many difficulties, especially in some communes in the buffer zone of Bai Tu Long National Park such as Ban Sen and Van Yen. According to the report of the National Park Management Board, in the buffer zone of the Park there are about 1,600 unemployed people (accounting for 20% of the labor force). Therefore, the situation of illegal logging, sand exploitation and hunting within the National Park is still happening continuously, although not strongly.
a. Although the old practice of slash-and-burn farming has almost disappeared, the ongoing exploitation is affecting the landscape, causing erosion to occur more strongly.
b. The phenomenon of dumping household waste directly into the sea is still common not only in island communes but also in the central area. A part of the poor people on the island still use natural toilets without a treatment system. When the population density is high, the number of visitors is high, the problem of environmental pollution is an immediate danger.
The causes of the above risks are partly due to the management work, the environmental regulation system has not been effective, the waste treatment system has not received much attention and investment, so it is underdeveloped. Currently, in the whole district, there are only 3 waste collection and treatment points in Ha Long, Dong Xa and Quan Lan communes, but the treatment capacity has not met half of the actual requirements. Environmental protection and education work in island communes has not received extensive attention from all levels.
d. Risks from natural factors and external agents.
Because the terrain is mostly steep mountains, natural impacts such as rain, storms, etc. also affect the quality of the works, leading to landslides, erosion and the risk of pollution.
On the other hand, Van Don is located near polluted areas of the province such as Cam Pha area (the largest coal mine in the country) and Bai Chay area (a densely populated area)... This is an area that is suffering from prominent environmental impacts such as air pollution from coal mining and transportation, coastal water pollution, mangrove and coral degradation. Potential pollution affecting Van Don area
very likely to happen. To solve this problem, first of all, we need macro-level direction from all levels of government.
Chapter 2 Summary.
Chapter 2 solved the research task of the topic which is to analyze the potential of community-based ecotourism in Van Don. The author mentioned the natural conditions, socio-economic conditions with rich and attractive natural and human tourism resources and at the same time assessed the potential of community-based ecotourism in Van Don, Quang Ninh.
CHAPTER 3: CURRENT STATUS OF COMMUNITY-BASED ECOTOURISM ACTIVITIES IN VAN DON, QUANG NINH.
3.1. Main routes and types being exploited in Van Don, Quang Ninh.
3.1.1. Tourist attractions
Tourists are concentrated in tourist areas in Cai Bau island such as Cai Rong town, Bai Tu Long tourist area, on islands such as Quan Lan - Minh Chau - Ngoc Vung and Bai Tu Long National Park. Festival tourism is concentrated in places such as Cap Tien temple, Cai Bau pagoda, Quan Lan communal house...
3.1.2. Tourist routes
Cai Rong – Bai Dai – Bai Tu Long National Park route.
Cai Rong - Ngoc Vung - Quan Lan - Minh Chau - Bai Tu Long National Park route.
Route Bai Chay - Ha Long Bay - Ngoc Vung - Quan Lan - Minh Chau
– Bai Tu Long National Park.
Ha Long – Van Don – Co To route. 
Ha Long – Cua Ong – Van Don route.
Currently, Bai Tu Long National Park has built a number of ecotourism tours in the Park's area such as Cai Rong - Soi Nhu - Minh Chau - Cai Lim - Cai Rong route (1 day); Cai Rong - Tra Than - Cai Lim Ranger Station - Cai De - Minh Chau port - Sa Sung beach - Lac lagoon - Dau Cao - Quan Lan - Soi Nhu - Cai Rong route (2 days); Cai Rong - Tra Than - Cai Lim - Cai De - Minh Chau port route
- O Lon - Quan Lan - Tram forest - Dam Lac - Dau Cao - sea turtle beach - seafood village - Soi Nhu - Cai Rong (2 days 1 night); Cai Rong route - Minh Chau port - Sea turtle beach - Dam Lac - Dau Cao - Quan Lan - Cai Cong - La Che - Cai Lim - Cai De - Tra Than - seafood village - Soi Nhu - Cai Rong (2 days
1 night); route Ha Long - Quan Lan - Minh Chau - Cai Lim - Cai De - Tra Than - Soi Nhu - Cai Rong (2 days 1 night).
