Visitors are seen at the Tho Quang-Man Thai beaches in Danang City’s Son Tra District. Danang will deploy a project to develop community tourism at Tho Quang and Man Thai beaches in combination with tourism in fishing villages

The coastline of Tho Quang and Man Thai wards is a combined 1.2 kilometers long, stretching from the north of the Fusion Suites Danang Beach project to the Hoang Sa Exhibition House and a residential area along the western side of the Hoang Sa-Vo Nguyen Giap route.

The project zone will cover professional tourism service clusters, allowing tourists to experience fishermen’s daily life activities.

Nguyen Ngoc Anh, director of Omega Tours Company, said the growth of community tourism associated with fishing villages could spur fishing tourism and preserve fishing culture.

Promoting community-based tourism will contribute to improving incomes of residents as they can supply homestay services and sell souvenirs, Anh said.

Anh, however, pointed out that it is necessary to weigh the investment in this area as the sparse population across the two beach towns is likely to cause difficulties in forming a community tourism village.

“The city should execute the project in the Kim Lien-O Nam region, where fishery activities are more intense, to easily establish a community tourism village,” Anh said, adding that this region will also ease tourists’ travel to many tourist destinations.

Meanwhile, vice chairman of the Danang Hotel Association Nguyen Duc Quynh said that the fishing village in the projected region is becoming increasingly urbanized, so it is necessary to encourage fishermen to continue their fishing profession.

“The project will gain ground if it is widely introduced because it is known that craft villages, village markets and seafood markets at tourist sites across the world are attracting many visitors,” Quynh said. The difference between tourist attractions is the characteristic culture and history of each site.

A representative of the municipal Department of Tourism explained that the project had posed some solutions to support households in the region, helping them switch careers to those that match tourism business activities. It also suggested the city should invest in infrastructure and public facilities.

According to the project, the management board for Son Tra Peninsula and Danang's beaches should put greater effort into asking business households to invest in and organize beachside activities and encouraging residents to engage in the development of community tourism.

At a meeting last weekend with the municipal Department of Tourism, Danang vice chairman Le Trung Chinh said that the Tho Quang and Man Thai beaches, which feature traditional fishing villages and some century-old structures, are highly attractive to tourists.

However, residents of the Tho Quang, Mai Thai and Phuoc My wards have yet to be trained to serve tourists, Chinh said, adding that this makes it vital to capitalize on available activities at beaches to boost the tourism sector. SGT

Nhan Tam