(HBO) – Hoa Binh Lake is the biggest artificial lake in Southeast Asia. Offering a wonderful view of nature and water dubbed as Ha Long Bay in land in Hoa Binh province, the lake has great potential for developing cultural, historical, eco-, and spiritual tourism serving tourists from Hanoi and neighbouring localities at weekends. As such, the lake is made the centre of tourism development in the province and region.

On August 1, 2016, the Prime Minister issued Decision 1528/QD-TTg, approving the master plan of the national tourism site at Hoa Binh Lake to 2030.

 Accordingly, the site will cover 17 communes in Da Bac, Cao Phong, Tan Lac, Mai Chau districts and Hoa Binh city. The central area spans about 1,200 hectare across Sung island – Thung Nai – Ngoi Hoa.

 In the plan, priorities are given to the expansion of home-stay services in community-based tourism villages, the development of high-end resorts in Sung island and Ngoi Hoa, hotels rated from 3 stars in Thai Binh and Thai Thinh, and floating resorts in Binh Thanh – Vay Nua and Hien Luong.   

 The plans also looks to develop food services, particularly traditional dishes of Muong people and other ethnic minority groups in the region, with high-end restaurants earmarked for Ngoi Hoa, Thung Nai, Thai Binh, Thai Thinh, Hien Luong, Binh Thanh, and Vay Nua. Food streets and tourism-cultural markets are to be built along Da river bank and in Hoa Binh city.

 

A view of Hoa Binh lake from Tru hamlet in Thai Thinh commune (Hoa Binh city).

 The master plan set targets of welcoming around 630,000 tourist arrivals, of whom 30,000 are foreigners, in 2020, and 1.6 million tourists with about 90,000 foreigners by 2030. The province also aims to earn about 200 billion VND from tourism by 2020 and 1.8 trillion VND by 2030.

 To implement the Prime Minister-approved master plan, relevant agencies are advising the provincial Party Committee in drafting a thematic resolution on developing the Hoa Binh lake tourism site to a national site. The resolution will set forth specific measures to achieve the goal of developing the Hoa Binh lake tourism site to basically meet criteria of a national tourism site by 2025.

 The Hoa Binh lake national tourism site will have a synchronous and modern infrastructure system by 2030, offering diverse and high-quality tourist products.  It will become the province’s largest tourism centre, and one of the 12 key national tourism sites of the northern mountainous and midland region. The typical tourist products at the site will focus on the Muong ethnic culture and the lake’s eco-system.

 The province is requiring relevant agencies to give their recommendations on building preferential policies and mechanisms related to investment, land and land clearance, and finance and credit incentives to mobilise all resources and attract competent businesses to invest in the Hoa Binh lake. The province also gives priority to developing electricity, transport, port and wharf infrastructure and supporting businesses who invest in the lake tourism, using capital from its budget. In the short term, it will call for investment to develop the central area of the lake in the hope that it will later help attract more capital in the region.

 

                                                                        Le Chung

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