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Summary of Reviews of Typical Tourist Destinations of Hai Phong City


The capacity of travel companies is limited in organizing MICE services, lack of entertainment facilities...etc...

For Hai Phong MICE tourism to truly develop, the city and the tourism industry need to invest in building a reasonable process for this type.

When analyzing each specific product aspect as above, it can be seen that, basically, Hai Phong tourism products are built on attractive and unique resources, but the services of those products are still limited. Therefore, when the products reach customers, there are still weaknesses in quality. Moreover, Hai Phong tourism does not have any specific products. With such potential products, Hai Phong tourism needs to have orientations to further improve the quality and create a brand for its tourism products.

3.3.2. Current status of tourism development by territory

3.3.2.1. Tourist attractions

By 2015, according to statistics from the Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism, Hai Phong had 86 tourist attractions, of which 14 were recognized as local tourist attractions, and there were no national tourist attractions. Including: Trang Trinh Nguyen Binh Khiem relic (Vinh Bao district); Tien Lang hot mineral water eco-tourism (Tien Lang district); Voi mountain relic (An Lao district); 177 high point (Cat Hai district); Cat CI, II, III beaches (Cat Hai district); Lan Ha Bay (Cat Hai district); City center strip (Hai Phong inner city); City museum (Hai Phong inner city); Hang Kenh communal house (Hai Phong inner city); Han Dau international tourism (Do Son district); Dau island (Do Son district); Bao Dai villa (Do Son district); Trang Kenh - Bach Dang national historical relic complex (Thuy Nguyen district); Mac Dynasty Memorial Site and Mac Family Temple (Kien Thuy District).

Tourist attractions are distributed in the districts of the city. They are cultural or natural tourist attractions. However, not all of them are attractive to tourists. This partly reflects the current situation of many limitations of Hai Phong tourism. Some more typical tourist attractions such as the relic of Trang Trinh Nguyen Binh Khiem, Tien Lang hot mineral spring, the Mac Dynasty memorial site... have also attracted tourists, but the number is not much. For example, the Mac Dynasty relic site welcomes an average of about 40,000 visitors.


tourism every year, focusing on the first 3 months of the year (with the opening writing festival on the 6th day of the first lunar month) and the 8th lunar month with the death anniversary of Thai To Mac Dang Dung. The number of visitors here is mainly domestic, very few international visitors (mainly Chinese, British, French...). The purpose of domestic visitors is to go to the temple, sightseeing; for international visitors is to visit relatives, on official business.

With the criteria for evaluating selected tourist destinations ( See Appendix 3 ), the project has evaluated a number of typical tourist destinations, recognized as local tourist destinations ( See Appendix 22 for details ). Most of the tourist destinations are operating at a good level, however, there are still differences between tourist destinations. Tourist destinations near the city center, convenient for tourists to travel, have more opportunities for development, and better infrastructure and technical facilities. Elephant Mountain tourist destination, although having potential, has not been developed for a long time.

Table 3.17. Summary of evaluations of typical tourist attractions in Hai Phong city

Unit: Point


Criteria

Relics

Trinh Nguyen Binh Khiem (district)

Vinh Bao)

Tien Lang hot mineral spring (Tien Lang district)


Elephant Mountain (An Lao district)

Historical relic - scenic spot Trang Kenh - Bach Dang

(Thuy Nguyen district)

Monument of Mac Dynasty Memorial and Family Temple

Mac (Kien Thuy district)

1. Ability to attract customer market

5

2

3

4

3

2. Distance from tourist destination

center, traffic

2

3

3

3

3

3. Capacity of tourist attractions

5

4

1

5

4

4. Technical facilities for tourism

tourist spot

3

3

3

3

3

5. Ability to link to points,

other tourist areas in the tourist area

5

5

5

5

5

Overall Score - Quality of Operations

20

(Good)

17

(Good)

15

(Medium)

20

(Good)

18

(Good)

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Summary of Reviews of Typical Tourist Destinations of Hai Phong City

(Source: Processed from author's investigation results)

3.3.2.2. Tourist area

Currently, Hai Phong has two local tourist areas, Do Son and Cat Ba. These are also the two most prominent tourist destinations of the city in recent times. Tourists coming to Hai Phong mainly participate in sea and island tourism. Do Son and Cat Ba are two tourist areas that attract a large number of visitors, both domestic and foreign.


