Sustainable development of tourism in Ha Long Bay

Over the past time, Ha Long Bay has attracted millions of visitors each year. Balancing between effective exploitation, landscape conservation and improving service quality is becoming an urgent task.

The beauty of Ha Long Bay in the sun. Photo: Khanh Giang

Ha Long Bay tourism currently has 12 key products: 4 products directly organized by Ha Long Bay Management Board, including experiencing the aesthetic value of landscape and geology - geomorphology by sightseeing boat, discovery cruise, experiencing fishing village culture, visiting historical - cultural relics and swimming at Ti Top beach; 8 services exploited by businesses including souvenirs, rowing boats, kayaks, speedboats, transport boats, coastal restaurant boats, pearl farming experience, buying and selling and performing seafood processing. The combination of state management and private business has created a rich tourism ecosystem, but also places high demands on monitoring, coordinating and synchronizing activities throughout the heritage area.

To promote and develop tourism products in Ha Long Bay, at the end of 2020, the Provincial People's Committee issued Decision No. 4686/QD-UBND "Approving the Master Plan on management and development of sea and island tourism products in Ha Long Bay - Bai Tu Long Bay - Van Don - Co To", providing a roadmap for tourism product development until 2030 and the following years. On that basis, functional agencies and businesses have added high-end products, such as: Luxury cruises, seaplanes, sightseeing helicopters, restaurant cruises combined with music , local culinary experiences. The goal is to target luxury guests while still preserving the natural and cultural identity of the heritage area.

However, many barriers have affected the progress of infrastructure completion and tourism product diversification. Specifically, the planning for the preservation, restoration and rehabilitation of scenic spots until 2035, with a vision to 2050, has only stopped at the planning stage and has not been approved by the Government , and is expected to be completed by 2027. This directly affects projects to expand beaches, exploit caves and upgrade ports. Many ideas are available, but cannot be implemented due to the lack of a clear legal basis.

Service of viewing Ha Long Bay from above at Tuan Chau International Tourist Area, Ha Long City. Photo: Hoang Quynh

In addition, the distribution of tourists on the routes is not uniform . The two routes VHL1 and VHL2, which focus on visiting Thien Cung Cave, Sung Sot Cave, and bathing at Ti Top Beach, are currently overloaded, causing many tourist attractions to be silted and traffic jams. On the contrary, VHL3 and VHL4, which have a series of beautiful sandy beaches, pristine caves, and diverse potential experiences such as Vong Vieng, Tung Sau lagoon, and Dau Go cave, have received little attention. To overcome this, the Ha Long Bay Management Board has invited travel agencies to survey and promote the VHL3 and VHL4 routes and proposed connecting them with Lan Ha Bay and Cat Ba (Hai Phong City), while creating more inter-regional routes to Bai Tu Long to reduce the load on VHL1 and VHL2 and extend the length of stay of tourists.

Many units using water and sea surfaces have not fulfilled their financial obligations, but still provide kayak, rowboat, speedboat services... In 2025, Ha Long Bay Management Board will temporarily stop signing contracts to coordinate the organization of water entertainment services, awaiting instructions from the Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism on the process of leasing the right to exploit public assets.

Red coral on Ha Long Bay. Photo: Khanh Giang

Land and island policies are also among the issues that need to be resolved. Many investment projects for tourism products on route 4 of Ha Long Bay - Bai Tu Long, Ha Long Bay Wildlife and Plant Conservation Area on Soi Sim Island, and exploitation of Trinh Nu Cave were approved in principle from 2011-2016, but are stuck in procedures for transferring sea areas, leasing forest environments, and licensing berths...

In addition, the infrastructure at some tourist attractions is also facing difficulties, such as: the waterway in front of Thien Cung - Dau Go has not been maintained, causing congestion at low tide; Tien Ong Cave and Me Cung Cave ports have not been announced as inland waterway ports, although construction was completed in 2020; the stairs up and down to Co Cave are degraded, the electricity system is lacking, the walkways are narrow...

To create a solid foundation for Ha Long Bay to continue to be an attractive and friendly destination, authorities need to intervene promptly to remove legal, financial and infrastructure barriers... When difficulties are resolved, Ha Long Bay tourism will maximize its potential, develop sustainably and enhance the experience for visitors.

Thu Nguyet

Source: https://baoquangninh.vn/phat-trien-ben-vung-du-lich-vinh-ha-long-3356848.html