Ninh Binh: Tourism development associated with resource protection

As one of the most developed tourism localities in the North thanks to its rich tourism potential, Ninh Binh has been trying to find a way to protect resources and develop tourism in a sustainable way. Accordingly, the province will focus on developing typical local products and exploiting the domestic market to find ways to break through in the near future.

Trang An Scenic Landscape Complex – an attractive destination of Ninh Binh. Abundant tourism resources As an ancient land located in the Red River Delta, Ninh Binh used to be the capital of Vietnam (in the period 968 – 1010) with 3 dynasties Dinh, Le, and Ly. Traces of the ancient capital preserved intact to this day are the relics of Hoa Lu ancient capital. Along with that is a diverse humanistic tourism resource with more than 1,500 historical – cultural relics, including 1 World Cultural and Natural Heritage, 2 Special National Monuments; 225 festivals and 83 typical traditional craft villages. Referring to Ninh Binh, it must be mentioned that natural resources are extremely rich, typically the Trang An Scenic Landscape Complex which has been recognized by UNESCO as a World Cultural and Natural Heritage with 400 large and small caves. In addition, Ninh Binh also owns the largest forest area compared to other provinces in the Red River Delta (more than 29,000 ha); in which, there is Cuc Phuong National Park – home to nearly 2,000 species of higher plants and 2,600 species of animals. In addition, there are special-use forests of Hoa Lu rocky mountains and Kim Son coastal mangrove forests with many species of animals and plants listed in the World Red Book. The above potentials are the conditions for Ninh Binh to build many types and products of tourism such as spiritual tourism, culture – history, ecology, resort, community, heritage, MICE (combined tourism). As a result, many tourism products of Ninh Binh have been highly appreciated by the international media, such as Tam Coc tourist area, which was introduced by CNN as one of the seven most beautiful caves in Vietnam and a newspaper. Telegraph (UK) once voted as one of 15 “beautiful but little known” places, or Bulletin magazine (Switzerland) voted Ninh Binh as one of the 10 most attractive destinations in Vietnam… Hoang Kim Nhut, a tourist from Ho Chi Minh City shared after his trip in March 2021: “I was overwhelmed while sailing, discovering the beauty of Trang An Scenic Landscape Complex and the National Park. Van Long Nature Reserve. Ninh Binh makes a strong impression on me by its majestic rocky mountain system, diverse ecosystem and unspoiled nature. Hopefully, Ninh Binh will promote the power of this tourism resource in the future.” Connecting important “links” Thanks to the synchronous implementation of solutions in the state management of tourism, promotion and product development, etc., despite being significantly affected by the Covid-19 epidemic, the first quarter of 2021 Ninh Binh still welcomed 619,572 visitors, reaching 50% over the same period in 2020, revenue was estimated at nearly 420 billion VND, reaching 61.3% over the same period in 2020. Humbly acknowledging the achieved results, Dr. Bui Van Manh, Director of Ninh Binh Department of Tourism said: “Besides the above results, Ninh Binh’s tourism products are still duplicated, monotonous, lacking in connectivity end; some products have not effectively exploited resources to create quality products and services with cultural depth. This has greatly influenced the promotion of comparative advantages and enhanced competitiveness of Ninh Binh compared to other destinations in the country. In order for Ninh Binh tourism to truly become a spearhead economic sector, contributing positively to the process of structural transformation and socio-economic development of the locality, Mr. Bui Van Manh said that the “link” is important. The most important thing is to organize promotion and promotion, focus on developing tourism products based on the sustainable exploitation of heritage and traditional cultural values ​​in order to create products bearing the local imprint. and suitable to the needs of the guest markets, especially domestic customers during this time. With the desire to soon recover and develop strongly in the coming time, Mr. Bui Van Manh said that Ninh Binh tourism industry has been implementing synchronous measures such as: Issuing preferential and attractive policies. investment in tourism; Build a safe, friendly and attractive Ninh Binh tourist destination; Promote linkages with localities, diversify tourism products; Develop an overall strategy for promotion, promotion and development of the local destination brand; Applying science and technology, digital transformation in tourism development; Check and promptly handle acts of infringing upon heritage and tourism resources… These are fundamental solutions for Ninh Binh tourism to develop sustainably in the coming time.