Chart Showing the Growth Rate of International and Domestic Tourists to Ninh Hoa Town in the Period 2007

Other districts and provinces come to Ninh Hoa to visit family and combine Ninh Hoa tourism. Therefore, the number of domestic tourists to Ninh Hoa is quite high and increasing. Domestic tourists account for 80% of the total number of tourists to Ninh Hoa.

Regarding domestic tourists: Like Khanh Hoa province, the visitors to Ninh Hoa town are mainly domestic tourists from Ho Chi Minh City and the provinces of the Southeast, Central Highlands, and South Central regions. This is a point that needs to be noted in planning the organization of tourism space.

Domestic tourists coming here often stop for a short stay, their spending is low, about 400 to 700 thousand/person, the number of visitors is highest in the early summer months. The most attractive places are: Doc Let tourist area, Ninh Van Bay, Ba Ho eco-tourism area, Truong Xuan hot spring... accounting for 90% of tourists coming to the town.

Domestic tourists are always the decisive source of tourists for Ninh Hoa town's tourism. The group of domestic tourists coming to the town usually come for sightseeing and relaxation purposes and often concentrate on holidays, weekends or summer, this group of tourists has a limited spending level. However, to attract more of this group, the town needs to further improve the infrastructure system in tourist areas, invest more in entertainment activities to contribute to diversifying the target group of tourists.

The growth rate of domestic and international tourists is relatively stable. International tourists increased by an average of 5% in the period 2007 - 2013, domestic tourists increased by nearly 3%.

Chart 2.3 . The chart shows the growth rate of international and domestic tourists to Ninh Hoa town in the period 2007 - 2013.

2.5. Revenue from tourism industry of Ninh Hoa town

Table 2.5 . Tourism revenue in the town (billion VND)

Year

Khanh Hoa Province	Ninh Hoa	Compared to province (%)
2007	1,026,744	64.6	6.3
2008	1,353,354	66.3	4.9
2009	1,562,561	72.7	4.7
2010	1,877,254	82.3	4.4
2011	2,252,144	101.4	4.5
2012	2,569,560	127.3	5.0
2013	3,900,000	157.1	4.1

Maybe you are interested!

Source: Ninh Hoa Town Statistics Office

Along with the development of the industry, revenue from Ninh Hoa tourism is increasing, some years increasing more than the plan. In 2007, the total tourism revenue of the town reached 64.6 billion VND, by 2013 it had increased nearly 3 times, reaching

157.1 billion VND, 2.43 times higher. The town's tourism revenue is mainly concentrated in the private economic sector, 138.8 billion VND in 2013, revenue mainly based on services, room rental, and food and beverage.

Ninh Hoa's tourism revenue accounts for a modest proportion compared to Khanh Hoa's total revenue, fluctuating between 4 - 6%.

Tourism revenue of Ninh Hoa town in the period of 2007 - 2013 is not large compared to the province but is relatively stable and the following year has a higher growth rate than the previous year, clearly shown in the following chart:

% 160

140

120

100

151.8

131.8

115.5

120.1

123.2

120

106.1

102

102.6

109.7

113.1

125.5

114

123.3

Khanh Hoa Ninh Hoa

2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013

Year

Chart 2.4. Chart showing tourism revenue growth rate

2.6. General assessment of the current status of tourism development in Ninh Hoa town

- Achievements

Ninh Hoa town has great potential for tourism development. Ninh Hoa is considered a place rich in tourism resources of Khanh Hoa province.

+ The tourist routes and destinations are developing rapidly, shown through the increasing number of visitors and tourism revenue of the town, in which the most prominent are the tourist destinations of Doc Let, Suoi Hoa Lan, Dam Nha Phu with the tourist routes of NINH Hoa -

Nha Trang – Da Lat, Ho Chi Minh City – Nha Trang – Doc Let, Nha Trang – Ninh Hoa, Ninh Hoa – Doc Let.

+ Diverse types of tourism, of which the most prominent strengths are sea tourism, sightseeing, swimming, diving, cultural research, visiting historical and cultural relics. Tourism products are associated with the potential strengths of Ninh Hoa, beautiful landscapes, craft villages, beaches, and beautiful, pristine bays.

+ In recent years, the investment in technical facilities and infrastructure of the province for the town has been carried out widely, tourist attractions are all accessible by car or boat, water and electricity systems are guaranteed, the motel system is gradually upgraded to modernity.

+ Types of room rental services and entertainment facilities are increasingly complete and ensure quality, such as canoes, yachts, life jackets for sea trips...

+ Although the tourism labor force is still limited, it has initially received investment attention, so the number of trained workers in 2010 accounted for 20% of the total number of tourism workers. This number, although modest, is still higher than some other districts in the province and with the current investment progress and facilitation from many functional agencies, the number of trained tourism workers will certainly increase in the future.

+ The development of town tourism has contributed to the general development of the province; created jobs; stabilized society, brought significant revenue from tourism to the town. Initially, town tourism contributed to changing the landscape and on the other hand, created a foundation for economic sectors such as: construction, transportation, post and telecommunications, etc.

