Ha Long - Cat Ba was recognized by UNESCO as a world natural heritage, helping the complex "elevate to world status" and break the "river and market blockade" situation between the two areas.
The World Heritage Committee of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) recognized the Ha Long Bay - Cat Ba archipelago as a world natural heritage on September 16. According to the Department of Cultural Heritage, the complex was recognized by UNESCO because it contains many areas of natural beauty, including limestone islands covered with vegetation and limestone pinnacles rising above the sea, along with related karst (weathered) features such as domes and caves. The spectacular untouched scenery of the vegetation-covered islands, salt lakes, limestone pinnacles with steep cliffs rising above the sea is also part of the reason.
Director of the Department of Cultural Heritage Le Thi Thu Hien said that Ha Long - Cat Ba being recognized as a natural heritage is "an event of great significance". After 8 years, Vietnam has had a world heritage recognized by UNESCO (in 2015, Phong Nha - Ke Bang National Park was recognized as a world natural heritage for the second time).
Vice Chairman of Hai Phong City People's Committee Le Khac Nam said this event "is a great honor", helping to raise the name of Cat Ba archipelago to "world level", attracting more international visitors in the future.
Mr. Le Khac Nam said that this victory contributed to "extending the achievements" that Hai Phong had achieved. Cat Ba archipelago was recognized by UNESCO as a world biosphere reserve in 2004, Lan Ha Bay was ranked by the World's Most Beautiful Bays Club Association as one of the world's most beautiful bays in 2020.
Cat Ba fishing village. Photo: Pham Huy Trung
Cat Ba is a popular tourist destination. During long holidays such as April 30 or September 2, there are often traffic jams and full rooms due to the large number of visitors. During the 4-day National Day holiday, Hai Phong is estimated to have welcomed 185,000 visitors, mainly to Do Son and Cat Ba, according to the Hai Phong City News Portal . In 2022, Cat Ba will welcome 2.3 million visitors out of a total of 7 million visitors to Hai Phong City. However, most of them are domestic visitors.
"International tourists love Ha Long Bay. After Cat Ba becomes a world heritage destination, international tourists coming to Ha Long will definitely continue to visit Cat Ba," Mr. Nam said about the future benefits of Hai Phong's tourism industry.
Secretary General of the Tourism Advisory Board (TAB) Hoang Nhan Chinh commented that the event of Ha Long - Cat Ba becoming a common asset of the world has contributed "greatly" to the image and brand of Vietnamese tourism. According to Mr. Chinh, now every time the names of the leading heritages in the country are mentioned, we have Ha Long - Cat Ba, a new destination brand.
In TAB's December 2021 survey on tourist needs and trends during Covid-19, beach vacations are still the biggest need of 64% of respondents. The trend of exploring nature (56%) has increased significantly compared to the previous survey. Thus, Ha Long - Cat Ba meets both the expectations of tourists: beach vacations and exploring nature.
"This heritage complex will certainly have strong appeal because it meets the needs of tourists," said Mr. Chinh.
Ha Long Bay seen from above. Photo: Khai Phong
For those in the tourism industry, this is an opportunity to diversify products and increase revenue. Mr. Pham Ha, Chairman of Lux Group, a cruise business in Lan Ha Bay, said tourists will have a more complete experience when the two destinations become dual heritages.
"There will be many exhibitions and tourism fairs abroad in the near future. UNESCO's recognition of Ha Long-Cat Ba this time and the visa extension are two things we will mention when promoting Vietnam tourism, while the peak season for foreign visitors is starting," Mr. Ha added.
Mr. Nguyen Hong Nhat, General Director of APC Group, which has one luxury cruise ship operating in Lan Ha Bay and two in Ha Long Bay, hopes that UNESCO's recognition of Ha Long Bay and Cat Ba archipelago as world natural heritage will help ease administrative procedures between Quang Ninh and Hai Phong, creating momentum for future development.
However, Mr. Hoang Nhan Chinh said that we should anticipate that the influx of visitors will lead to overload and environmental impacts. "We need to develop but also need to preserve the heritage, to avoid UNESCO revoking the title," Mr. Chinh said.
Tam Anh - Phuong Anh
Source link
Comment (0)