3.1.3. Tour programs
The most popular is the Hanoi - Van Don - Quan Lan - Hanoi (3 days 2 nights) tour with prices ranging from 900,000 - 1,100,000 VND/person for a group of 40 people or Hanoi - Bai Tu Long - Quan Lan - Hanoi (4 days 3 nights), Hanoi - Bai Tu Long - Hanoi (2 days). Most of the programs are short-term, with the goal of relaxing - swimming and sightseeing. Activities are poor and not closely related to the principles of eco-tourism.
3.1.4. Main forms of tourism
Resort tourism - sea sightseeing: especially swimming is the most popular activity. At beaches that have been recognized as meeting standards in Bai Dai area such as: beaches of Mai Quyen Tourism and Industry Investment Joint Stock Company, Bai Tu Long Tourism Joint Stock Company, the number of tourists is very crowded in the summer months. Especially on long holidays such as: April 30, May 1, September 2, the number of visitors often increases dramatically, it is estimated that thousands of visitors come to the beaches every day. In addition, a number of visitors also participate in sports tourism activities on the beaches such as rowing, parasailing, volleyball... During the trip, tourists combine sightseeing with the sea, but because the tour guide activities are still vague, they have not attracted the attention of tourists.
Combined festival tourism: Festivals held annually are activities that attract a large number of tourists from all over the world to visit and participate. Visitors gather in large numbers in early spring to visit Cap Tien Temple, Cai Bau Pagoda, the system of communal houses, pagodas, shrines, and temples in Quan Lan commune or the Van Don Traditional Festival on the 16th of the 8th lunar month with an organization cost of 120 million VND.
3.2. Tourism facilities:
3.2.1. Accommodation services:
Tourism services have many positive changes. In 2009, the whole district had 53 accommodation establishments, 713 rooms, an increase of 72 rooms compared to 2008. During the year, the number of visitors to the district was 350,000, reaching 122.2% compared to the same period last year.
2008, of which international visitors were 3,500, mainly concentrated at tourist attractions in Minh Chau, Quan Lan, Ha Long. Specifically as follows:
Table 3.1: Current status of tourist accommodation facilities in Van Don, Quang Ninh
TT
Year | 2005 | 2006 | 2007 | 2008 | 2009 | |
1 | Number of accommodation establishments | 35 | 40 | 42 | 50 | 53 |
2 | Number of rooms | 381 | 424 | 551 | 641 | 713 |
4 | International visitors (times) | 1,120 | 1,500 | 2,119 | 2,750 | 3,500 |
5 | Labor (people) | 500 | 700 | 850 | 1,000 | 1,200 |
6 | Revenue (million VND) | 990 | 2,416 | 2,760 | 3,460 | 5,300 |
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(Economic Department of Van Don District)
Quang Ninh province has identified Van Don as one of the four tourist centers of the province, a district with many islands and each island has an ideal beach for tourists. In 2000, the tourism industry began to flourish, and now the Bai Dai eco-tourism area (Ha Long commune, Van Don district) with an area of 150 hectares has been put into use. Mai Quyen Joint Enterprise and Viet My Technology Company have put motels into operation. Van Hai island route including: Quan Lan, Minh Chau, Ngoc Vung, Thang Loi, Ban Sen is preparing for the festival celebrating the 715th anniversary of the historic Van Don victory.
At motels and hotels in key tourist areas of Van Don such as
: Bai Dai tourist area (Ha Long commune), Quan Lan is still "full of rooms" since the beginning of April every year. According to information from the Department of Culture and Information of Van Don district, during the Ha Long tourism festival week 2009, Van Don welcomed about 20,000 visitors, 4 times more than the same period in 2008. As of June 2009, Van Don had about 713 rooms but not enough to meet the needs of tourists during the holiday.
During the Ha Long tourism festival week, the number of visitors to Van Don is highest on the holidays of April 29, 30 and May 1. In addition to Bai Dai tourist area, visitors to Van Don mainly visit Bai Tu Long Bay and then stay at Quan Lan, Minh Chau and Ngoc Vung islands.
Accommodation facilities are unevenly distributed, concentrated in 3 coastal communes and towns of Cai Bau, namely Cai Rong, Ha Long, Dong Xa and Quan Lan island commune. The largest density is in Cai Rong town (over 50%), notably in area 8. Most of them are private motels and hotels, small in scale. In Ha Long commune alone, where Bai Dai beach is located, two large tourism projects of the district are formed, Bai Tu Long Tourism Area of ATI Company and Mai Quyen Tourism Area, so the average number of rooms/accommodation facility is higher, nearly 4 times higher than the average level of the whole district.
