The long-term goals of Hai Phong tourism.

Cat Ba's tourism infrastructure is increasingly being improved in an eco-friendly and modern direction. Photo: Xuan Thuy

Tourism infrastructure is becoming increasingly integrated and modern.

Returning to the Cat Ba tourist area (Cat Hai Special Economic Zone) in the summer of 2025, Mr. Duong Duc Minh from Ho Chi Minh City was astonished by the dramatic changes in this tourist area. Just five years ago, it was a newly emerging tourist destination, without any 5-star hotels or high-end resorts. Yet now, Cat Ba is gradually becoming a high-end tourist destination with a series of 5-star hotels, cruise ships, high-class entertainment areas, and is a destination for leading international cultural and sporting events.

Mr. Minh shared that, thankfully, despite the strong development of tourism, the core values of Cat Ba – its natural beauty and unique island culture – are still very well protected. The tourism infrastructure projects invested on the island not only do not harm the rare natural values of the Cat Ba archipelago but also contribute to enhancing the experience of visiting Lan Ha Bay and exploring the Cat Ba World Biosphere Reserve, attracting tourists.

Not only Cat Ba, but Hai Phong's tourism infrastructure has undergone a rapid transformation in the past 5 years, awakening the potential and advantages of one of the earliest tourism-developing localities in the country.

In the Do Son tourist area, artificial beaches stretching for kilometers, and high-end entertainment venues such as the Dragon Ocean Lighting Park, Thuy Tinh Water Park, and the Dragon Mangrove forest within the Doi Rong International Tourist Area, which have been operational since 2024, attract millions of tourists. This mega-project, invested in and constructed by Geleximco Group since the beginning of the 2020-2025 term, along with significant investment in upgrading tourism infrastructure by the city, has been reviving the Do Son tourism brand.

Cat Ba tourism is thriving thanks to its status as a World Natural Heritage site. Photo: Xuan Thuy

The final year of the 2020-2025 term also marks the launch of a new high-end tourist destination on Vu Yen Island in Hai Phong. A series of world-class projects such as Vin Wonders Royal Parks theme park, Vinpearl Horse Academy Vu Yen, Royal Marina luxury yacht marina, Vu Yen Park pedestrian street… will transform Vu Yen Island into a leading entertainment and leisure complex attracting high-end tourists to the port city by 2025.

To date, Hai Phong has attracted 15 tourism development projects with a total investment of over 111,000 billion VND, including many large-scale tourist, entertainment, and resort areas meeting international standards. Tourism infrastructure has grown significantly in both scale and quality; tourism facilities and technical infrastructure, especially transportation infrastructure connecting to tourist areas and destinations, have received focused investment. The scale of tourist accommodation facilities in the city has reached 17,000 rooms, an increase of 25% compared to 2020 (13,636 rooms), including 16 hotels meeting 4-5 star standards.

Do Son's tourism infrastructure has seen a breakthrough in development during the 2020-2025 term. Photo: PHAN TUAN

Among them, nearly 10 five-star hotels with many ultra-luxury hotel brands such as Sofitel, Pullman, Hilton... and a series of new five-star cruise ships worth tens of millions of USD are operating in Lan Ha Bay, marking Hai Phong's efforts to elevate its resort tourism on the world's high-end tourism map.

With numerous international tourism awards and accolades, Hai Phong's 5-star cruises and hotels affirm their reputation for top-quality service, catering not only to MICE tourism (a special tourism model combining meetings, incentives, conventions, and exhibitions) but also meeting the stringent requirements of high-end tourists, the super-rich, and businesspeople from around the world.

Impressive growth amidst difficulties

Along with tourism infrastructure, Hai Phong is promoting the development of tourism products in line with the orientation that marine and island tourism is the core, spreading and developing various types of tourism such as sports tourism, resort tourism, MICE tourism, community tourism, rural agricultural tourism, and cultural and spiritual tourism in order to expand the space and develop diverse types of tourism products in the city.

