Tourism development in line with environmental protection

Aware of the fact that Ba Ria - Vung Tau's tourism sector is running the risk of being affected by environmental changes, many tourism enterprises in the province have made efforts to link their business activities with landscape restoration and environmental protection in order to create an important basis for more sustainable and effective development of the tourism sector.

Lots of tourism accommodation establishments in Vung Tau city have actively implemented measures to preserve the environment. Such hotels as Palace, Intourco Resort, DIC Star and Sammy have met criteria on environmental protection and contributed to saving energy. Taking efforts to protect the environment also helps enterprises cut costs, guarantee safety for their staff and tourists, and at the same time enhance their competitiveness.

In light of the risk of tourism development adversely impacting the environment, the tourism sector has collaborated with relevant agencies, industries and tourism enterprises to implement measures to protect the environment and develop sustainable tourism. The sector has accelerated propaganda, built awareness to preserve the environment among those directly involved in tourism and thereby create a spillover effect among the community. Besides, supervision over environmental quality at tourism areas is tightened. As a result, the awareness of protecting the environment among tourism enterprises is improved. Mr Nguyen Van Son, Deputy Director of Ba Ria - Vung Tau Provincial Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism, said that a lot of tourism enterprises in the province have enthusiastically responded to the Green Lotus Label programme implemented by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism.

Furthermore, many tourism areas and hotels have paid attention to investing in standard sewage and garbage treatment systems, clearing beaches, growing trees, caring for gardens and creating clean environment and beautiful scenery to serve tourists. About 75 percent of tourism accommodation establishments here have completed administrative procedures for environmental preservation, including submission of environmental impact assessment reports and commitments to protecting the environment. These activities improve tourism product quality and sustainability, in turn attracting an ever larger number of tourists to Ba Ria - Vung Tau.

Centre for relaxation tourism in the future

In order to guarantee good service to tourists and continue to enhancing the competitiveness of its tourism sector, on 29 August 2012, Ba Ria - Vung Tau Provincial People's Committee signed Decision 1756/QD-UBND to issue its Action plan for the period of 2012 - 2020 to implement "Development strategy for Vietnam tourism to 2020, vision 2030" issued by the Prime Minister. The basic objective of the Action plan is to concentrate all resources for tourism development in a professional and modern manner. The province strives towards the goal of developing Ba Ria - Vung Tau into a large centre for relaxation and entertainment of Vietnam and the region by 2020.

Accordingly, by 2020, all the tourism investment projects which have been licensed will have been put into operation. There will be 60 standard hotels of 3-5 stars. Five identified tourism centres and areas including Vung Tau City, Long Hai - Phuoc Hai, Dinh Mountain - Ba Ria, Binh Chau - Ho Linh and Con Dao tourism areas. Beach tourism, sports and entertainment tourism, all strengths of Ba Ria - Vung Tau, will continue to be improved and become unique tourism products.

To meet the set targets, the province focuses on HR training and developing according to each specific period, aiming at socializing HR training and attracting capable investors to organise training and provide high quality HR for the tourism sector. In addition, planning and investment in infrastructure systems is given top priority. Accordingly, the province will call for investment, mobilise funding for construction of two ports to serve tourists, further develop infrastructure for eco tourism in Binh Chau - Phuoc Buu nature reserve, and invest in supporting facilities in districts. Con Dao will be turned into a regionally and internationally recognised tourist destination with high quality tourism services and Vung Tau will be a safe, friendly and civilized attraction.

Particularly, Ba Ria - Vung Tau will boost inter-regional collaboration in order to develop inter-provincial and inter-regional tourist routes and tours. Cooperative relationships with other nations and international organizations will also be expanded and enhanced to further development and integration of the province and thereby polish the image and promote the position of Ba Ria - Vung Tau in the international market.