Do Son tourism experiences spectacular growth.

Many powerful "impacts"

On the afternoon of September 29th, in an interview with Nguoi Dua Tin, Mr. Le Duc Hop - Head of the Tourism , Culture and Information Department of Do Son District, Hai Phong City, happily announced that from the beginning of the year to the end of September, Do Son tourism welcomed approximately 2.67 million domestic and international tourists, far exceeding the target for the whole year of 2023 (2.5 million tourists).

This success exceeded the expectations of those working in the tourism industry in Do Son. Before the COVID-19 pandemic, in 2019, Do Son tourism "reached its peak" in terms of tourist arrivals, with more than 2.5 million visitors.

In 2022, despite a strong recovery after the pandemic, Do Son tourism only welcomed less than 2 million visitors. Compared to Cat Ba, another famous tourist destination in Hai Phong City , the number of tourists to Do Son was 400,000 fewer.

Tourists enjoy swimming at the beach in Zone II of Do Son on the weekend (Photo: Thai Phan).

According to Mr. Hop, Do Son tourism experienced a spectacular surge in 2023 thanks to several strong "boosts." Most recently, this included the 2023 Do Son Traditional Buffalo Fighting Festival.

In addition to the ceremonial activities and buffalo fighting like in previous festivals, this year, the People's Committee of Do Son district organized many side activities. These include the "Hot Air Balloon Festival," the " Food Festival," the "Folk Music Night at the Village Temple," the "Ngoc Son Famous Singer Night," and the "Festival Experience Tour."

Therefore, the number of tourists visiting Do Son during the festival, which lasted throughout the latter half of September 2023, was quite high. According to statistics from the Department of Tourism, Culture and Information of Do Son district, the number of tourists attending the traditional Do Son Buffalo Fighting Festival in 2023 and related activities reached over 61,000, compared to nearly 38,000 in 2022.

Previously, the April 30th and May 1st holiday, centered around the "Do Son - Four Seasons Destination" tourism festival with many new, diverse, and attractive activities, helped Do Son tourism attract nearly 300,000 visitors, three times higher than the April 30th and May 1st holiday in 2022.

Furthermore, the opening of the Dragon Hill International Tourist Area in Van Huong Ward, Do Son District, Hai Phong City, has helped Do Son tourism overcome the weakness of lacking high-quality entertainment and recreational facilities. During the recent National Day holiday on September 2nd, this tourist area welcomed approximately 130,000 visitors.

“In the coming time, the District Department of Tourism, Culture and Information will research and consider advising the Do Son District People's Committee to organize new events and refresh annual events to create even more powerful ‘boosts.’ This will help Do Son tourism surpass the milestone of welcoming 3 million visitors this year,” Mr. Le Duc Hop shared.

Leveraging strengths beyond beach and island tourism.

According to Mr. Hoang Tuan Anh, Vice President of the Hai Phong Tourism Association, it is easy to see that Do Son's greatest strength lies in its beach and island tourism, with two famous destinations being the beach in Zone II and Dau Island.

Over the past period, the Do Son district government has made good use of this strength. To date, the Do Son beach area II has been recognized as a tourist destination by Hai Phong City. Meanwhile, on Dau Island, the primeval forest with its cluster of red-budded banyan trees, recognized as a Vietnamese heritage tree, is still preserved and maintained quite intact.

However, the aforementioned strengths only last during the summer months. For Do Son tourism to truly accelerate and develop sustainably, according to Mr. Hoang Tuan Anh, the Do Son district government needs to overcome its biggest weakness: the lack of high-quality entertainment and recreational facilities.

Furthermore, it is necessary to further develop and exploit the strengths of cultural, historical, and spiritual tourism during periods outside of the summer. This is because Do Son district has many national and city-level historical sites and spiritual destinations that can be combined into attractive tourist tours and routes, such as: Ba De Temple, Nam Hai Than Vuong Temple, Co Chin Suoi Rong Temple, Tuong Long Pagoda and Tower, K15 Unnumbered Wharf historical site, and the Fuel Depot historical site.

Tourists crowd together to watch the Do Son Buffalo Fighting Festival in 2023 (Photo: Pham Trong Tung).

Discussing this issue, Mr. Pham Hoang Tuan, Vice Chairman of the People's Committee of Do Son District, informed that the determination to promote and exploit the strengths of the locality beyond beach and island tourism has been demonstrated in the choice of the theme for the tourism festival on April 30th and May 1st, 2023: "Do Son - A Meeting Place for Four Seasons".

In addition to promoting and exploiting the strengths of the sea and islands, the People's Committee of Do Son district directs relevant departments, agencies, and functional units of the district, and the governments of the wards in the area to coordinate with departments and agencies of Hai Phong city and travel agencies to build and organize tours and routes connecting cultural, historical, and spiritual destinations in the area.

In addition, the Do Son district authorities have coordinated the review and assessment of projects and works of ministries, central agencies in the area that are behind schedule, underutilized, or abandoned.

Based on that, the People's Committee of Do Son District proposes that Hai Phong City request the Government to consider and direct relevant units to transfer assets to Hai Phong City for management and to direct investment and development of tourism infrastructure, as well as to invite capable investors to implement large-scale tourism projects to help Do Son tourism overcome the weakness of lacking high-class entertainment and recreation facilities .

Source: https://www.nguoiduatin.vn/hai-phong-du-lich-do-son-but-toc-ngoan-muc-a628906.html