New flights to feed hotel boom

Following the government’s decision to turn Cam Ranh airport, a former military base, into a national airport, aviation authorities have upgraded its facilities and built a road linking the airport to Nha Trang.
Luu Van Hanh, director of the airline’s office for central Vietnam, said the carrier would use bigger aircraft (Airbus 320s and 321s) to increase the number of tourists flying in.
At present, Nha Trang airport can only accommodate small aircrafts such as ATR 72s and Fokker 70s.
With only four flights from Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City a day, hotel owners in Nha Trang have called for more flights to help fill vacancies and boost the tourist industry in the area.
A number of luxury resorts are set to open in Nha Trang such as the Rusalka, Crystal, Ana Mandara Ninh Van Bay and the Oriental, not to mention tens of smaller resort and tourism projects being planned for the Cam Ranh and Nha Trang areas.
VinPearl Resort owners also claim they will open the remaining 200 rooms of their 450-room property when demand picks up after Cam Ranh airport is open.
General manager of Ana Mandara Resort, T.J.Grundl-Hong, said the new airport would enhance the destination and help alleviate noise pollution.
Nha Trang airport has been a headache for nearby Ana Mandara resort due to the high level of noise.
The resort manager said the new airport would open up new opportunities for tourism and other sectors in Nha Trang.
Ana Mandara is about to open another top-brand Hideaway resort with 56 villas in Ninh Van Bay late this year.
Mehmet Kin, general director of Rus-Invest-Tur Corporation, has been pushing for the airport as his company opens the luxury Rusalka Resort in December.
Kin said demand always exceeds seat supply for tourists coming to Nha Trang, particularly during peak holiday periods.
“Cam Ranh airport will help meet current demand and open a new chapter for the tourism industry in Khanh Hoa in general,” said Kin.
A lack of business and first class seats to Nha Trang had hindered the efforts of luxury resorts in the seaside city to attract high-budget customers.
Rus-Invest-Tur is to build a boutique resort and a golf course targeting high-end tourists around the world. It is currently negotiating with Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide on the management contract.
Kin added the road connecting Cam Ranh airport and Nha Trang would help to promote Cam Ranh as an unspoilt white-beach destination and a potential destination for tourism investors.
Cam Ranh airport is a 30 minute drive south of Nha Trang and buses will run from the airport at the price of VND20,000.
Cam Ranh Bay is 12km wide and surrounded by mountains. The bottom of the bay is mud-free, and easily navigable for ships of up to 100,000 dead-weight tonnes. The peninsula has a freshwater lake.
These advantageous natural conditions prompted the US to expand the bay into a military seaport during the American War, when they built an airport with two runways, a huge tank farm and ammunition depots as well as radar centres.