QUANG NINH PROVINCE, NORTH VIETNAM

Area: 6, 099 sq. km
Population: 1,091.3 thousand (2006)
Capital: Halong City
Administrative divisions:
- Towns: Cam Pha, Mong Cai, Uong Bi;
- Districts: Ba Che, Binh Lieu, Hai Ha, Dam Ha, Tien Yen, Van Don, Hoanh Bo, Dong Trieu, Co To, Yen Hung.

Geography

Quang Ninh is a mountainous and coastal province, with more than 80% of its area covered of mountains and hills. The sea and island zone of Quang Ninh has a unique terrain. There are more than 2,000 islands, accounting for two thirds of Vietnam's islands. They extend along the coast for more than 250km and divide into numerous layers. The largest islands are Cai Bau and Ban Sen, while the smallest are just like rocks in a garden. The sea bed of Quang Ninh isn't smooth, and around 20 meters deep. There are remnants of ancient streams and underwater rocky banks. Streams from the mainland connect to deep drains along the sea-floor; creating a series of waterways, canals and harbors along the coast.

Climates

Quang Ninh's climate is typical of the climate in the North Viet Nam; featuring all four seasons. In summer, it's hot, humid and rainy, while monsoons flourish. In winter, it's cold, dry, and sometimes rainy.

The average heat radiating during a year is 115.4 Kcal/sq. cm. The average temperature is over 21ºC, while the average humidity is 84%. Annual rainfall totals between 1,700 and 2,400mm, and there can be between 90 to 170 rainy days a year.

Tourism

By promoting the advantages of tourism resources, in recent years, Quang Ninh has continuously invested in infrastructure, gradually renewed tourism activities, and improved the quality of services. Tourism has seen new improvements both in quality and quantity, creating a system of specialized tourism enterprises with prestigious brands on the markets.

Thanks to proper tourism development policies, Quang Ninh tourism has achieved encouraging results. Specifically, in 2011, Quang Ninh received over 6.4 million tourist arrivals, exceeding the planned target and up 19% compared to 2010. Of which, international tourist arrivals to Quang Ninh is nearly 2,3 million, a rise of 8%. The total turnover in 2011 reached 3,551 billion, increasing 25% over the year of 2010.

The above-mentioned results have created advantages and opportunities for Quang Ninh tourism to reach new heights. Accordingly, Quang Ninh always targets to make the most of all resources to develop tourism into a major economic sector. It also aims to become the major tourism center of the country, an attractive destination in the region contributing to foster the growth of other relevant sectors. The province is focusing on building tourism development strategy in compliance with the concept of sustainable tourism development in the direction of high quality, prestigious brand, and focus. In addition, the province will continue to attract investment in major issues, such as infrastructure development and equipping technical facilities for tourism centers. Some large modern world-class buildings at tourism centers in Ha Long city will be on the list of priority development projects.

All these above activities have created a new look for Quang Ninh tourism, opening up new opportunities for Quang Ninh tourism to reach a new height. By 2015, the province targets to receive around 7.5 million of tourist arrivals, of which 3.3 million international tourist arrivals is expected to generate a total revenue of USD 300 million./.