Ba Ria-Vung Tau continues to be favourite resort venue during weekends

In 2023, tourism has remained a bright spot in the economic landscape of Ba Ria-Vung Tau, with the total number of tourists surpassing 3.45 million in the first three quarters of this year, an increase of 18 per cent on-year.

The province’s tourism revenue approximated $500.3 million, showing a 31.8 per cent jump on-year, and the revenue from travel services spiked by 104 per cent.

In addition to domestic tourists, the province has also witnessed a significant increase in the number of international visitors, with a nearly 67 per cent rise compared to one year ago.

From Ba Island looking to Love Peak, the symbol of Con Dao in Ba Ria-Vung Tau. Photo: Quy Coc Tu

The coastal tourism image of Ba Ria-Vung Tau has created a lasting impression on local visitors from Ho Chi Minh City, Dong Nai, and other localities.

The province keeps trying to make a difference to elevate tourists’ experience and their impressions of this dynamic and hospitable land. With convenient transportation and its proximity to southern growth engine Ho Chi Minh City, the province is well-suited for short day trips during weekends.

There have been multiple events and festivals at both provincial and district levels, with each resort and hotel taking part. All these have enticed tourists to visit and stay in the province.

The most notable events that have been organised this year include Summer 2023 Imprint at Ho Tram-Xuyen Moc, the Water EDM Festival in August, and the Vung Tau BeerFest at Bai Sau in September, as well as the three-day Ba Ria-Vung Tau Tourism Week 2023, which ended on November 19.

Con Dao Beach, Ba Ria-Vung Tau. Photo: Quy Coc Tu

In order to best avail of the advantages of beach, island, and mountain tourism, Ba Ria-Vung Tau aims to become a national and international tourism centre.

Recently, the province has grown into a destination that can meet the desires of tourists from all segments. Luxury visitors can choose to stay in resorts in Ho Tram, meanwhile Vung Tau city is suitable for the those with more moderate spending needs. During summer, the local authorities also organise a rich variety of entertaining activities to attract tourists.

The main factor helping the province to entice visitors is its intensive investment into diversifying its tourism offerings and attractive entertainment programmes.

The province has made concerted efforts to develop the transport infrastructure, connecting itself with many localities with strong tourism potential. It also cooperates with neighbouring areas to build a satellite transport system to link the southeastern region.

Diverse offerings have also been exploited, such as promoting events industry tourism by hosting conferences and seminars combined with beach resorts, medical tourism, and other niches linked to sports and physical activities, culture and history, ecology, community, and more.

Thao Nguyen, a visitor coming from Ho Chi Minh City said, “Vung Tau has a mild climate, making it an ideal choice for families on weekends. My family can visit Vung Tau throughout the year, not just in the summer.”

The province is currently home to 1,490 accommodation options with more than 30,600 rooms, including 111 hotels meeting from 1-star to 4-star standards with 9,228 rooms, and 11 5-star hotels and resorts with over 3,500 rooms.

Trinh Hang, director of the provincial Department of Tourism said, “As part of the tourism promotion scheme for 2023, with approval from the People’s Committee, the province held the Ba Ria-Vung Tau Tourism Week from November 17 to 19 in Vung Tau city and Ho Tram-Xuyen Moc. It featured a series of activities including culinary events, a One Commune, One Product fair, a friendly golf tournament, the Vung Tau Discovery Night Run 2023, beach sports, kite flying, and a conference to promote tourism in the southeastern region.”

The Back Beach in Vung Tau city, a favourite destination for visitors at the weekend

Ba Ria-Vung Tau is concentrating resources on trans-provincial transport infrastructure investment. Along with this, numerous programmes to support companies and investors have been launched. The local tourism offerings have now become more diversified, prominently featuring high-end beach resorts, meetings and conferences, and ecological tourism.

Ba Ria-Vung Tau strives to become regional-scale logistics centre The southern province of Ba Ria-Vung Tau plans to expand its Cai Mep Ha Logistics Centre to 2,204 hectares, turning itself into a logistics hub of the region, according to an action plan on enhancing the locality’s logistics competitiveness and development until 2025.

Vung Tau Beerfest pushes tourism and beer culture The Vung Tau BeerFest, themed "Around the World with Bia Saigon", has offered tourists an insight into beer culture and bolstered tourism in the locality and beyond.

Highlands Coffee breaks ground on $21 million plant in Ba Ria-Vung Tau Cao Nguyen Coffee Factory JSC organised the groundbreaking ceremony for the VND500 billion ($21 million) its coffee roasting factory on October 6 in Phu My II Industrial Zone of the southern province of Ba Ria - Vung Tau.