To 'awaken' the potential of the sea

Quang Tri province boasts a coastline stretching nearly 200km, making it one of the few localities with a continuous, diverse, and potentially rich marine space. However, the development of coastal tourism remains seasonal, lacking distinctive products and attractive destinations to retain tourists. This reality demands that the province implement more decisive and groundbreaking solutions to develop coastal tourism professionally and sustainably.

Coastal tourism is also seasonal.

Quiet and peaceful, Vinh Thai beach is blessed by nature with fine, tranquil sand, embodying the distinctive characteristics of a coastal area. At sunrise, small boats dock, bringing back fresh seafood caught by fishermen. Vinh Thai beach is also located near the special national historical site of Hien Luong-Ben Hai, the Vinh Moc tunnels, etc. If properly developed, it could become an ideal stop for tourists to relax and experience the local cuisine after a nostalgic journey through the old battlefields.

Besides Vinh Thai, Quang Tri also boasts many other beautiful beaches, such as Nhat Le, Bao Ninh, Quang Phu, Da Nhay, Ngu Thuy Bac, Cua Tung, Cua Viet, My Thuy… Each beach has its own unique characteristics, from pristine and tranquil to vibrant and lively. About 17 nautical miles from the mainland lies the Con Co Special Economic Zone, considered a "pearl island" in the East Sea. However, most of the beaches in the province are still in their potential stage, lacking the connectivity to create an attractive and competitive product chain.

In particular, many beaches still lack supporting facilities such as parking lots, toilets, public showers, and waste treatment systems. Sea and island tourism tours are not diverse, remain seasonal, and lack distinctive experiential products.

A view of Con Co Island - Photo: TT

According to Mr. Le Van Thong, Chairman of the People's Committee of Cua Viet commune, beach tourism in the locality is developing quite strongly, creating jobs for hundreds of local workers. However, due to seasonal activity, with the peak season from April 30th to National Day on September 2nd, demand exceeds supply in the summer, while the rest of the year sees few tourists. Most local tourism workers are untrained, so their service, communication, and customer service skills are limited. The local community has not received support to participate in the development of beach tourism in a harmonious and systematic way; instead, it is mainly spontaneous and each person acts independently, resulting in unsustainable development and failure to fully exploit the potential and opportunities for beach tourism in the locality.

We need a signature product.

Mr. Nguyen Van Ha, Permanent Vice Chairman of the Provincial Tourism Association, believes that Vinh Thai should not develop in the direction of concrete urbanization like other coastal cities, but should preserve its core values ​​of pristine beauty and rich local character. He suggests developing a "nostalgia tourism combined with fishing village experience" product, such as organizing activities for tourists to join fishermen in pulling nets early in the morning, participating in rowing basket boats and preparing seafood themselves right on the beach; creating a space to enjoy seafood cuisine at night…

To organize this activity, it is first necessary to train fishermen in community-based tourism skills, helping them to transform or integrate economic models that combine fishing with tourism. In addition, it is necessary to encourage businesses to invest in building homestays and organizing glamping services to create unique accommodation options, attracting tourists to stay and spend more.

Also with the idea of ​​connecting to create new tourism products, the Party Secretary and Chairman of the People's Committee of Con Co Special Economic Zone, Tran Xuan Anh, proposed opening a sea transport route between Nhat Le and Con Co to exploit the island's tourism potential; and forming a tourism route "North Central Coast Sea and Island Journey" from Phong Nha-Vinh Moc-Cua Tung-Con Co-Nhat Le.

According to Mr. Tran Xuan Anh, currently only the Cua Viet-Con Co sea route serves tourists. Tourists from the Phong Nha-Ke Bang National Park World Heritage Site or from the northern part of the province who want to visit Con Co Island have to travel a considerable distance by road to Cua Viet port before taking a speedboat to the island. However, if a sea route from Nhat Le to Con Co were opened, the travel time to the island would be only about two hours.

“This sea transport route is very convenient for tourists as it allows them to explore caves while also visiting and relaxing on the ‘pearl island’ in a closed-loop tour. If put into operation, this tour will certainly provide interesting experiences, contributing to attracting tourists to the frontier island and increasing the length of stay in Quang Tri,” Mr. Tran Xuan Anh shared.

Over the years, the province has implemented many preferential policies for investors to carry out projects in the development of trade, services, and coastal tourism. However, for Quang Tri's coastal tourism to develop effectively, professionally, and sustainably, it is necessary to expand the transportation system connecting the provincial center to the coast; and at the same time, research, develop, and diversify coastal tourism products.

The sea is an invaluable resource that nature has bestowed upon Quang Tri. It is time for the province to adopt a long-term vision and take more decisive action to "awaken" its potential, transforming coastal tourism into concrete economic growth figures for the locality.

Mai Lam

Source: https://baoquangtri.vn/kinh-te/202605/de-danh-thuc-tiem-nang-cua-bien-d6f26f6/