The quality of services at accommodation establishments generally meets the needs of tourists; ensuring all criteria for rooms, security and order, and fire prevention. Some establishments have good quality such as Viet My Company, Mai Quyen Company, Van Hai Vigracera Company... However, a large number of small-scale private motels, especially in island communes, have low quality, poor service, and unsanitary conditions.
Due to the seasonal nature of tourism activities, tourists coming to Van Don mostly come in the summer, so the average room occupancy rate during the year is still low, reaching about 49%. On the other hand, tourism products are still poor, visitors simply come to the beaches and lack many supporting activities such as entertainment, shopping... so they cannot extend their stay.
3.2.2. Food service facilities
Food service business is always the type that brings the main revenue and profit to the tourism service industry in the district. In addition to the restaurants of large-scale tourism companies with professional staff, at other food service establishments (restaurants in the town area, rafts in the Van Don bridge area and Cai Rong port - including 15 rafts (in 2009) increased by 35% compared to 2008), the quality of service is also improving day by day. These establishments have introduced and processed many products.
The district's typical products: Sandworms, snails, geoducks, Cai Rong fish sauce, jellyfish... increase the attraction for tourists. The price of food services is relatively high.
3.2.3.Transportation services.
3.2.3.1 By road:
Traveling is getting easier. The whole district has 31 passenger cars registered to run in the district, of which 15 cars go within the province and 16 cars go to other provinces.
Due to the increasing travel demand of people and tourists, Van Don district has a policy to increase the number of trips and inter-provincial bus routes. Inter-provincial routes departing from Van Don include: Hanoi with 14 routes/day, Hai Duong with 2 routes/day, Thai Binh with routes/day, Nam Dinh with 5 routes/day, Hai Phong with 4 routes/day. In addition, Quang Ninh is implementing two intra-provincial routes: Van Don - Lien Vi (Yen Hung) with 20 minutes/trip, from 05:00 to 16:00, Van Don - Hon Gai. In addition, there is a bus route from Bai Chay to Bai Dai that has been put into operation since 2007, which is very convenient to meet the travel needs of people and tourists.
On the islands of Van Don, people use tuk-tuks (also known as Lam cars) as a means of transport to pick up passengers and serve the tourist needs around the island, which is very suitable for the ecological environment. Tourists can also rent bicycles to explore the island themselves.
3.2.3.2. By waterway:
Ships to the island routes have also performed better to ensure safety and service quality for tourists; the number and number of trips are constantly increasing. The exchange, trade, and transportation of goods from the island to the mainland and vice versa are all through the waterway system. Every day there are 2 passenger ships from Quan Lan - Minh Chau - Cai Rong and vice versa. From Cai Rong town, Van Don district, tourists must rent a boat to visit the National Park and tourist attractions on the island. In case tourists want to go to communes such as Ban Sen, Ngoc Vung, Quan Lan, Minh Chau, Thang Loi, there are boats carrying passengers back and forth 2 times.
Daily trips. Departure times are 7am and 1pm at Cai Rong Port and the ports of the above communes.
In addition, guests can rent a private boat if needed, with an average of 25-30 guests/boat. The boat cost is usually higher, but guests can take the initiative in the program.
3.2.4. Additional services
Additional services such as laundry, entertainment (bar, karaoke,...) are only available at resorts or hotels in the town center or at well-built facilities, with quite high service prices.
3.3. Tourists.
3.3.1. International tourists.
Although it annually welcomes a small number of international tourists compared to some other localities in Quang Ninh province such as Ha Long and Mong Cai. However, through investigation, it is shown that the international tourist market coming to Van Don is relatively diverse, including tourists from Europe, China, Taiwan, Japan, America... The number of international tourists coming to Van Don is shown in the following table:
Table 3.2: Current status of international tourists to Van Don in the period 2005 - 2009
(Unit: Turn)
Year
2005 | 2006 | 2007 | 2008 | 2009 | |
Total | 198,067 | 241,600 | 276,000 | 286,500 | 350,000 |
International guests | 1,120 | 1,500 | 2,119 | 2,750 | 3,500 |
(Economic Department of Van Don district).
International visitors still account for a small number of total visitors to this area. In the past few years, it is clear that international visitors to Van Don have increased year after year. However, this number is still quite modest compared to the number of international tourists to Quang Ninh. At the same time, the number of visitors