Hai Phong (VNA) –After the sea-crossing bridge of Tan Vu – Lach Huyen opened on September 2,2017, tourist arrivals in Cat Ba island district of northern Hai Phong citysurged by 150 percent year on year from then to May 2018.

In the first half of this year, Cat Ba Islandwelcomed more than 1.5 million visitors. Holidaymakers arrived even in thewinter, said Vu Tien Lap – head of the culture, sports and tourism division ofCat Hai district.

This sharp rise was partly attributed to theconsiderable improvement in local infrastructure, which also saw the opening ofCat Bi International Airport and Ha Noi – Hai Phong Expressway in recent years.

With tourism considered a key economic sector,the city has been working to attract big investors to develop tourismfacilities.

At a recent meeting of municipal officials,Secretary of the Hai Phong Party’s Committee Le Van Thanh reiterated thenecessity of building infrastructure serving tourism development. 

He noted that the city hopes to attract 7.5million tourists by 2020. This figure rose from 5.96 million in 2016 to 6.71million in 2017. It reached 3.41 million between January and June and isexpected to hit 7.79 million this year.

🐼[Photos: Lively experience at Cat Ba World Biosphere Reserve]

Major developers like SunGroup, Vingroup andFlamingo have been building five-star hotels and other tourism facilities inCat Ba and other places in the city. In 2019, Sungroup plans complete a5.1km-long cable system from Cat Hai town to Phu Long commune and carry out atourism project in Cat Ba.

The city sees beautiful landscapes, world-classtourism facilities and modern infrastructure as key to luring vacationers.Meanwhile, ensuring security and safety for tourists and service to theirsatisfaction will persuade them to return to Hai Phong.

Local tourism has also benefited from the city’sinvestment attraction policy, which has resulted in a big number of foreign workersarriving. About 2,000 experts have come to build automobile and mobile phonefactories in Cat Hai. Many others from Japan, the Republic of Korea, the US andEurope have also stayed here to work on other investment projects.

In its development plans, the tourism sector ofHai Phong hopes to increase coordination with relevant agencies to improvetourism quality. It will also try to attract investors to make the city a key tourismdestination of Vietnam.–VNA