“I have visited a lot of beaches all over Viet Nam, but there are no venues which are as beautiful as Ngoc (Ruby) Island in Da Nang. In addition to the diversified ecosystem and coral reefs off the Ngoc Island, Sung Co Beach shows off the very pristine natural beauty”, exclamatorily said Nguyen Anh Tuan, the Chairman of the Board of Directors of the An Di high-speed boat company.

The pristine beauty of local beaches helps to promote the development of marine eco-tourism

According to Mr Tuan, Da Nang is generously blessed with the marine eco-tourism development potential which makes it very different from other localities nationwide.

Apart from the Ngoc Island, such venues as Sung Co, Bai Cat Vang (Yellow Sand Beach) and Tien Sa tourist site are very inviting to visitors from both home and abroad. 

Taking the obvious advantages of such ecotourism opportunities, the An Di company has spent a total of more than 70 billion VND on purchasing 7 high-speed boats of 900CV, with each carrying 44 passengers, in order to offer tours for sightseeing and diving to explore the coral reefs in a safe and professional way. The first tour is scheduled to be launched in December.

According to recent surveys conducted by representatives from some local tour operators, such beaches on the southeastern side of the Hai Van Pass as Chuon and Sung Co provide a fertile ground for the growth of ecotourism services. In fact, visitors coming to these sites have the opportunity to discover the pristine natural settings, enjoy locally-made strangely attractive dishes, whilst enjoying the simple, rustic lives of the local inhabitants here.

Nguyen Cong Tien, a tourist from Ha Noi, said he was particularly impressed by the allure of Sung Co during his trip 2 years ago which brought him a sense of relaxation and great relief.

Ms Duong Thi Xuan Lieu, the Head of the Tourism Management and Exploitation Office of the Management Board of the Peninsula and Da Nang Tourism Beaches raised her concern over the current shortage of restaurants, tourist boats, and auxiliary services along with natural conservation strategies on the Son Tra Peninsula. These challenging issues are hindering the exploitation of this venue’s tourism advantages.

Mr Tran Dai Nghia, the Deputy Head of the Management Board of the Peninsula and Da Nang Tourism Beaches said the main task of his agency is now implementing is to manage and protect the valuable coral reefs off the Hon Sup site by installing floating shades on the water surface to protect coral reefs from March to September each year.

Volunteer Le Chien from the One Ocean, a non-profit marine conservation organisation, who is doing his research entitled ‘Conservation and Rehabilitation of the Son Tra Coral Reefs’, remarked an urgent need to keep the Son Tra Peninsula intact, especially coral reefs, and absolutely avoid tourism activities under any forms.

Meanwhile, in his point of view, Mr Le Tan Thanh Tung, the Deputy General Director of the city-based Vitours, proposed that Da Nang should fully tap its potential and advantages towards the right direction of fostering the tourism development in combination with ensuring the conservation of the nature.

However, despite their keen interest in tourism services at beach areas at the foot of the Hai Van Pass, many businesses are still reluctant to pour their money into these sites due to issues relating to legal procedures regarding administrative boundaries.