binh increases every year. Of the 650,000 last year, half of them visited Phong Nha-Ke Bang National Park.
"In the first six months this year, more than 400,000 visitors came to Quang Binh, an increase of 27 per cent over the same period last year," says Hoai.
With the new Sun Spa Resort – Paradise Cave – Cave of Eight Heroines Tour, the province hopes the number of tourists will grow sharply in coming years, he adds.
Meanwhile, on September 16, Vietnam Airlines and the People's Committees of Da Nang, Quang Nam, Quang Ngai and Thua Thien-Hue held a conference in Da Nang for global clients and launched a tourism campaign for Central Viet Nam.
The conference attracted representatives from leading tourism companies from several markets, including Japan, South Korea, Germany, France, Russia, Australia, Hong Kong and others.
With a goal to turn Central Viet Nam into a famous world tourism attraction, participants worked out solutions to boost tourism in the region. They focused on a plan to develop infrastructure for tourism and aviation in the region, and Vietnam Airlines committed to opening more international flights to Da Nang in the near future.
Currently, the number of international visitors who choose to visit the region is low considering the tourism potential of Central Viet Nam. Many reasons could attribute to the situation: tourism infrastructure in Central Viet Nam is not complete; destinations are not adequately advertised; competition with other tourism attractions; and particularly, the lack of international flights to the region.
Vietnam Airlines Deputy Director Trinh Hong Quang is aware of the importance of the Central region for attracting international visitors.
"We are doing our best to advertise and attract international tourists to the Central region with a number of policies such as: exempting fees for international guests on domestic flights to the Central region from Ha Noi and HCM City; combining Central Viet Nam with flights to Laos, Cambodia and Myanmar to create attractive tours; and co-ordinating with tourism companies and resorts in Viet Nam to organise charter flights from South Korea, Japan, Hong Kong, Shanghai, Macau and Guangzhou to Da Nang.
"Vietnam Airlines considers the Central region as a strategic destination and an important competitive advantage in its strategic development plan to 2020. Our development will be closely attached with the development of the Central region as an international tourism centre in Asia and the world," Quang says.
Central Viet Nam is an ideal region for tourism development, he says. There are not many place in the world where such a small area is home to four World Heritage Sites: Phong Nha, Hue, Hoi An and the My Son relics – which together form the "Heritage Route".
Domestic and foreign tourists have been drawn to festivals and other cultural activities in Quang Nam because of its unique local tangible and intangible cultural characteristics.
My Son is a valley surrounded by dense jungle and mountains in Quang Nam Province. Many relics, some still in good structural condition, remain. The structures were built by the Cham, an ethnic minority group with a long cultural history and impact on Vietnamese culture. A target has been set for the sustainable development and preservation of the My Son towers.
"While local authorities made achievements in preserving ancient relics, tourism activities in My Son have also been boosted by the discovery of new elements," says Dr Le Trong Binh, deputy head of the Tourism Research and Development Institute.
Binh says if these heritage relics can be effectively exploited, they will help boost development of the country's tourism industry in line with its potential.
"Heritage is the foundation for forming and developing the tourism products, especially eco-tourism and cultural tourism, that will help Viet Nam become one of the tourism centres of Asia," he says.
David Limbert from Canada says he loves the meditative beauty of the old pavilions and royal tombs in Hue's ancient citadel.
"I was born and grew up in a modern city, so I rarely have the chance to contemplate such elegant Asian architecture. I like the serene atmosphere of Hue.
Dynasties
The royal buildings are connected to nature, and their architecture and decorations highlight the style of Vietnamese dynasties during their heyday," he says.
"I also went to Hoi An and Nha Trang. I thought they were both beautiful, and I particularly enjoyed the peaceful atmosphere and lifestyle of Hoi An's residents," he adds.
Central Viet Nam also has special advantages for resort tourism. According to the National Administration of Tourism, Viet Nam has 98 registered resorts, 68 of which are located in the Central region.
Coastal resorts in the Central and Southern regions, from Quang Binh to Phu Quoc, are preferred by tourists for seaside recreation in combination with sightseeing. With locations close to beautiful beaches, easy access and many famous tourist destinations, hotels and resorts in Central Viet Nam are always full during the high tourist season and festivals.
"Resort occupancy is increasing" says director of Mekong Travel Company Nguyen Minh Hoang. "This trend will increase even further, particularly among Vietnamese tourists who account for 20 per cent of all guests."
Robert McIntosh, executive director of CBRE Hotels, says the hotel and resort real estate market in Viet Nam is still fairly young, but it has a bright future.
"The market has gone through many changes recently; clients have higher demands and they want more options," he says.
"Many resort projects have been successfully completed in recent years which proves that Viet Nam has a lot of potential that has yet to be fully developed, and is promising for investment in hotel and resort real estate," he says.
Residents in poor provinces like Quang Binh will surely benefit from more jobs and the higher incomes that come from tourism development.
Farmer Nguyen Toan's family in Son Trach Commune spent VND8 million to build a boat to serve tourists.
"Mother Nature gave us unique attractions like Paradise and Phong Nha caves," he says. "We hope more tourists will come here to gradually help improve living conditions for our people."