Quang Nam approaches railway tourism

The delegation surveyed Tra Kieu station to promote Quang Nam railway tourism . Photo: TT

Last week, the Quang Nam tourism industry coordinated with Vietnam Railways Corporation to conduct a survey at Tra Kieu and Tam Ky stations. This is the first move in the strategy to promote railway tourism that the Quang Nam Provincial People's Committee and Vietnam Railways Corporation signed a cooperation agreement in April 2024.

For a long time, Tra Kieu and Tam Ky stations have been receiving passengers traveling by train through Quang Nam province normally, but their function is simply to serve railway transportation and there are no businesses designing tours to pick up passengers from these stations to destinations in neighboring areas.

Mr. Nguyen Thanh Hong - Director of the Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism said that compared to Thua Thien Hue or Da Nang City, railway infrastructure for tourism in Quang Nam is more difficult because the stations are relatively far from tourist attractions and the facilities are also limited.

To meet tourism needs, relevant parties need to survey and calculate investment plans, especially regarding reception spaces at stations that must be methodical and professional.

At the end of March 2024, the train "Connecting Central Heritage" from Thua Thien Hue to Da Nang City was put into operation and received high praise from tourists.

According to the leader of Vietnam Railway Corporation, putting the above train into operation is one of the efforts to connect the region, opening up the transportation business products combined with tourism services... that Vietnam Railway will deploy in the near future.

This is considered a driving force for Quang Nam railway tourism to seek opportunities to extend heritage tours by rail. Tra Kieu Station (Duy Son Commune, Duy Xuyen) is about 25km from the world cultural heritage My Son and only about 20km from Hoi An City; while Tam Ky Station is located right next to the center of Tam Ky City.

In the coming time, if the above mentioned station line is invested for tourism, it is necessary to open an additional transportation corridor to improve autonomy and attract more visitors to Quang Nam.

In the immediate future, local tourism management agencies will coordinate to develop policies to encourage and support road transport such as buses, taxi companies, bicycle and motorbike rental services, etc. connecting Tra Kieu, Tam Ky and Nui Thanh stations to tourist destinations and the city center for the convenience of tourists when traveling.

In addition, we will work with tourism businesses to develop plans to build specialized products for entire carriages and charter trains from Hanoi, Nha Trang, Ho Chi Minh City... to Quang Nam as requested for tourists traveling to/from Quang Nam by rail.

According to the leader of Vietnam Railway Corporation, currently on the Hanoi - Ho Chi Minh City railway route through Quang Nam province, there are 6 pairs of passenger trains operating regularly every day and night, including 5 pairs of unified passenger trains and 1 pair of high-quality passenger trains SE21/22. The number of pairs of passenger trains departing/arriving will be adjusted to increase when tourist demand increases.

The two sides will also coordinate to develop separate mechanisms for tourists with train tickets to Quang Nam, to attract tourists to/from Quang Nam by rail. In addition, they will also study and propose the development of a new railway line, connecting with Quang Nam province to attract tourists from other provinces to/from Quang Nam.

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