HCM CITY — The southern coastal province of Bà Rịa-Vũng Tàu authorities have approved a master plan for tourism development by 2025 with a vision to 2030. 

The master plan calls for developing Vũng Tàu into an environmentally friendly city of national tourism, finance and trade, with a developed maritime economy.

The province has issued a resolution on high-quality tourism development that would ensure a safe, civilised and friendly tourist environment.

The province will focus on markets like Northeast Asia, Southeast Asia and the Asia Pacific, especially traditional markets like Japan, South Korea, Singapore and Malaysia.

Other potential markets include Russia, North America, Eastern Europe, Northern Europe, Australia and the Middle East.

The province is focusing on four main tourism products.

Under the master plan, the province will develop sea and island tourism products, and medical and healthcare tourism products.

It will also create tourism products for entertainment services in Long Điền and Đất Đỏ districts, and develop sea tourism products for the Long Hải, Phước Hải and Lộc An beaches. 

In Xuyên Mộc District, the province will focus on world-class marine tourism products with high-end accommodations in the Hồ Linh, Hồ Cốc and Hồ Tràm beach areas. 

On Côn Đảo Islands, the province will prioritise development of products for adventure tourism, eco-tourism in the islands, and nature tourism.

Secondly, the province will also develop tourism products associated with relics, cultural and architectural works, as well as tourism products associated with spiritual beliefs such as visits to pagodas and temples. 

Major sites include the Côn Đảo prison, Hàng Dương cemetery, the memorial house of heroic martyr Võ Thị Sáu in Đất Đỏ District, and other historic sites such as Dinh Mountain, Minh Đạm Mountain and Long Phước Tunnel.

Thirdly, the province will develop Meetings, Incentives, Conferences and Exhibitions (MICE) tourism in Vũng Tàu City’s Xuyên Mộc District where upscale accommodation facilities exist. 

In addition, the province will focus on ecotourism products, homestay services and agricultural ecotourism in Châu Đức, Đất Đỏ and Xuyên Mộc districts. 

The province will offer support to families that provide homestay services, catering services, and locals who make souvenirs.

New policies to support tourism enterprises, mobilise capital, and develop human resources have been created with the aim of improving tourism products and services. 

Bà Rịa-Vũng Tàu is well known for its famous tourist attractions associated with historic values, and beautiful beaches such as Hồ Cốc, Bình Châu, Bãi Sau and Bãi Trước. 

The province has large areas of mangrove forests, which are the home of endemic wildlife such as black tigers and parrots, and many fertile river mouths.

The province targets 8.6 million visitors by 2025, an annual average growth rate of 11 to 13 per cent, and at least 16,000 high-standard hotel rooms, as well as 38,000 new jobs.

In the first half of this year, the province welcomed 6.5 million tourists and earned VNĐ2.8 trillion (around US$123 million) from tourism, according to the provincial Department of Tourism.

Bà Rịa-Vũng Tàu Province, which has a 305km-long coastline, is one of the leading tourism hubs in Việt Nam. With a cool and dry temperature year round, it is an ideal place for sea sports tourism and the development of deluxe seaside resorts.

Vũng Tàu City, lying on a peninsula of the same name, is the commercial and tourism centre of the province. — VNS