The local tourism sector has fully recovered, thus entering a new stage of development, said Nguyen Van Tuan, head of the Vietnam National Administration of Tourism (VNAT).

Tuan highlighted the recovery of the tourism sector at a press conference held by Binh Dinh Province in Hanoi on March 30 to announce a conference on tourism investment and development in the central coast province in April.

Tuan said the sector has served 2.5 million international visitors and 18.5 million domestic tourists in the first quarter of this year, up 10% year-on-year. Tourism revenue has amounted to VND110 trillion (US$4.9 billion) with 60% contributed by the inbound segment.

A report of the Government showed that international tourist arrivals in Vietnam in the first two months of 2016 stood at 1.64 million, up 16% compared to the same period last year.

Tuan said a number of large-scale tourism projects have been completed this year and many of them invested by private corporations like FLC, Muong Thanh, Sun Group, Tuan Chau and Vingroup will be put into service next month.

Visitor arrivals from several major source markets started to decline after the worker protests against China’s illegal placement of a giant oil rig in Vietnam’s exclusive economic zone in the East Sea in May 2014. The Government reported to the National Assembly that tensions in the East Sea were one of the main reasons behind the sharp decline in international visitors to Vietnam in the first half of 2015.

However, international arrivals started to recover in the July-December period last year and the number for the whole year reached 7.9 million, equivalent to that of 2014.

Binh Dinh finding investors for 45 tourism projects

Binh Dinh Province has prepared a list of 45 tourism projects in need of investment in the coming years, Binh Dinh chairman Ho Quoc Dung said.

Dung told a press conference in Hanoi on March 30 that the province needs VND15 trillion (US$673 million) for tourism projects to be implemented until 2020 and VND21.5 trillion (US$964.5 million) for projects in the 2021-2030 period.

The province pledged to assist investors with licensing procedures and site clearance. Dung took projects of FLC Corporation and Vingroup as an example.

Dung said it took Binh Dinh only two days to issue an investment certificate to FLC to develop a 200-hectare hotel complex and the province spent VND300 billion (US$13.46 million) on site clearance for a 650-hectare complex of Vingroup. 

“We have supporting policies for investors committed to tourism projects,” Dung said.

Last year, Binh Dinh attracted 2.6 million visitors, up 20% year-on-year, and earned tourism revenue of over VND1 trillion (US$44.9 million), soaring 30%. The province targets 5.5 million visitors, including 800,000 from abroad, by 2020.

Binh Dinh is determined to boost the development of the tourism sector and make the province an attractive destination for domestic and foreign travelers.

Tran Xuan Hoang, deputy general director of the Bank for Investment and Development of Vietnam (BIDV), said the lender will announce a credit package worth VND15 trillion (US$674.6 million) for investors of projects in Binh Dinh at the upcoming conference on tourism investment and development.

Hoang said BIDV has pledged loans of nearly VND18 trillion (US$808 million) for tourism projects under construction in Binh Dinh. The total includes loans of VND1.3 trillion (US$58.3 million) for FLC and VND600 billion (US$26.9 million) of it has been disbursed.