Located approximately 15 nautical miles from Cua Viet port, Con Co Special Economic Zone covers a natural area of 230 hectares, of which over 60% is natural forest, along with a marine protected area of about 4,500 hectares – a particularly important resource for the development of the marine economy linked to conservation. In recent years, Con Co has developed island and marine tourism and ecotourism, initially attracting many tourists. However, tourism on Con Co Island is still limited compared to the potential of the special economic zone.
At the workshop, many opinions suggested that Con Co Island is facing a situation where the marine ecosystem and coastal fisheries resources are showing signs of decline; and there is still illegal or excessive fishing in the strictly protected zone.
The increasing number of tourists, coupled with limited freshwater resources on the island, has led to a large amount of plastic waste. In particular, unregulated snorkeling activities could damage the sensitive marine ecosystem.
According to Tran Xuan Anh, Secretary of the Party Committee and Chairman of the Con Co Special Economic Zone, in the new development phase, the Con Co Special Economic Zone identifies tourism and services as its key economic sector, alongside fisheries and supporting industries, ensuring economic development is linked to national defense and security. The locality is actively promoting and attracting investment in essential infrastructure; at the same time, it is researching the formation of new tourism products based on the overarching principle that development must be linked to conservation.
Attending the workshop, experts and delegates emphasized that for sustainable tourism development on Con Co Island, it is necessary to form sustainable livelihood models such as community-based ecotourism; demarcate protected areas for spawning and breeding grounds of aquatic species, and combine rational exploitation with biodiversity conservation.
Con Co Island should not develop its OCOP program in a scattered manner, but rather select a few high-quality, high-value products with clear stories. More importantly, OCOP products need to be linked to tourism, becoming "image ambassadors," contributing to enhancing the value of the destination and increasing tourist spending.
Along with connecting the Cua Viet-Cua Tung-Con Co tourist route, it is now necessary to consider opening the Nhat Le-Con Co tourist route soon to form a chain of distinctive marine and island tourism products, increasing the attractiveness of the destination. If opened, this tourist route will easily connect the strategically important Con Co island with the Phong Nha-Ke Bang World Natural Heritage Site.
The delegates agreed that, instead of chasing the number of tourists, the Con Co Special Economic Zone should choose a high-quality, small-scale, controlled ecotourism model, becoming a destination where every experience is linked to the responsibility of protecting the environment and preserving the ecosystem, so that Con Co becomes a leading destination on the map of Vietnam's island and coastal tourism.
Source: https://nhandan.vn/dinh-vi-huong-phat-trien-ben-vung-cho-du-lich-dao-con-co-post952989.html
Comment (0)