+ The above factors make Ninh Hoa increasingly attract a large number of domestic and foreign tourists to visit and explore.

- Weaknesses

In recent times, tourism has solved some immediate problems for the industry and made positive changes to integrate with the market economy.

contributing to the overall development of tourism in Khanh Hoa province.

+ However, compared to other localities of the province or the Central Coast, tourism in Ninh Hoa town is still developing slowly, the results achieved are not commensurate with its position and potential. Due to certain limitations in many different fields, tourism in the town has not really had any significant changes.

+ Currently, the infrastructure and technical facilities of the town do not meet the standards for the development of tourism in the town at present as well as in the future. The lack of motels and restaurants is a major obstacle to the needs of tourists to stay and visit. In addition, the team of guides at tourist attractions is still seriously lacking, plus the lack of professional qualifications, the way of doing tourism at tourist attractions still has too many obstacles and inappropriate steps, the awareness of the local people is not high in protecting and preserving the inherent tourism resources of the town.

+ The issue of tourism promotion and marketing is currently not focused on investment, leaflets are not regularly distributed, and tourism fairs at the provincial and wider regional levels are not organized. Many tourist destinations are currently being exploited unreasonably and improperly, leading to serious environmental degradation at these tourist destinations, especially during peak tourist and festival seasons. In addition, the issue of environmental protection at tourist destinations is not regularly focused on.

+ There are no tourism cooperation programs with travel and tourism companies, and inter-district tourism programs are implemented very slowly. This is a limitation that the town has not been able to solve.

+ Lack of proper support from the State and private sector in tourism development activities has led to many areas with rich potential being left untapped, resulting in low tourism performance, not commensurate with the inherent potential.

+ Types and tourism products are not rich, diverse, and still overlap.

lack of specificity; service quality is generally low, lack of high-quality tourist areas, real tourism; tourism types and products here are highly commercialized, not maintaining a balance of benefits towards the goal of sustainable development.

+ Waste treatment in tourist areas has not been focused on, invested in, monitored and treated properly, affecting the ecological environment.

2.7. Summary of Chapter 2

Ninh Hoa has great potential for tourism. The diversity, pristine and majestic nature and the cultural beauty of ethnic minorities as well as cultural and historical relics allow Ninh Hoa to develop many types of tourism, in which the strengths are eco-cultural tourism and sea tourism. In addition, the coexistence of ethnic minorities, through a long process of coexistence with historical events, has created a very unique feature for Ninh Hoa culture, attracting more and more tourists. Tourism activities in the past ten years have had significant development, contributing to improving the local economy and are identified as one of Ninh Hoa's strengths.

However, tourism has not yet developed commensurate with the province's potential. Infrastructure and technical facilities only partially meet the needs of tourism. Human and labor factors in the industry have not yet caught up with the requirements of the tourism industry in the integration period. The natural environment has not been given due attention and there are initial signs of pollution from industrial production and from tourism activities. The culture with a strong identity is facing a huge contradiction between preserving traditional values and absorbing modern culture. Although not many, some signs of unsustainable development have appeared, the principles of sustainable tourism development have not been respected, requiring the authorities to have a long-term strategy and appropriate solutions to create sustainable development for the tourism industry.

Ninh Hoa.

Chapter 3: ORIENTATION AND SOLUTIONS FOR TOURISM DEVELOPMENT IN NINH HOA TOWN

3.1. Basis for building orientation and solutions

3.1.1. General tourism development strategy of the province

From the perspective and general objectives of the Vietnam tourism development strategy 2001 - 2010, the Vietnam National Administration of Tourism has set out the task of the industry "to build unique tourism products, with Vietnam's own characteristics, that are competitive enough in the region and internationally, with special attention paid to eco-tourism and historical-cultural tourism products, diversifying specialized products to satisfy the increasing needs of tourists".

This program clearly defines the tasks of the Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism, relevant departments and branches, the Tourism Association and tourism businesses to take advantage of opportunities, overcome challenges, bring Khanh Hoa tourism into a new stage of rapid, strong and sustainable development, striving to achieve and exceed the targets set out in the 16th Resolution of the Khanh Hoa Provincial Party Committee.

With the trend of returning to nature, tourism, especially ecotourism, has become popular in recent years. On the other hand, tourism is also considered an effective solution to sustainable development, through the process of reducing the pressure of exploiting natural resources to serve the needs of tourists and local people when participating in tourism activities; contributing to improving the knowledge and health of the community through environmental education, cultural history and recreation activities. The sustainable values that tourism brings further motivate research activities to develop this type of tourism.

This is a field in which Khanh Hoa has many advantages for development and belongs to the group of industries with the potential to compete in the future and contribute greatly to economic growth.

Chart Showing the Growth Rate of International and Domestic Tourists to Ninh Hoa Town in the Period 2007 - 2013

Comment