Quang Binh (VNA) - The central province of Quang Binh targets to welcome4.3 million visitors in 2019, about 250,000-300,000 of them foreigners, andearn some 5 trillion VND (more than 214 million USD) from tourism.

Deputy Director of the provincial Department of Tourism Dang Dong Ha said thatin order to realise these goals, the tourism sector must continue diversifyingand improving the quality of its products and services at popular sites such asthe Thien Duong, Phong Nha, and Tien Son caves; Nuoc Mooc spring; the botanicalgardens; and Chay River– Toi cave.

It will also push to develop a variety of branches, such as marine, resort,adventure, and ecological.

The province willcontinue introducing new tourism products, including festival tours andmeeting, incentive, convention, and exhibition (MICE) tourism, as well aspromote its strengths in spiritual, cultural, historical, and community-basedtourism.

Ha said developingtourism must be associated with the protection and preservation of theecological environment.

In 2018, thelocality greeted more than 3.9 million visitors, a year-on-year rise of 18.2percent.

Notably, the numberof foreign arrivals to the locality exceeded 200,000, up 53 percent compared to2017.

The tourism sectorraked in nearly 4.5 trillion VND (more than 192 million USD) in revenue in theyear, 20 percent higher than that of the previous year.

The results wereattributed to efforts by local authorities to tap local advantages for tourism,focusing on diversifying products.

Many tours wereopened to serve increasing demand of visitors, especially eco-tours, communitytours and tours of Quang Binh’s popular destinations.

Travel agenciesoperating in the locality have also paid attention to developing infrastructurefacilities.

Quang Binh is hometo about 350 tourist accommodation facilities, including one 5-star hotel, five4-star hotels and eight 3-star hotels. About 40 travel companies are operatingin the locality, including 14 international ones.

Local authoritieshave also worked hard on national, regional and international tourismpromotion, while enhancing connection with other localities in this field.

Quang Binh boastsrich tourism resources and is home to the UNESCO World Heritage Site Phong Nha-Ke Bang National Park and the world’s largest cave Son Doong.

The province alsohas the longest coastline in Vietnam, with beautiful beaches and deliciousseafood. It was chosen as one of the filming destinations of the Hollywoodblockbuster movie “Kong: Skull Island”. -VNA