New tourism products such as cultural and historical tourism, experiential tourism linked to environmental protection and career guidance for students in the city, Hai Phong Foodtour, Red Phoenix Flower Train, river tourism, Hang Kenh Sacred Night Tour… create a unique identity and enhance the experience, attracting tourists to Hai Phong.

In particular, two major milestones during the 2020-2025 term were the recognition of the Cat Ba Archipelago by UNESCO as a World Natural Heritage Site and the recognition of a part of the Yen Tu - Vinh Nghiem - Con Son - Kiet Bac complex as a World Cultural Heritage Site. This has elevated Hai Phong's tourism brand, opening up significant opportunities for the city to develop sustainable tourism, linked to the preservation and promotion of heritage values.

Cat Ba Island in autumn welcomes visitors with brilliant golden sunshine. — Hai Phong is becoming one of the favorite destinations for international tourists.
Photo: PHAN TUAN

As a result, the number of domestic and international tourists visiting Hai Phong during the 2020-2025 term has seen significant growth despite facing numerous challenges due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Immediately after reaching a peak of 8.1 million tourists in 2019, Hai Phong's tourism industry suffered a severe decline right from the beginning of the 2020-2025 term. Due to the strong impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, in 2020, Hai Phong only received 7.2 million domestic tourists and 0.3 million international tourists. These numbers continued to decline in 2021 with 3.6 million domestic tourists and 0.06 million international tourists.

However, tourism is also one of the city's sectors that has recovered strongly after the pandemic. From a modest recovery in 2023 with 6.9 million visitors, this number nearly doubled in 2024, reaching 11.65 million. In 2025, the city is expected to welcome approximately 13.9 million visitors – the highest level during the entire term, a 41% increase compared to the peak in 2019.

New impetus for tourism development

One of the key factors driving the strong development of tourism in Hai Phong during the past term was the decisive and consistent leadership of the City Party Committee and the City People's Committee. A series of specialized resolutions were issued, affirming the determination to make tourism a pillar of Hai Phong's economic development. Consequently, projects such as the overall plan for tourism development in Hai Phong city until 2025, with a vision to 2030; and the plan for rural tourism development linked to the construction of new rural areas in Hai Phong until 2025, with a vision to 2030, were developed and implemented, creating new impetus for the development of Hai Phong tourism in the coming years.

Parts of the Yen Tu – Vinh Nghiem – Con Son – Kiet Bac complex, recognized as a World Cultural Heritage site, are increasingly attracting tourists. Photo: DO TUAN

The achievements in tourism development during the 2020-2025 term serve as a foundation for Hai Phong tourism to set ambitious goals for the 2025-2030 term.

The draft Political Report to the City Party Congress for the 2025-2030 term clearly outlines the development orientation for Hai Phong into a regional and international center for marine tourism, culture, and heritage; building distinctive tourism products associated with the cultural identity, history, and resources of the sea, islands, agriculture, and rural areas. In particular, Cat Ba, Do Son, and Con Son - Kiet Bac will play a driving role in developing a green economy and sustainable tourism, spreading the image of a civilized, friendly, and livable port city.

Specifically, the city will focus on effectively exploiting its marine and island tourism resources and unique cultural heritage, making tourism a key economic sector. It will develop Cat Ba into a "green island," a high-class ecological and resort destination; and the Con Son - Kiet Bac World Cultural Heritage site into an international cultural and spiritual tourism center. It will build tourism routes and improve transportation infrastructure to connect Cat Ba - Do Son - Con Son - Kiet Bac into a chain of marine, island, and spiritual heritage tourism spaces, linked to the historical, cultural, and unique identity of the Northern coastal region.

Furthermore, proactively research and propose policies to encourage the opening of more direct flight routes connecting Hai Phong with major economic and tourism centers in Vietnam and Asia; develop tourism into a driving force for socio-economic development and international integration of the city. This includes promoting tourism development and regional connectivity along the axis of the city center - Cat Hai - Bach Long Vi - Hainan (China).

NGUYEN CUONG

Source: https://baohaiphong.vn/muc-tieu-xa-cua-du-lich-hai-phong-520868.html