Ho Chi Minh City: Why is Can Gio beach deserted on April 30th holiday?

On the occasion of the April 30 and May 1 holidays this year, people in Ho Chi Minh City as well as the whole country have 5 consecutive days off. Therefore, many people have started to spread out to tourist areas, especially areas near the city center and neighboring provinces and cities to have fun and relax. However, there is a paradox that on the first day of the holiday, Can Gio beach is surprisingly deserted.

The route from Ho Chi Minh City to Can Gio beach has very little traffic. Photo: Viet Hung

According to the reporter of Kinh te Do thi newspaper on April 27 (the first day of the 5-day holiday of April 30 and May 1 this year), at the beach near the center of Can Thanh town, Can Gio district, there were only a few tourists, mostly traveling individually with families, very few tourists traveling in groups. This is in complete contrast to some holidays in previous years when every holiday was crowded with tourists swimming in the sea and enjoying fresh seafood.

The beach resort has been fenced with concrete and B40 mesh for renovation, leaving tourists with no place to swim. Photo: Viet Hung

According to the reporter's observations, the lack of tourists during this year's holiday has many reasons, but mainly due to the relatively extremely hot weather and many tourism projects and works that have not been completed, specifically the 30/4 beach area, which is the place that attracts the most tourists to swim, has now been closed for renovation.

Regarding the second reason, the coastal area of ​​Can Gio still has many tourist facilities that are abandoned or have been completed but show no signs of being completed, many beach areas have been fenced off for construction...

Hang Duong market is usually a place that attracts a lot of tourists to eat and buy seafood to take home, but this holiday season, it is very quiet, making many traders worried. Photo: Viet Hung

Speaking to reporters, Ms. Hoai Phuong - a vendor at the beach said: "For the past two years, the 30/4 beach area has been fenced off to serve the construction of a tourism project, so the swimming space is limited. Besides, there are currently many ferries running directly through Vung Tau city, so tourists choose to travel there...".

Ms. Xoi - a person who specializes in selling sun-dried mackerel at Can Gio market shared: "Normally I sell about 60 - 70 kg of mackerel every day, but today is both a weekend and a holiday, but there are so few customers, sometimes sales are not as good as normal days...".

Many large seafood stalls at Can Gio market only saw a few buyers. Photo: Viet Hung

Ms. Ngoc Huyen - a seafood seller at Hang Duong market said: "This year, on weekends and holidays, there are fewer customers than usual, so goods are relatively slow. Since the construction of the 30/4 beach area, the beach has been fenced off, so there are very few tourists. I and the traders hope to reopen the 30/4 beach to attract tourists so that people can trade and do business..."

Ms. Xoi - a person who specializes in selling sun-dried mackerel at Can Gio market shared: "Normally I sell about 60 - 70 kg of mackerel every day, but today is both a weekend and a holiday but there are so few customers, sometimes sales are not as good as normal days...". Photo: Viet Hung

In addition, the bottleneck of Binh Khanh ferry is also a limitation that makes tourists feel bored when coming to Can Gio, having to wait for the ferry, which is very time-consuming. Therefore, the rapid construction of Can Gio structure connecting Can Gio and Nha Be to create smooth traffic and the rapid promotion of large projects in the planning stage, Can Gio district can develop its economy and tourism in line with the potential of the "sea front" of Ho Chi Minh City. In addition, Can Gio also has many other tourist attractions such as visiting historical sites, revolutionary bases, nature reserves and biodiversity of Sac forest.

Another issue that needs attention is that the promotion and attraction of tourists to Can Gio has not been focused on. According to a survey by the Ho Chi Minh City Department of Tourism in 2018, only 40% of local residents know that the city has a beach. Up to now, this rate has not changed much at the present time.

Group of tourists come to relax at Can Gio beach

Due to the prolonged hot weather, the number of visitors to Can Gio beach has also decreased. Photo: Viet Hung

Specifically, the Ho Chi Minh City Party Committee has also issued Resolution 12 on the development orientation of Can Gio district until 2030. During this period, Can Gio island district will be built and developed into a green, smart, environmentally friendly coastal city with eco-tourism as its spearhead.

It is expected that in the future, Can Gio will connect with international tourist routes through the international passenger port on the Saigon - Vung Tau route. Along with that, the construction of urban projects reclaiming the sea when implemented according to the approved planning will attract many tourists with an average of 12.5% ​​/ year, reaching 49 million visitors in the period of 2021-2030.

Source: https://kinhtedothi.vn/tp-ho-chi-minh-vi-sao-bien-can-gio-vang-khach-dip-le-30-4-1-5.html