Hai Phong lays out tourism plan

HAI PHONG Hai Phong City is expected to become a major coastal resort cluster in Vietnam’s northern region under a development plan for 2016 to 2020 that has project objectives that will extend to 2030.

Local media reported under the plan, some key tourist sites in the city will be developed to become national and international tourist destinations including coastal tourist resorts.

The development will go in tandem with efforts to extend the footprint of Cat Bi airport that targets airlines to add more domestic and regional routes.

Hai Phong will use tourism to a spearhead sustainable economic growth to gradually turn the area into a major tourist destination.

The plan calls for the  city to develop tourism in parallel with efforts to protect the environment and promote cultural values.

The main projects will focus on the Cat Bi archipelago developing it into an international tourist destination, but with an emphasis on ecological conservation.

A key focus in the plan will identify projects and then recruit strategic investors.

Tourism annual growth is expected to be around 8% in tourist arrivals and 9% in revenue by 2020, the report added.

Around 5.5 million tourists visited Hai Phong in 2015.

Hai Phong is located 102 km from the capital Hanoi and is a major commercial port for northern Vietnam. The main airport serving Hai Phong is Cat Bi International Airport.

The airport will embark on a campaign to attract more airlines and add overseas and domestic routes.

Targeted domestic destinations included Can Tho, Quy Nhon, Tuy Hoa, Hue, Vinh and Dien Bien.

The airport’s master plan identifies future international routes in China, Hong Kong, Japan, South Korea, Singapore, Thailand and Malaysia.

Currently, Vietnam Airlines, Vietjet Air and Jetstar Pacific Airlines offer flights from Cat Bi international airport to Ho Chi Minh City, Danang, Nha Trang, Pleiku and Buon Me Thuot.

In the first quarter of this year, Cat Bi international airport handled 363,600 passengers, up 48.7%. By 2020, passenger traffic could reach 2.3 million.