#Vietnam - Kon Tum province urged to develop tourism

NATIONAL Assembly of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam chairwoman Nguyen Thi Kim Ngan has urged the Central Highlands province of Kon Tum – which borders Cambodia and Laos – to restructure its economy to tap tourism potential.

At a working session with provincial authorities on Monday, Ngan also asked the province to increase information technology use in developing agriculture and to form specialised production zones to develop key agricultural products.

Stressing that the Central Highlands was one among key strategic regions of the country, she instructed the province to continue implementing plans to ensure national defence and security and social order.

The NA leader applauded recent achievements by the province, including a Gross Regional Domestic Product (GRDP) growth of 9.28 per cent last year, surpassing the yearly target.

Apart from rubber and coffee production zones, the province has developed other specialised areas for the cultivation of many kinds of fruits and herbal medicines, which have helped attract investors.

Kon Tum province has devised resolutions defining its three key economic zones which attracted 39 investment projects last year with total registered capital in excess of 508 billion dong ($22 million). However, she noted the province still had difficulties, including human resources quality failing to meet development demand and low competitiveness.

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Chairwoman Ngan agreed with the province’s proposal to prioritise funds for poor localities along border areas to help them enhance ties with localities of other countries, particularly of Laos and Cambodia.

The top lawmaker stressed it was the state’s policy to encourage cooperation in economic development in border areas and support disadvantaged provinces in carrying out socio-economic development tasks, contributing to improving the living conditions of residents in border areas.

She also agreed with the need to implement key projects to prevent landslides and flood for ethnic minority people living along Kon Tum province’s Dak Bla River.

Kon Tum province is a mountainous border province with a total population of 520,000 from 30 ethnic groups. Ethnic minority people make up more than 53 per cent of the population. VIET NAM NEWS/ANN

Source - PhnomPenhPost

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#Vietnam’s Kingdom of Caves launches river tour

A boat cruises along the Son River to the Phong Nha-Ke Bang National Park in Quang Binh Province

 Quang Binh taps yet another tourism strength with a river tour through its natural landscapes and traditional villages.

The tour, starting February 20, is organized by Oxalis, the only company licensed to offer adventure tours to the world famous Son Doong Cave.

The one-day tour is boat ride that explores hidden gems along the Son River and enables visitors to visit  traditional craft villages that produce rice paper and the non la (conical hat), a Vietnamese cultural symbol.

Tourists will also have a chance to ride bicycles past small villages to the Phong Nha-Ke Bang National Park, a world heritage site and a major tourist attraction in the central province.

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  Each tour is limited to around 15 passengers, said Nguyen Chau A, general director of Oxalis.

Son Doong, part of the Phong Nha-Ke Bang National Park in central Vietnam, has hogged the international spotlight since it opened to tourists in 2013, four years after members of the British Cave Research Association finished their exploration and declared it the world’s largest.

Local resident Ho Khanh first discovered the cave in 1991, and rediscovered it almost 20 years later, opening it up for exploration.

Last year, Quang Binh welcomed a record-breaking 3.9 million tourist arrivals, up 18 percent from the previous year.

The province has over the past years proposed several developments, including a cable car system to boost tourism in the area, but these have met with strong opposition from environmentalists and the public.

Watch a video on the beautiful Tu Lan Cave in Quang Binh, known now as the Kingdom of Caves.

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Source - VN Express

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