A bird’s eye view of Bai Dinh pagoda complex in Ninh Binh

Not only an ecological tourism destination, in the near future, NinhBinh will focus on the utilisation and development of the cave tourism on thebasis of its 230 cave. This was confirmed by Hoang Thanh Phong, Deputy Directorof the Tourism Department of the province.

Small in the natural area of only 1,400 square km, yet Ninh Binh boastshuge potential and advantages in the field of tourism, both natural andman-made.

Prominent tourism products of Ninh Binh now are ecological andspiritual, including those in Trang An, Tam Coc-Bich Dong, Van Long, CucPhuong, ancient capital Hoa Lu, Bai Dinh and Phat Diem rock church. Provincialauthorities are now focusing on a new product: cave tourism in the Trang Ancomplex and other destinations, especially the bird sanctuary in Thung Nham,according to Phong.

The official further elaborated that Ninh Binh is home to more than 230caves of different sizes, 60 percent of them water.

Right from 2017, the department started to provide consultation to theprovincial People’s Committee and the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourismin building a programme on the national tourism year, Phong said, adding thatrecently, the committee sent a delegation to Quang Ninh province to leanexperiences in organsing the national tourism year.

The province hopes to create differences, Phong said, elaborating thatdifferences will be made in the contents to be more attractive.

The development of community-based and agriculture-base tourism willenjoy more attention, the official said, adding that for Ninh Binh province,tourism development will be closely associated with the building of thenew-style rural areas. This can be clearly seen in the case of the Trang Ancomplex, in which farmers have shifted from agriculture to tourism. Boat rowingservices alone had provided jobs for over 3,000 local workhands in 20 communes,with stable income, Phong said.

In the context of the Fourth Industrial Revolution, the official saidhis department has provided consultations to the Ninh Binh provincial People’sCommittee on the reduction of the use of disposable plastic products, as wellas the saving of electricity and water. At the tourist sites, visitors areadvised to reduce the use of plastic bags and bottles, he added.

Ninh Binh is among the leading localities in the country in theapplication of the 4.0 technology in tourism development, Phong asserted. Inthe province, tourists can access information of their destinations, food andaccommodation services, how to visit, etc., through their mobile phones. Smarttourism services will be strengthened in the future, he added.

However, the official also admitted that tourism infrastructure in theprovince has yet to enjoy concerted investment, while the human resources inthis field are still poor and insufficient.

Ninh Binh youths do not completely want to do tourism, he said, addingthat after their education, students often look for stable jobs with highincomes as the mushrooming of industrial zones in the province has become amagnet to them.

In the time to come, the tourism sector of Ninh Binh will provideconsultations to the provincial People’s Committee to work out plans on thehuman resources training and policies to attract and keep graduates in thefield, while helping localities in the province to develop tourism-relatedservices.

“We are striving to make every Ninh Binh local a tourism ambassador sothat visitors will have fine impressions when they come to the province inparticular and Vietnam in general”, Phong said./.VNA