Dong Nai strives to make tourism a key economic sector.

Tourism in Dong Nai is experiencing many positive developments.

Reporter: First of all, could you outline the outstanding features of Dong Nai's tourism landscape and highlight some notable achievements and substantial progress in this field from the beginning of 2024 to the present?

Comrade Le Thi Ngoc Loan: In the first nine months of 2024, Dong Nai province attracted nearly 1,000 billion VND in investment capital from businesses to develop new tourism products. Specifically, Son Tien tourist area launched the Son Tien Amazing World themed park with many high-quality entertainment activities; two new hotels opened; Bo Cap Vang tourist area opened a waterfall bathing area; and the Dong Nai Nature and Culture Conservation Area inaugurated accommodation at Ba Hao Lake... all to enhance tourist attraction.

The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) has officially recognized Cat Tien National Park as the 72nd protected area in the world to receive the IUCN Green List designation. This is a major step forward in nature conservation and biodiversity preservation in Vietnam.

Furthermore, the Golden Scorpion Tourist Area was selected as one of the top 10 favorite ecotourism destinations by the Intellectual Property and Innovation magazine in collaboration with the Union of Science and Business Entrepreneurs, contributing to enhancing the position of ecotourism in Dong Nai.

Cultural, sports, and tourism activities are widely organized throughout Dong Nai province, such as the Ong Pagoda Festival, the Long Khanh Fruit Festival, the Tri An Ultra Marathon 2024 - Echoes of Spring, the Bien Hoa Open Half Marathon, etc., contributing to attracting tourists and promoting tourism in Dong Nai.

Ecotourism investment activities have attracted the attention of investors. Following the approval by the People's Committee of Dong Nai province of the ecotourism and recreation project at the Tan Phu Protective Forest Management Board and the Dong Nai Nature and Culture Conservation Area, many investors have expressed interest and submitted applications. The Conservation Area has received 12 applications and is coordinating with relevant departments and agencies for evaluation. The Tan Phu Protective Forest Management Board has signed a forest environment lease contract with The Coi Joint Stock Company to implement the ecotourism project.

With many positive signs, in the first nine months of 2024, Dong Nai's tourism sector welcomed 2,723,000 visitors (including 2,642,716 domestic visitors and 80,284 international visitors), an increase of 21%, and tourism service revenue reached 1,827 billion VND, an increase of 34.2% compared to the same period in 2023.

Tourists experience the fruit orchards in Long Khánh city.

Reporter: What are the unique strengths and distinctive tourism products of the locality that strongly attract and drive rapid growth in both the number of tourists and revenue as mentioned above, Comrade?

Comrade Le Thi Ngoc Loan: Dong Nai is a locality with advantages for tourism development, from natural resources and landscapes to cultural resources including forests, rivers, mountains, lakes, waterfalls, topography, and geomorphology. Therefore, in recent years, Dong Nai has gradually developed its potential and advantages to develop tourism, and currently, the Cat Tien National Park, a World Biosphere Reserve, has recently been officially recognized by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) as the 72nd protected area in the world to achieve the Green List designation.

Son Tien Tourist Area has been recognized by the Vietnam Record Organization with 11 records; its golf course system, especially Long Thanh Golf Course, is one of the most beautiful golf courses in Vietnam; and the Bo Cap Vang Tourist Area was recently selected as one of the 10 most favorite eco-tourism destinations by the Intellectual Property and Innovation magazine in collaboration with the Union of Science and Business Entrepreneurs.

In addition, agricultural tourism and experiential and exploratory tourism are strengths and products that attract more tourists to visit Dong Nai.

Reporter: One of the recent efforts of the Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism is to strengthen communication, introduce the image, potential, and beauty of Dong Nai tourism, and promote and foster linkages and cooperation in the tourism sector. How effective are these activities initially, Comrade?

Comrade Le Thi Ngoc Loan: In the 2024 Dong Nai tourism promotion and marketing program, the tourism sector has also set out appropriate and innovative directions to achieve effectiveness in the province's tourism promotion and marketing. Activities to promote the potential and strengths of Dong Nai tourism through mass media have been intensified; a set of publications introducing tourism potential, investment projects, and tourism information has been produced; the image of Dong Nai tourism is being promoted on the North-South railway line; Tan Son Nhat International Airport; and participation in domestic and international tourism promotion and marketing…

It can be said that promotional activities in recent times have not only contributed to boosting the number of tourists visiting Dong Nai, but also attracted investment resources for tourism development. At the same time, improving the quality, effectiveness, and professionalism of tourism promotion activities has also contributed to building and developing the Dong Nai tourism brand.

From there, we will create consensus and high levels of agreement in awareness and action among all levels, sectors, localities, units, and the people, determined to build Dong Nai's tourism into an important and sustainably developing economic sector. At the same time, this will bring high efficiency, increase investment in tourism; develop high-quality products and increase the competitiveness of tourism products and services.

Nguyen Hong Linh, Secretary of the Dong Nai Provincial Party Committee, surveyed the Chua Chan Mountain tourist area in Xuan Loc district in 2021.

Reporter: In your opinion, what opportunities does the tourism sector in the area currently face to maximize its potential, provide high-quality tourism products, and offer attractive service packages to attract and retain a significant number of tourists in Dong Nai in the future, especially when the international airport becomes operational?

Comrade Le Thi Ngoc Loan: According to the plan, Long Thanh International Airport will be put into operation in September 2026. The operation of this airport will open up opportunities for rapid development of tourism in Dong Nai in the coming years. It will create momentum to attract investors in the tourism sector, especially those with the capacity and experience to implement large-scale projects. The transportation infrastructure connecting to the airport will be invested in synchronously, creating jobs, increasing revenue for supporting service facilities for the tourism industry, and attracting more international tourists to Dong Nai.

