Quang Ninh (VNA) – The northern coastal province of Quang Ninh isfocusing resources on improving its tourism infrastructure, targeting towelcome 12 million visitors, including 5 million foreigners, this year.

The localityhas invested in building and upgrading many roads to shorten the travel time oftourists to Quang Ninh.

In lateApril, the final segments of the Bach Dang bridge connecting the northern portcity of Hai Phong and Quang Ninh were joined.

The bridge, onceoperational, is expected to help shorten the distance from Hanoi to Quang Ninhfrom 175 kilometres to 125 kilometres as well as cut travelling time betweenthe two localities by half.

“Along withthe Ha Long-Hai Phong highway, the Van Don international airport project, whichis about to complete, will open up a new opportunity for the development ofQuang Ninh’s tourism sector,” said Vice Chairwoman of the provincial People’sCommittee Vu Thi Thu Thuy.

The provincehas lured a lot of projects into the sector.

Since 2013,it has attracted more than 100 projects with a total registered capital of 121trillion VND (5.33 billion USD), mainly in the tourism field.

The TuanChau Group has pumped a total investment of nearly 50 trillion VND in a moderngolf field, Vietnam’s longest four-star hotel and villa complex, and others, contributingto changing the face of the locality’s tourism sector.

Every day,the Tuan Chau tourism complex welcomes around 10,000  domestic and foreign visitors.

Along withTuan Chau Group, Sun Group, Vingroup and FLC  are giant investors in the province’s tourism.

Their Sun World Ha Long, Vincom Centre Ha Long, and five-star FLC Ha Long BayResort have become favoured destinations there.

Director ofthe provincial Tourism Department Pham Ngoc Thuy said that the province iscalling for investment in five projects in Van Don: Phuong Hoang islandeco-tourism site with an investment of 5.5 trillion VND, Dat Nat island with acapital of over 3.1 trillion VND, Chin isle site with an investment of 2.5trillion VND, Soi Nhu isle project valued at 640 billion VND, and aneco-tourist site totalling 3.5 trillion VND.

“With openpolicy and favourable legal framework, Quang Ninh expects to attract more domesticand foreign investors in order to turn the locality into the country’s leadingdestination of tourists,” Thuy added.

In the firstfive months of the year, the province served more than 7 million visitors,including 2.5 million foreigners. It expects to welcome 12 millionholidaymakers by the end of this year, 5 million of them are foreigners.

Quang Ninhis endowed with natural advantages for sea and island tourism.

The province has a coastline of more than 250 kilometres and some 2,000 islets,two-thirds of the total in Vietnam. The spectacular stretch of coast connectsthe UNESCO-recognised World Heritage Site of Ha Long Bay with majestic naturalscenery, Bai Tu Long Bay, Van Don and Co To islands and Tra Co beach with CatBa National Park in the northern port city of Hai Phong.

In 2017, atotal of 9.87 million tourists visited the province, including 4.28 millionforeigners. More than 70 percent of the tourists came via sea and island tours.

Quang Ninhis expanding the space for sea and island tourism farther from Ha Long Baytowards islands such as Co To, Van Don and Hai Ha.-VNA