Convenient transportation, Cat Ba tourism is "awakened"

20% is the growth rate of visitors and revenue to Cat Ba in 2024. The "pearl island" of the North is becoming a desirable tourist destination, especially when the transportation system to the island is increasingly convenient.

Air - sea - land - rail are all ready

On the morning of February 19, the National Assembly unanimously approved the investment policy for the Lao Cai - Hanoi - Hai Phong railway project with a scale of nearly 8.4 billion USD.

Tourists choose to travel safely via Sun World Cat Ba cable car.

Trade and tourism between neighboring China and the city of red phoenix flowers are opening up unprecedented opportunities.

Not only railways, Hai Phong in general and Cat Ba in particular are opening all doors of aviation - waterway - road to welcome domestic and foreign tourists to experience the beauty of the world natural heritage bay.

Dong Bai ferry terminal and the new Bay View Cat Ba ferry have been put into operation, helping to improve the previous ferry congestion situation. Photo: Le Tan.

By road, traveling to Cat Ba has never been easier thanks to the large-scale Hanoi - Hai Phong; Ninh Binh - Hai Phong; Lao Cai - Hai Phong highways.

The second best option for international and regional visitors is by air (Cat Bi airport, Van Don airport).

Currently, Cat Bi Airport (Hai Phong) has opened direct flights to 9 of the busiest cities in and outside the country. Cat Bi is about to increase its capacity from the current 2 million passengers to 13 million passengers/year by 2030 and 18 million passengers/year by 2050.

Whether arriving in Hai Phong by rail, air or road, all visitors can quickly reach Cat Ba thanks to the sea ferry and cable car route that holds many world records.

In 2024, in order to remove the bottleneck of maritime traffic, Hai Phong put into operation Dong Bai ferry terminal, along with a system of 5 newly built, spacious and modern ferries.

In parallel, the cable car route with a travel time of 15 minutes is operated by Sun World year-round, helping to reduce waiting time for ferries.

Statistics from the cable car operator show that the number of passengers traveling by cable car in 2024 has tripled compared to the same period, and is increasingly popular with tourists because of no traffic jams, fast travel time, civilized and safe cabins.

When arriving at the island, visitors continue to choose to travel by another "green" zero-emission means, which is electric taxi.

Tourists travel on the Tuan Chau - Gia Luan ferry. Photo: Shutterstock.

Also in 2024, other waterways such as the Tuan Chau - Gia Luan ferry route, speedboats from Hon Gai or Tuan Chau ports to Cat Ba, and Ha Long - Cat Ba speedboats will also help tourists have new options.

It is not an exaggeration to say that "all roads seem to lead to... Cat Ba". That is also the reason why the growth rate of visitors to Cat Ba in 2024 is up to 20% compared to the same period. Especially in the more than 3.6 million visitors to Cat Ba, international visitors alone account for over 1 million.

According to data from the Department of Culture - Sports - Tourism of Cat Hai district, total revenue from accommodation and catering services in 2024 on Cat Ba island reached 3,354.5 billion VND, equivalent to 121.1% over the same period.

In the future, when the "Pearl Island" increases new entertainment experiences, the number of domestic and foreign tourists coming here will increase more and more.

Greening traffic, a stepping stone to attract high-quality customers

Not stopping at completing diverse infrastructure planning, Hai Phong also aims to build Cat Ba into the first green island with zero carbon emissions in Vietnam, by establishing a green transportation system on the island to increasingly attract high-end guests and international guests staying long term.

Cable cars are a means of transport that helps reduce carbon emissions.

As analyzed by tourism expert, Associate Professor, Dr. Pham Trung Luong, Cat Ba Island has developed a passenger electric car system and the Cat Hai - Phu Long cable car route, both of which help reduce carbon emissions.

This is also a methodical direction associated with sustainable development that many countries in the world are pursuing to focus on human responsibility towards the environment, while attracting high-quality tourists and responsible tourism.

For example, the "paradise island" Lamma, Hong Kong (China) is increasingly attracting high-quality visitors because it is always in the top of the world's most worth-exploring car-free islands.

"Cat Ba has begun to limit emission-emitting vehicles with the support of the tourism service business community and Sungroup. I hope Cat Ba will realize the goal of not accepting carbon-emitting motor vehicles to the island," said the former Deputy Director of the Institute for Tourism Development Research.

The number of tourists traveling via the Cat Hai - Phu Long cable car route is increasing because it is fast, safe and convenient.

Along with the implementation of a tourism project in the center of Cat Ba Island, leading tourism investor Sungroup has announced a strategy to accompany the implementation of a green transport system on Cat Ba Island.

Developing an electric vehicle parking and charging area right at Phu Long cable car station, Sungroup's electric bus system will be ready to operate to pick up passengers from the cable car station to the center of Cat Ba town during this year's summer tourist season. All travel in the central Cat Ba Bay area will be by electric buggy, bicycle or on foot.

Tourists kayak and enjoy the natural beauty of Cat Ba Island. Photo: Pexels.

In 2025, Hai Phong city will also simultaneously implement the project to expand Dong Bai ferry terminal to receive 3-4 ferries of all types at the same time and expand the access roads to Dong Bai and Cai Vieng ferries; at the same time, build a large-scale parking lot near the ferry terminal area, in order to properly implement the orientation of the Resolution on tasks and solutions for Hai Phong tourism development 2017-2020, with a vision to 2030 - determined to build Cat Ba island according to the model of an ecological, smart island, as a lever for Hai Phong tourism and economic development.

Accordingly, Hai Phong will limit gasoline and diesel vehicles on Cat Ba Island.

Soon, guests staying on the island will have many green transportation options to explore the island such as electric buses, electric taxis, electric buggies...

Convenient transportation will also help tourists remove the need to drive to the island to move, and become truly responsible tourists, contributing to greening Cat Ba Island.

Source: https://www.baogiaothong.vn/giao-thong-thuan-loi-du-lich-cat-ba-duoc-danh-thuc-192250222150519278.htm