VietNamNet Bridge – The tourism authority of the central province of Quang Binh will this year launch at least seven new tourism products, organize numerous promotion programs and festivals, and inaugurate more flights to the province to bolster tourism which has been battered by the April 2016 sea pollution incident.

A view of Tra Ang Cave in Phong Nha-Ke Bang National Park in Quang Binh Province - Photo: phongnhakebang.vn

Nguyen Van Ky, deputy director of the Quang Binh Department of Tourism, said the provincial tourism authority will arrange new tours, including to Chay Waterfall, Hamad Valley, Tra Ang Cave, the ancient pagoda of Hoang Phuc, and the site where the “Kong: Skull Island” film was shot.

The Hamad Valley - Tra Ang Cave tour is expected to be ready in the coming days. The tourism authority last Friday made a fact-finding trip to these two sites, Ky told the Daily on Sunday.

Besides, the province will organize festivals such as the Cave Festival and the Quang Binh Tourism Day in Hanoi late next month.

The provincial government and Jetstar Pacific Airlines have agreed to open Dong Hoi (Quang Binh)-Cat Bi (Haiphong City) air service in late May this year. An international route linking Dong Hoi City and Chiang Mai of Thailand will be launched in July.

The tourism authority is pinning high hopes that the tourism sector in the province can be recovered this year thanks to these promotion programs and flights, Ky said.

The tourism sector in four central coast provinces – Ha Tinh, Quang Binh, Quang Tri and Thua Thien-Hue – has suffered heavy losses since the Formosa steel complex in Ha Tinh dumped harmful industrial waste into the sea in April 2016, killing more than 100 tons of fish and thus driving away tourists.

Quang Binh last year served nearly two million tourists, down 35% from a year earlier, with its tourism revenue dropping by VND1.8 trillion (US$78.8 million).

SGT