A corner of Ha Long, Quang Ninh
Bay visiting ships from the last century
A century ago, the French did not miss the opportunity to exploit the tourism potential of Ha Long Bay in Quang Ninh. They organized tours to the bay on the occasion of Saints' Day, Christmas, Lunar New Year of the Vietnamese people... One of the largest travel agencies in Ha Long Bay at that time was P.Roque - owning a fleet of luxury steamships, named after types of gems such as: Perle (pearl), Emeraude (emerald), Rubis (ruby), Saphir (turquoise)... Each ship serves at least 20 people. On board there are living rooms, bedrooms, dining rooms, electric fans, bathrooms, refrigerators, dark rooms for photography.
With a 2-4 day itinerary, visitors will be taken to visit caves in the bay, Van Hoa port, visit coal mines in Ha Tu, Cam Pha, and even take a boat to Mui Ngoc port (Mong Cai). In addition to taking the luxury cruise on the above tours, visitors can rent a motorboat to explore the beauty of Ha Long Bay or rent a sampan (basket boat) to visit the caves.
Premier Village Ha Long Bay Resort on Bai Chay beach
Until the 90s, tourism in Ha Long in particular and Quang Ninh in general still maintained the old way of doing things. Accommodation facilities were few, poor and outdated, in which the leading role was played by state-owned enterprises.
In the entire Bai Chay area, there are only a few hotels such as Vuon Dao, Bach Dang, Ha Long, Giao Te... that can serve foreign guests and government delegations. Some hotels of industries such as trade unions, coal, electricity... only serve officials and workers of the industry to relax and mainly in the summer. Entertainment, shopping, dining services... are still poor, prices are cutthroat. Possessing a picturesque bay, but Quang Ninh's economy depends on... coal. The entire bay is always covered in a hazy black color of coal dust.
When Ha Long Bay was recognized by UNESCO as a World Natural Heritage for the first time in 1994 and the second time in 2000, the situation was better, but all tourism activities were still limited to going on a boat to visit the bay, eating seafood and then... returning home. In 2015, the number of tourists to Quang Ninh increased to 7.7 million, with revenue of 6,548 billion VND.
The picturesque Van Don – Mong Cai Expressway
Spectacular "color change"
The revolution of transforming the economic growth model from "brown" to "green", replacing coal dust and dependence on mining with "green industry" - tourism was started by Quang Ninh more than 10 years ago. The strategy of calling on big names such as Sun Group, Vingroup, BIM Group... to invest in tourism has brought "unique" tourism products.
A tourism ecosystem has been brought to Quang Ninh by the leading Asian tourism corporation Sun Group. Up to now, this is probably the only province that possesses the most complete products in the Sun Group ecosystem.
Sun World Ha Long complex attracts many tourists
A synchronous and international-class transportation system by air (with Van Don International Airport), by water (with Ha Long International Cruise Port) and by road (with Ha Long - Van Don and Van Don - Mong Cai highways) brings tourists to Quang Ninh in the most convenient way. Bai Chay beach has been improved, with white sand and clean water.
An entertainment complex Sun World Ha Long was born, the largest in the North, with the Queen cable car line achieving 2 world records crossing the strait to the top of Ba Deo, where there is a mysterious hill with many discoveries imbued with Japanese culture and a complex of 2 theme parks for the first time in the North.
In 2020, Premier Village Ha Long Bay Resort - the first 5-star resort in Ha Long opened to welcome guests. In the same year, Yoko Onsen Quang Hanh hot spring resort officially operated, creating a unique tourism product, helping Quang Ninh take a big step forward to break the seasonal tourism trend.
As of 2019, the number of tourists to Quang Ninh reached over 14 million, nearly double the number of visitors in 2015 when there were no new tourism products. The average spending per tourist also changed positively, increasing by 9% compared to 2018, reaching 2.1 million VND/visitor. Total revenue from tourists in 2019 reached 29,487 billion VND, more than 4 times the figure in 2015.
The "color change" helped Quang Ninh tourism record more outstanding achievements than any other province or city in Vietnam at that time.
Van Don International Airport invested by Sun Group
After the Covid-19 pandemic, Quang Ninh is working with major tourism businesses to launch many new tourism products, enhancing the experience for tourists, to reach the goal of welcoming 15 million visitors. The province has also determined to put into operation 39 new tourism products this year. Of which, Ha Long city leads with 8 products, some of which have been tested in previous years such as "Night Cruise Street," sports tourism, sailing entertainment on Ha Long Bay, listening to music on Ha Long Bay or night streets, walking streets in the Long Tien Pagoda area (Bach Dang ward, Ha Long city) ...
Within the Sun Group ecosystem, brands have also closely linked together, launching unique and attractively priced resort - entertainment - health care combos with onsen baths in Quang Ninh.
"Each corporation has a role in enhancing Quang Ninh tourism, but Sun Group has a very different role. Sun Group not only creates more high-class and unique tourism products, but also builds a systematic and modern transport infrastructure to connect Quang Ninh with the world and other localities to create trade activities. With a four-season tourism approach, Sun Group is also a pioneer. Or developing the night-time economy is also an initiative implemented with the main force being Sun Group", Dr. Tran Dinh Thien assessed.
The Government's orientation for the development of Vietnam's tourism industry has been summarized in the slogan: "Unique products - Professional services - Convenient procedures - Competitive prices - Clean and beautiful environment - Safe, civilized and friendly destinations". The way Quang Ninh and Sun Group have made their mark over the past decade may become a typical example for many destinations to refer to in the process of realizing the above slogan.
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