However, the province's tourism industry also faces challenges such as the need for synchronized tourism infrastructure, attractive and high-quality tourism products, and a workforce with expertise, professional skills, and foreign language communication abilities to retain tourists in Dong Nai.

To capitalize on this opportunity, Dong Nai's tourism industry has been focusing on exploiting its potential for ecotourism and resort tourism. Specifically, it is actively attracting investment and concentrating all resources on implementing key tourism projects of the province (such as the Chua Chan Mountain - Nui Le Lake tourism project, the Mai Waterfall - Bau Nuoc Soi tourist area project, etc.). It is also upgrading and investing in entertainment and recreational services at existing tourist destinations. Furthermore, it is improving service quality; promoting communication, applying digital technology, and developing smart tourism to help tourists easily and quickly find information about destinations and services.

In addition, to create appeal and a unique identity for tourism in Dong Nai, the Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism has oriented and coordinated with localities in the province and tourism experts to research and implement pilot projects for community tourism and agricultural tourism models that incorporate local culture, traditional crafts, farming practices, and local cuisine to attract international tourists.

Experience ecotourism at Cat Tien National Park.

Long Thanh Airport with 5 tourism routes

Reporter: However, without a tourism plan, tourism in Dong Nai cannot develop. And we are very pleased that the provincial planning for the period 2021-2030, with a vision to 2050, has identified five tourism routes centered around Long Thanh International Airport, radiating in all directions. Could you provide more detailed information about these five tourism routes that investors and tourists are interested in?

Comrade Le Thi Ngoc Loan: At the tourism development briefing conference last August, Provincial Party Secretary Nguyen Hong Linh outlined five routes centered around Long Thanh International Airport for investment and development, including: the Long Thanh Airport-Bien Hoa-Vinh Cuu route; the Long Thanh Airport-Dinh Quan-Tan Phu route; the Long Thanh Airport-Long Khanh-Xuan Loc route; the Long Thanh Airport-Nhon Trach route; and the Long Thanh Airport-Cam My route.

For each route, we will continue to encourage operators to invest in upgrading existing products and services. In addition, we will invite investors, especially those with the capacity and experience, to invest in new destinations focusing on high quality to create unique selling points.

The Long Thanh-Bien Hoa-Vinh Cuu airport route will focus on developing river tourism, riverside tourism, and especially developing Tri An Lake into a national tourist area as a highlight of the route.

The Long Thanh-Dinh Quan-Tan Phu airport route, in addition to the highlight of Cat Tien National Park, will develop many more eco-tourism destinations in the Tan Phu Protective Forest Management Board and commercial and service areas in the Long Thanh airport area, and may also connect with destinations in Lam Dong province.

The Long Thanh-Long Khanh-Xuan Loc airport route will further develop a high-quality complex at the Chua Chan mountain national scenic area to create a highlight of the route, while also connecting destinations in Binh Thuan province.

The Long Thanh-Nhon Trach airport route focuses on developing high-end resorts, entertainment, and shopping areas as highlights of the route, while also connecting with the Can Gio Biosphere Reserve.

The Long Thanh-Cam My airport route focuses on developing commercial and service areas to create a highlight for the route, while also connecting with destinations in Ba Ria-Vung Tau province.

Reporter: Tourism has received special attention and leadership from the Provincial Party Committee and the Provincial People's Committee, with the issuance of a specialized Resolution on developing tourism into an important economic sector. In implementing this Resolution, what breakthrough solutions is the Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism urgently deploying to ensure that tourism soon becomes one of the pillars of the local economy, as expected?

Comrade Le Thi Ngoc Loan: Based on Resolution No. 04-NQ/TU dated December 30, 2021, of the Executive Committee of the Dong Nai Provincial Party Committee on developing tourism into an important economic sector, the Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism has coordinated with relevant units to advise the Provincial People's Committee to issue many plans for implementation.

Currently, Dong Nai province is implementing a comprehensive set of solutions to raise awareness about tourism development, invest in the development of tourism infrastructure and technical facilities, build distinctive and diversified tourism products, develop tourism human resources, ensure a safe and secure tourism environment, promote tourism, improve the capacity and effectiveness of state management in tourism, and apply science and technology.

Forest ecotourism in Dong Nai is increasingly attracting tourists.

In particular, priority will be given to investment in the development of tourism infrastructure and technical facilities, and the development of high-quality tourism products.

Regarding the development of new, high-quality tourism products, Dong Nai province has attracted several tourism development projects such as: the Mai Waterfall - Bau Nuoc Soi tourism project (Dinh Quan); the ecological tourism and resort complex project in the Chua Chan mountain and Nui Le lake area, Xuan Loc district; the semi-wild animal breeding (Safari) project - Dong Nai Nature and Culture Conservation Area; and the river tourism route project.

Over the past period, relevant units have actively organized numerous meetings to expedite progress and address obstacles for tourism development projects. Priority has been given to the eco-tourism and resort complex project in the Chua Chan mountain area and the Mai Waterfall - Bau Nuoc Soi tourism project to ensure their early implementation and the creation of high-quality products. Simultaneously, efforts have been made to attract economic entities to invest in tourism development according to the approved plan, contributing to a new image for the tourism industry in the future.

Reporter: Thank you for this interview.

Source: https://nhandan.vn/dong-nai-no-luc-dua-du-lich-tro-thanh-nganh-kinh-te-quan-trong-post834338.html