Bà Rịa-Vũng Tàu Province is focusing on developing high-quality tourism and improving the quality of services for tourists. — Photo:sggp.org.vn

HCM CITY — Bà Rịa-Vũng Tàu Province is making efforts to tap the tourism potential of the province with its more than 200km of coastline, primeval forests in the Bình Châu-Phước Bửu nature reserve and Côn Đảo National Park, and national historical sites.

The southern coastal province will continue to develop high-quality tourism products and call for investment in international cruise-ship ports.

The province has set a target of 8.6 million visitors by 2025, including 1.4 million international visitors. By 2030, the target is 17 million tourists, including four million international visitors.  

It aims to reach total revenue of VNĐ31 trillion (US$1.3 billion) from tourists by 2025, and nearly VNĐ102 trillion by 2030.

Trần Thị Thu Hiền, deputy director of the province's Department of Tourism, said that recently the province worked with Hà Nội, HCM City, and Bình Thuận and Đắk Lắk provinces to promote tourism development after the COVID-19 pandemic.

It is focusing on resort tourism, medical and health care tourism, entertainment services, historical sites, architectural and cultural works, and eco-tourism.

In October, the province welcomed its first tourists after months of closure due to COVID-19. It allowed The Grand Hồ Tràm Resort & Casino and Bình Châu Hot Springs to re-open for tourists on October 15. Recently, the province added 25 hotels to re-open for tourists. All of them have met safe tourism criteria.

According to the provincial Department of Tourism, during the first five months of this year, local tourist sites welcomed nearly two million visitors, 67 per cent more than last year.

Earlier, it launched an e-commerce portal to provide information about local tourism services and destinations. Tourists can quickly access information about sites, accommodations, food and beverage services, and entertainment and shopping places at dulichbariavungtau.com.

Trịnh Hàng, the department’s director, said tourism businesses and agencies in the province had temporarily stopped operations because of the pandemic. 

The department launched the e-commerce portal and virtual tourism fairs to help enterprises attract consumers and encourage the use a digital business model.

The work is part of the province’s efforts to revive its tourism sector and promote its services and cuisine.

The province is also running multiple campaigns, using the “Vietnam Safe Travel” app to ensure travelers’ safety, and digitising business operations and management to provide tourists better experiences.

The province has over 1,100 accommodation establishments, with a total of 12,897 rooms.

In addition, many new high-quality tourism products and hotels have been introduced such as Hồ Tràm Trip, Imperial, Pullman, Malibu, Melia Hồ Tràm, Marina Bay Vũng Tàu, and resorts near the beach.

Located in the southern key economic zone and 100km from HCM City, Bà Rịa-Vũng Tàu boasts many strengths and a robust maritime economy, including ports, oil and gas exploration, and seafood exploitation and processing. — VNS