Hanoi (VNA) – The northeastern provinceof Quang Ninh will host a number of activities in response to the Vietnam Seaand Island Week, which is scheduled to kick off in the locality on May 31.

The event will begin with an art performancethemed “Joining hands to keep the blue sea” and a workshop on youths withsustainable development and protection of national sea and island sovereignty.

A contest composing songs on Vietnamese seas andislands will be launched at the opening ceremony.

Various activities will be held in response tothe Vietnam Sea and Island Week and the World Ocean Day 2018 on June 1 such asvisiting and presenting gifts to sea cleaning forces, conferences and seminarson effective use and management of marine resources, and protection of sea andisland environment.

According to Pham Ngoc Long, Chief of the Officeof the Vietnam Administration of Seas and Islands, besides Quang Ninh, theVietnam Sea and Island Week is scheduled to take place simultaneously in thecentral province of Quang Tri and the Mekong Delta province of Bac Lieu.

Response activities will also be observedacross the country, especially in coastal localities, from June 1-8.

Quang Ninh is endowed with natural advantagesfor sea and island tourism. It is home to the Ha Long and Bai Tu Long Bays, theHa Long Bay National Park and some islands, the best known of which is Co Toand Van Don. 

In particular, Ha Long Bay has been twicerecognised as a World Natural Heritage site by the United Nations Educational,Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO). The Heritage site has become amagnet drawing visitors to Quang Ninh. 

In 2017, a total of 9.87 million touristsvisited the province, including 4.28 million foreigners. More than 70 percentof the tourists came via sea and island tours. 

The provinceaims to attract over 12 million visitors this year, including 5 millionforeigners.

Quang Ninh is expanding the space for sea andisland tourism farther from Ha Long Bay towards islands such as Co To, Van Donand Hai Ha. 

Equipped with a strategic vision for developingthe sea-based economy, the province in 2014 approved an Overall Plan fortourism development to 2020 with a vision to 2030. 

Under the scheme, the sea space in Quang Ninh isdivided into five zones, which are the strictly preserved Ha Long Bay, theconservation area in Bai Tu Long National Park, the tourism zone, the zone withrestricted development to serve national defence and security, and the zonewith no development. Each zone, with their specific characteristics, has closelinks with each other to support the development of sea-based tourism andeconomy while ensuring national defence and security and serving the province’ssustainable development. 

The Overall Plan has made positive impacts onthe local tourism sector, helping attract a series of investment projects. Manybig investors such as Vingroup, Sun Group, Myway, Tuan Chau and FLC have pouredmoney into tourism infrastructure and entertainment facilities in QuangNinh.-VNA