Thua Thien-Hue develops tourism to tap into beauty of lagoons

• Quang Ninh develops Tra Co national tourism site
• Lang Son seeks to fully tap into community-based tourism model
• Dong Thap province taps into community-based tourism

Laguna Lang Co integrated resort in Thua Thien-Hue from above. (Photo: Laguna Lang Co)

Con Son eco-resort and tourism complex, located in Phu Thuan commune, Phu Vang district, on the bank of Thanh Lam lagoon, was granted a licence by the provincial government last week. The 42-hectare high-end project has a total investment of 1.01 trillion VND (43.4 million USD).

It is designed to accommodate up to 15,000 guests per day. Besides accommodation, the complex provides a wide range of services, from restaurant, mobile catering, to amusement, souvenir and local specialty shops. It also expects to bring to visitors greater experience of local culture and fishermen’s daily life.

The project is scheduled to be operational in March 2023.

Shortly prior to this, Thua Thien-Hue approved a 134-hectare eco-tourism complex in Hai Duong commune, Huong Tra town near Tam Giang lagoon that will cost more than 2.1 trillion VND. 

The province is also calling for investment to a similar project in Loc Dien commune, Phu Loc district to tap into the beauty of Cau Hai lagoon.

In 2018, the province permitted Banyan Tree Holdings company from Singapore to increase its total investment at Laguna Lang Co integrated resort to 2 billion USD. The added capital has been used to build nearly 1,000 more hotel rooms (from 2,180 to 3,178) and 1,073 villas (from 1,180 to 2,253). Some 250 million USD of the added capital is being invested in a 2.64-hectare casino entertainment complex for foreigners.

Located near Lang Co Bay, the first phase of the Laguna Lang Co project includes Angsana Lang Co Hotel with 229 rooms and Banyan Tree Residences with 57 villas and an 18-hole golf course, with an initial capital of nearly 300 million USD.

About 17km away from the Laguna Lang Co, final touch is being put on the Minh Vien international tourism site which will offer 200 – 300 rooms once the first phase of the project completes in the end of this year. 

The province’s Lang Co area currently houses six resort complexes, 45 hotels and motels, providing about 1,200 rooms and 1,800 beds. The area has seen an annual growth of over 25 percent in tourist arrivals and 20 percent in revenue from tourism. The number of visitors to Lang Co accounted for around 16 percent of the total tourist arrivals in the province. Last year, it welcomed more than 1.3 million holidaymakers, earning about 1.4 trillion VND (60.2 million USD).

Thua Thien-Hue aims to further develop sea-based tourism with a focus on Lang Co – Chan May area and Tam Giang – Cau Hai lagoon by 2020.

By 2025, Lang Co – Canh Duong tourist area in Lang Co township is set to welcome over 1.5 million visitors, about 600,000 of them foreign visitors.

In 2018, Thua Thien-Hue welcomed more than 4.3 million visitors, a rise of 14 percent, with the number of foreign visitors up 30 percent. Tourism revenue reached 4.47 trillion VND, up 27.1 percent against 2017. 

It targets to attract about 4.7 million visitors in 2019, with 45 percent being foreigners, a rise of about 7 percent year on year.

The province targets 4.9 trillion VND in tourism revenue in the year, up 10 percent compared to the previous year.