Dat Tham Beach on Con Dao, the archipelago off the southern province of Ba Ria-Vung Tau, has recently landed on the list of the 10 cleanliest beaches in Southeast Asia as voted by travel readers of Independent newspaper in the UK.

The untapped beauty of Con Dao Island off the southern province of Ba Ria-Vung Tau is captured in this photo. Independent newspaper names Dat Tham Beach on the archipelago among the 10 cleanliest beaches in Southeast Asia

Like other Southeast Asian countries, Vietnam is struggling with a stack of urgent issues in terms of overcrowding, coral damage and waste when it comes to beach tourism, as pointed out by the news site.

Several countries, including Vietnam, have adopted measures to safeguard the pristine beauty of coastlines, such as carrying out clean-up campaigns, slapping fines on environmental violations and launching activities to call on the public to raise awareness on beach environment protection.

Dat Tham Beach, protected by Con Dao National Park, is one of the few undeveloped beaches left in Vietnam that are awakening foreign tourists’ interest given the untouched beauty with crystal blue water and stretches of white sands.

However, the journey to head to the uninhabited beach requires much effort when visitors have to register at the park office a few days in advance before starting a six-kilometer hike, the paper says.

Once branded “Hell on Earth” with a notorious jail system in wartime, the 16-island archipelago off the southern province has quickly garnered global recognition in recent years as it made the list of the 20 most mysterious islands on Earth by the U.S. Travel and Leisure site last year.

Additionally, CNN named the island chain as one of 12 paradise islands in Asia, while the U.S. weekly-magazine Time included Con Dao on a list of the 13 visit-worthy places around the world where travelers will be surprised by the blueness of the water.

Data from the management board of Con Dao National Park indicates that Con Dao last year received nearly 250,000 tourist arrivals, a 46% year-on-year pickup, with total international visitors estimated at 31,000, surging 3.97% against 2016.

SGT