Seminar to outline a tourism development plan for Binh Lieu district to 2025, vision to 2030
Binh Lieu (Quang Ninh province) has recently well-known as an attractive destination for its peaceful and beautiful landscape of the North-Eastern mountainous region. Khe Van waterfall, the dinosaur backbone (also known as the border marker No. 1305), Cao Xiem mount, Cao Ba Lanh mount have been popular check-in landmarks and sceneries for tourists. Number of visitors coming to Binh Lieu is on the rise. Hence, having a sustainable tourism management and development plan becomes an urgent condition. Besides, creating opportunities for local people to participate in and get benefit from tourism and also sustain them as an alternative livelihood to reduce poverty is a special concern. In January 2021, Center for Nature Conservation and Development (CCD) cooperated with People’s Committee of Binh Lieu district to organize a seminar to strategize the tourism development and management for the district to ensure its effectiveness and sustainability. Participants are from Development organizations, Provincial agencies such as the Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism, Department of Finance, Department of Planning and Investment, Binh Lieu District, Binh Lieu People’s Committee and communes, towns where tourism activities conducted.
The seminar focused on assessing the development and management as well as the potentials and opportunities of tourism in Binh Lieu. Binh Lieu has great tourism potential with its landscape and culture values. However, the potential has not been used appropriately to promote tourism. Therefore, in the next 5-10 years, the district needs to smartly use the potential to promote sustainable tourism and use tourism as a tool to help poverty reduction in their mountainous area.
As a technical support bodies, CCD offers some smart options for tourism development towards sustainability, which is closely linking to nature conservation, environmental protection and ensuring that their cultural values will be maintained, and eco-tourism and community-based tourism will be the strategic approach.
In addition to the work in Binh Lieu, CCD is also working with other provinces, protected areas, and forest owners to develop ecotourism & community tourism plans/strategies. The tourism plan will be strategically developed, managed and well-practiced to ensure high economic impact, and become sustainable livelihoods for local communities in mountainous and rural areas; more importantly tourism will become an effect tool in raising public awareness about nature and biodiversity conservation.