Table 3.18. Number of tourists to Cat Ba tourist area in the period 2005 - 2015

Unit: 1000 visitors


Target

2005

2010

2011

2012

2013

2014

2015

International tourists

12

303

310

321

341

341.2

352.4

Domestic tourists

423

823.5

893

1,014

986

1,171.8

1,215.6

Total visitors

435

1,126.5

1,203

1,335

1,327

1,513

1,568

(Source: [48])

Table 3.19. Number of tourists to Do Son tourist area in the period 2005 - 2015

Unit: Number of visitors


Target

2005

2010

2011

2012

2013

2014

2015

Total visitors

1,150

2,150

2,300

2,350

2,100

2,300

2,520

(Source: [48])

As sea and island tourism products are increasingly invested in, the length of stay of tourists and their spending are also greater than other products. The increase in both quantity and total revenue has shown the important position of sea tourism in Hai Phong's economy.

Table 3.20. Total revenue from tourists to Hai Phong coastal area in the period 2005 - 2015

Unit: Billion VND


Target

2005

2010

2015

Total revenue from tourists to Cat Ba

75

370

769

Total revenue from tourists to Do Son

145

215

395

(Source: [48])

However, the above tables also show that the number of tourists coming to Do Son is higher but the tourism revenue here is lower than that of Cat Ba. To explain this, it can be seen that Do Son tourist destination with its advantage in transportation has attracted a large number of domestic tourists, especially in the summer tourist season but


Do Son cannot welcome many international tourists with high spending ability and long-term stay. International tourists from Western Europe and North America do not know or do not choose Do Son because there are not many activities here to meet their tourism needs, the sea water quality is not good; technical facilities have not been renewed or invested... International tourists come to Do Son mainly to use casino services at Do Son Casino Resort. Faced with this reality, Hai Phong tourism industry needs to have policies to attract more international tourists to Do Son in particular and to the whole city in general.

- Do Son

Do Son is a harmony between the sea, mountains and pine forests; it is a convergence of traditional festivals, historical relics... Typical examples include Do Son beach with 3 areas along with pine hills and green valleys; buffalo fighting festival, Ba De temple, Hang pagoda, Thien Phuc pagoda, Nghieng wharf and Khong So wharf, Han Dau island, etc.

+ Infrastructure in Do Son

Infrastructure in Do Son has been and is being built in a large, methodical and systematic manner. Tourists to Do Son can go by bus, car, taxi, motorbike..., starting from Hai Phong city, crossing Rao bridge along Pham Van Dong street. In addition, the drainage system during the rainy season is also carefully prepared; avoiding flooding on the roads to the tourist area, causing loss of landscape and congestion.

+ Food and accommodation facilities in Do Son

Accommodation facilities in Do Son are very diverse, serving the needs of tourists such as hotels, motels or camping areas... Accommodation facilities always have beautiful locations, so they are convenient for tourists to travel, travel and entertain. Typical examples are H n Dau Resort, Cong Doan Hotel, Bao Dai Hotel... In addition to the criteria of geographical location, accommodation facilities also provide quite convenient and suitable services such as resting rooms, health care, laundry...

Restaurants in this tourist area serve famous seafood specialties of Do Son such as oysters, grouper, geoduck, jellyfish salad, crab, shrimp, squid, etc.

The evaluation table ( Appendix 12 ) shows very good results on the activities of Do Son tourist area (23 points). This is the basis for making Do Son a tourist city in the future.


