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Ngo Hoai Chung, deputy general director of the Vietnam National Administration of Tourism (VNAT), said that Vietnam has great potential to develop adventure tourism.
Of many different types of tourism, adventure travel is now witnessing the highest growth rate. Meanwhile, Vietnam has great potential to satisfy travelers' demand for exploring unusual, exotic, remote and wilderness destinations.
Three quarters of Vietnam territory is made up of mountainous and hilly regions. Vietnam has limestone mountains, karst areas, beautiful caves, tropical primary forests, nature reserves, large national parks and over 3,000 km of coastline.
Many areas in Vietnam have favorable conditions for jogging, mountain climbing, car racing, sea diving, rafting, sailing, windsurfing, parachuting and parasailing.
However, despite great natural advantages, Vietnam’s adventure tourism still has not developed. Chung said that not many localities and businesses had invested in the segment.
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Many areas in Vietnam have favorable conditions for jogging, mountain climbing, car racing, sea diving, rafting, sailing, windsurfing, parachuting and parasailing. |
Some firms open tours without asking for permission from agencies, provide low-quality tours and bring travelers to areas with poor facilities. As they ignore many requirements, travelers’ safety is also threatened.
Local newspapers have discovered that some travel firms have brought travelers to unlicensed destinations to avoid control from state management agencies.
These led to tragic accidents, including the one in which travelers and a tour guide died at the Hang Cop Waterfall on February 23.
Soon after the accident occurred, the Lam Dong provincial Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism suspended domestic travel services of the Gold Dream Company, which sold the tour.
The company did not register to provide adventure travel and did not have the function of receiving foreign travelers.
Prior to that, on February 26, 2016, three British travelers died because they lost their footing at Datanla Waterfall in Da Lat City.
Chung said in the two cases at Datanla and Hang Cop Waterfalls, the travel firm used unlicensed tour guides.
Nguyen Trung Thanh, director of Goldent Travel, pointed out that the Tourism Law still does not define this type of tourism. There is no legal document with detailed regulations on adventure tourism.
According to Thanh, in other countries, travelers must prove they can take adventure tours, while in Vietnam, anyone can book adventure tours.
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