Van Don develops coastal entertainment services

According to the United Nations Tourism Organization (UN Tourism), coastal tourism includes land-based tourism activities such as swimming, surfing, sunbathing and coastal recreational and sports activities taking place on the coast of the sea, lake or river. The proximity to the coast also creates conditions for the development of facilities and services supporting coastal tourism.

In Quang Ninh, coastal tourism has not been considered separately but included in marine tourism (including activities such as cruise ships, sailing boats, ocean sports, etc.). In fact, coastal tourism is a fertile land for Quang Ninh tourism. Compared to marine tourism, coastal tourism is more feasible and easier to implement. The appearance of coastal resorts also promotes coastal tourism to develop in the direction of increasingly improving quality and diversifying products. In the picture of coastal tourism in Quang Ninh, Van Don is a new bright spot.

Wyndham Garden Sonasea Van Don Resort is a new highlight for coastal tourism in Van Don district.

Since its opening, the 5-star Wyndham Garden Sonasea Resort (in Ha Long Commune, Van Don District) has aimed to provide visitors with beach sports experiences such as yoga, beach volleyball, kayaking, jogging, cycling, swimming; camping and glamping activities on the beach. In September 2024, the resort organized the Aqua Warriors Van Don Tournament. This is the first duathlon tournament ever held on the island district, attracting the participation of 1,200 athletes. Thanks to that, coastal tourism has become a new attraction, attracting visitors to Van Don even during the low season of beach tourism.

Believing that Van Don needs to invest more in coastal tourism activities, Mr. Bui Van Nghiem, Director of Den A Chau Tourism and Trade Company Limited ( Hanoi ), explained: Now, if traveling from Hanoi to visit Bai Tu Long Bay, visitors will not return to Hanoi in the same day. They will want to stay overnight and they need activities such as parasailing on the beach, canoeing or kayaking, cycling... All of these activities will help keep visitors staying overnight. The next day, they can return to Ha Long Bay and return to Hanoi. These are also products that Van Don tourism can deploy immediately.

After Quang Ninh province announced 10 new tourist itineraries on Bai Tu Long Bay, domestic travel agencies quickly conducted famtrips with the expectation of soon adding new destinations to the tour schedule, bringing visitors to Quang Ninh. While sea tours still have some bottlenecks related to the number of ships serving and anchorage and sightseeing points, destinations and experiences onshore and nearshore are more feasible and are actually showing signs of improvement, thanks to the push from Quang Ninh province announcing new tourist itineraries on Bai Tu Long Bay.

The famtrip delegation of the UNESCO Hanoi Club surveyed the coastal route of Van Don district.

Not only coastal resorts benefit from the new tour itinerary, but nearshore tourism activities and destinations also receive great attention from tourism and travel businesses. In March 2025, a famtrip delegation of 40 travel businesses from the Hanoi UNESCO Club conducted a survey of coastal tourism products in Bai Tu Long Bay such as Tran Khanh Du Temple, Cai Bau Pagoda, Bai Tu Long Mountain Resort, Wyndham Garden Sonasea Van Don, Ao Tien International Port and accommodation facilities within the port.

Mr. Nguyen Van Quang, General Director of Viet Orient Hotel Consulting, Setup and Management Company, the operator of Bai Tu Long Mountain Resort, commented: Investors always focus on hotels or beach resorts, we choose for ourselves the segment of mountain experience and resort, combining forest - sea experience because we own a very large space. Building and orienting tourist experiences into mountain tourism products, adjacent to the sea, also aims to limit direct competition with beach resorts and create diverse tourism products, attracting tourists, helping tourists prolong their stay in Van Don.

Dao Linh

Source: https://baoquangninh.vn/van-don-du-lich-ven-bo-khoi-sac-3354805.html