However, tourism services (mid-range accommodation, additional services) here need to be further upgraded and, in particular, it is necessary to overcome the limitations of the summer sea tourism season to create a new and more classy look for a tourist area with great potential like Do Son.

- Cat Ba

Cat Ba is a famous tourist destination of Hai Phong city, in Cat Hai island district, 30km from the city center. Cat Ba tourism owns the largest limestone archipelago in Vietnam, famous for its forest and sea ecotourism; in which the highlights are primeval forests, cave systems, limestone mountains, beaches, coral reefs... In particular, Cat Ba langur is an endemic primate species in the world, only found in Cat Ba and classified as a species that needs strict protection.

With UNESCO's recognition of Cat Ba archipelago as a World Biosphere Reserve, as well as a Marine Protected Area of ​​Vietnam, and especially in 2013, the scenic beauty of Cat Ba archipelago was ranked as a special national monument, contributing significantly to increasing the growth rate of tourists to Cat Ba in recent years. Cat Ba has 5 key areas: Cat Ba town - Cai Gia urban area, the central area of ​​the National Park

- Viet Hai, Phu Long - Gia Luan, Xuan Dam - Tran Chau - Hien Hao, Lan Ha Bay... This is a place that is very popular with tourists, especially foreign tourists.

The results of the assessment of tourism activities in Cat Ba also showed very good results (21 points) ( Appendix 12 ). Combined with the comments about Cat Ba in the above section, Cat Ba can completely become a developed national tourist area if it is planned more systematically, receives stronger investment, raises awareness of the community and effectively solves the problem of environmental pollution...

However, in general, there is a reality that in these two famous tourist areas of Hai Phong, in addition to the existing advantages, the development is unplanned, spontaneous...; the seasonal limitations of tourism have existed for many years such as degraded service facilities, inadequate tourism human resources due to recruiting seasonal workers with low professional qualifications; high service prices, etc. are problems for local authorities, all levels and sectors. Tourism is on the way to becoming a key economic sector of Hai Phong city, but if development does not go hand in hand with conservation, that development will not be sustainable and


failed to achieve the set target.

3.3.2.3. Tourist route

The Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism of Hai Phong has conducted a survey, evaluation and classification of tourist routes and destinations in the city; built a database and submitted it to the City People's Committee for recognition of 05 local tourist routes along with the 14 local tourist destinations mentioned above. These local tourist routes are:

- Inner city tour

Mainly includes historical and cultural relics such as Du Hang Pagoda, Hang Kenh Communal House, Nghe Temple, City Center Strip, City Museum, Hai Phong Port, Opera House and facilities serving accommodation, food, commerce, entertainment... This is a central route with large capacity combining shopping, sightseeing, entertainment, and business tourism; is an important stop for tourist routes to Hai Phong and surrounding areas.

Besides the tourist routes with two destinations, Do Son and Cat Ba, the inner city route forms the most popular tour in Hai Phong ( Appendix 18 ).

- North Cam River tourist route (Thuy Nguyen)

It is a convergence of tourist attractions such as Gia River Lake with resort and golf course, Vu Yen Island eco-tourism area, Bach Dang historical relic, Tran Quoc Bao temple, Le Ich Moc temple, Kien Bai communal house, Lam Dong pagoda, Trang Kenh relic, eastern mangrove forest strip, Chinh My bamboo and rattan weaving village, My Dong casting village...

The suitable types of tourism for this route are cultural tourism, sightseeing, relaxation, research, experience... Tourists can participate in two directions: cycling and using a boat to experience and visit from Binh bridge.

This is a potential tourist route with many attractive spots and is being invested in by the government and sectors to develop tourism as well as local socio-economic activities.

