Thua Thien – Hue Province aims to establish a tourism trademark for Lang Co, which was listed as one of the most beautiful bays of the world by the Worldbays Club in 2009.

Lang Co bay (Photo: VNA)

Thua Thien – Hue also aims to make Chan May – Lang Co a modern marine urban zone, an ecotourism site and a hi-tech centre, creating impetus for the development of the central key economic region by 2020.

Lang Co in Phu Loc District, lying between Hue and Da Nang, plans to explore its favourable geographical location and beautiful scenery to become an attractive destination on the Central Viet Nam Heritage Road, which includes the world heritages of Phong Nha Ke Bang National Park, Hue ancient city, Hoi An ancient town and My Son sanctuary.

It is home to Chan May deep-water port, one of the gateways to the sea for the East-West economic corridor.

Over the past years, investment capital has been poured into developing infrastructure in Lang Co, including Chan May port, the Hai Van Pass and Lang Co Bridge, laying a foundation for socio-economic development in the locality and enhancing trade in the region.

Efforts have been made to develop infrastructure in the Chan May-Lang Co economic zone in order to make it a large and modern international trade hub in the central region, as well as a tourism centre of regional and international stature.

The province has also built a modern Chan May urban zone with Hue-styled architecture, linked with the urban chain from Hue – Chan May – Lang Co – Da Nang – Chu Lai – Dung Quat – Nhon Hoi – Van Phong, to make Lang Co more attractive to investors at home and abroad.

The Chan May Port, with an upgraded wharf at 12.5 metres deep can now accommodate 30,000 - 50.000 tonne vessels and cruise ships carrying over 3,000 passengers. In 2016, it welcomed 60,000 international tourists to Hue. It is expected to handle between 4.8 – 5.4 million tonnes of cargo by 2020, and 8.9 – 10.2 million tonnes by 2030.

Director of the Chan May Port JSC Huynh Van Toan said the port is among 46 sea ports selected by the Asia Cruise Association as a stop for pleasure boats in Southeast Asia. Located between Hue and Da Nang, and near numerous local tourism landscapes, it connects the central Viet Nam with Laos, Thailand and Myanmar.

Over the past five years, Lang Co has witnessed fast economic and social development.

The Lang Co touristsite has seen an annual increase of 25 percent and 20 percent in tourist number and revenue, respectively. This year, Lang Co aims to draw 700,000 tourists and generate around 1 trillion VND (44 million USD) in revenue.

According to Director of the provincial Department of Culture and Sports Phan Tien Dung, besides offering discounts, coastal resorts should expand sea-based tourism products, such as meetings, incentives, conferences and exhibitions tourism.

The province will continue connecting with regional localities to tap the potential of the Central Viet Nam Heritage Road and tourism sites along the East – West economic corridor to promote Lang Co tourism.

The locality also encourages investment in developing infrastructure in Lang Co in order to form a cultural and ecological tourism triangle together with Bach Ma National Park and Chan May port.

The tourism sector aims to focus on human resources training while expanding and improving tourism services to lure more tourists, Dung said.

Lang Co is situated 45km from Hue and 55km from Da Nang. Endowed with blue waters and white sandy beaches and vast forests atop mountains, the bay is a prime tourist destination with many hotels, motels, and resorts.

Lang Co is Viet Nam's third bay to be admitted to the World-Bays after Ha Long and NhaTrang.

(Source: VNA/ DA NANG Today)