Dong Nai (VNA) ♐– The southern province of Dong Nai is diversifying tourism products to create a unique brand for its tourism.

Tourist attractions in Dong Nai include Cat Tien National Park; Suoi Mo, Buu Long and Chua Chan mountain tourist areas, Tri An lake, Dong Nai cultural and natural conservation site, Tan Trieu pomelo village, and Ong pagoda. Each year, they lure hundreds of thousands of visitors. Besides the scenic spots, Dong Nai has thousands of monuments, architectural works, and famous ancient houses. According to statistics from the provincial Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism, Dong Nai currently has over 1,500 relic sites, including two special national, 29 national and 36 provincial ones, together with tens of cuisine and cultural festivals held throughout the year. Dong Nai is among the top in the country in terms of economic development, attracting millions of people from domestic and foreign localities to live and work in. The economic and population convergence has enriched Dong Nai's cultural and culinary identity, contributing to creating a colourful, dynamic and modern Dong Nai. This also helps create a brand for Dong Nai’s tourism, and turn the province into an important link in tourist routes with other localities in the southeastern and Central Highlands regions. Nguyen Van Hau, an official of the provincial Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism, said that for tourism to become an important economic sector, the department has organised training programmes, and will systematise destinations and restaurants. Le Kim Bang, Secretary of Xuan Loc district’s Party Committee, said that the district is aiming to develop rural agricultural tourism products based on its outstanding new-style rural area building achievements. Notably, Xuan Loc has the second highest mountain, Chua Chan, in the Southeastern region and is also a famous spiritual tourist destination with much untapped potential. The Cat Tien National Park is a high priority of the tourism sector of Dong Nai. The site now provides some 20 tours, which give tourists unique experience in nature and allow them to join in environmental protection activities. About 20km from the Cat Tien National Park, the Suoi Mo tourism site also attracts many visitors. Experts said linking Cat Tien and Suoi Mo will create more interesting experience for visitors, thus keeping them stay longer in the province. Boasting rich tourism resources, Dong Nai is calling for investment in more than 20 tourism projects with a total capital of over 1 billion USD. Among them, there are several large-scale projects such as a wild animal ecotourism project (safari) covering about 412 hectares in Vinh Cuu district. There is also the Da Ton lake ecological tourist site with an area of about 1,000 hectares in Tan Phu district. Another project involves an ecological resort along Tri An lake with an area of nearly 570 hectares. Secretary of the provincial Party Committee Nguyen Hong Linh said Dong Nai is currently home to 133 accommodation establishments, with 3,600 rooms, including 16 ranked 1-5 stars. In the first 10 months of 2023, Dong Nai attracted more than 2.4 million visitors, earning more than 1.4 trillion VND, up 42% year-on-year. The province is eyeing to welcome 4.2 million visitors in 2025 and about 9 million in 2030./.