- Southern tourist route (Kien An, An Lao, Tien Lang, Vinh Bao)

Going along Route 10, towards the Southwest of the city is the journey of the Southern tourist route. This is a route that gathers tourist spots that perform the function of


potential to diversify products for Hai Phong tourism. At the same time, it contributes to creating tourism attraction for neighboring markets along Highway 10 with Phu Lien observatory, Voi mountain tourist site, Trang Trinh Nguyen Binh Khiem relic. This tourist route can exploit types of field tourism, countryside tourism, homestay tourism...

- Hai Phong - Kien Thuy - Do Son - Hai Phong route

This is a tourist route with the famous tourist area of ​​Hai Phong, Do Son. By road, from the city center, cross Rao 1 bridge, go straight on Highway 14, go about 20km to reach Do Son. Besides, the countryside scenery of Kien Thuy district and the Mac Dynasty memorial site are also attractive points in the itinerary of this route.

- Hai Phong - Cat Ba - Hai Phong route

Like the Hai Phong - Kien Thuy - Do Son - Hai Phong tourist route, this tourist route has Cat Ba tourist area as the most special destination. This is a tourist route that attracts a variety of visitors and creates the longest trips compared to other routes.

To take this tour, visitors can choose to take a speedboat from Binh wharf to Cat Ba island. Or they can go by car or motorbike across Tan Vu - Lach Huyen bridge (inaugurated on September 2, 2017) and Got - Cai Vieng wharf to Cat Ba. The ferry at Got wharf operates from 6am to 6pm with a frequency of 30 minutes/trip. From the ferry wharf to the town center is about 20km, the road winds between mountains on one side and the sea on the other. In addition, visitors can go from Ha Long by Tuan Chau ferry, running through Ha Long Bay to Gia Luan wharf, Cat Ba.

Table 3.21. Summary of evaluation of local tourist routes of Hai Phong city

Unit: Point



Criteria

City tour

North River Tourist Route

Ban

Southern tourist route

Hai Phong - Kien Thuy - Do Son - Hai Phong tourist route

Room

Hai Phong tourist route

Room - Cat Ba - Hai

Room

1. Ability to attract customer market

4

3

3

4

4

2. Ability to connect with other tourist routes

5

3

3

4

3


3. Technical infrastructure of the tourist route

5

4

3

5

5

4. Traffic routes

4

3

3

4

4

5. Measures to protect landscape and environment

5

3

3

3

4


Overall Score - Quality of Operations

23

(Very good)

16

(Medium)

15

(Medium)

20

(Good)

20

(Good)

(Source: Processed from author's investigation results)

Table 3.21 shows that the inner-city tourist routes with stable infrastructure and services, the Hai Phong - Cat Ba tourist route with Cat Ba tourist area and the Hai Phong - Kien Thuy - Do Son - Hai Phong tourist route with Do Son tourist area are the routes that are operating effectively. The North Cam River tourist route and the South route still have some problems related to the environment, infrastructure, accommodation services, entertainment... so although the tourism resources are valuable, they have not really attracted tourists.

3.3.3. General assessment of the current status of tourism development in Hai Phong city (period 2005 - 2015)

The analysis results in sections 3.3.1 and 3.3.2 on the current status of tourism development in Hai Phong city in the period 2005 - 2015 show that:

- On the current status of Hai Phong tourism development by industry

+ Strengths: All indicators are at a relatively developed level.

+ Limitations: Not yet attracting international tourist markets, tourists with high spending ability; lack of large-scale and high-quality accommodation facilities, entertainment services to extend tourists' stay; quality of tourism products is not uniform, there are no specific tourism products; lack of high-quality tourism human resources.

- On the current status of Hai Phong tourism development by territory

+ Strengths: Hai Phong has a large number and variety of tourist attractions, with two famous tourist areas, Cat Ba and Do Son; there are tourist routes spread throughout the city, connecting unique tourist resources.

+ Limitations: There are no national tourist spots, areas, or routes. This is a major limitation for a city that is the center of the region like Hai Phong.

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