Ha Long Bay speeds up storm recovery efforts to attract tourists

Tourism businesses in the Quang Ninh Province, home to Ha Long Bay, are taking measures to overcome consequences caused by typhoon Yagi and ensure conditions to receive international tourists in the last months of the year.

To restore environmental sanitation to the UNESCO heritage site to serve tourism, the Ha Long Bay Management Board on Sept. 15 launched a three-day cleanup campaign, involving 35 to 50 vehicles and about 150 to 200 personnel from various organizations.

The typhoon that hit the northern province on Sept. 7 left a significant amount of debris, including broken aquaculture rafts and household waste, requiring a lot of time for cleanup. There were 19,582 damaged houses, 21 shipping vehicles, 23 cruise vessels, and 41 fishing boats either sunk or were adrift. Over 1,000 fish farming cages were lost or swept away, while 17,000 sq.m of aquaculture works, many high-rise buildings, government offices, and schools have been damaged.

The cleanup teams focused on collecting garbage in the core area of Ha Long Bay, such as tourist itineraries, overnight stays, on the sea surface, around the islands, and on sandy beaches.

So far 315 out of 359 vessels that provide sightseeing, restaurant, and accommodation services on the bay have been ready to serve tourists.

The Quang Ninh Museum, which was heavily damaged by the typhoon, is expected to reopen on Oct. 1.

Do Quyet Tien, the museum director. said that in addition to temporarily repairing the damage caused by typhoon Yagi, the museum plans to offer new services such as bilingual audio guide in English and Vietnamese, and history and culture tour for students.

The museum strives to receive 750,000 visitors in 2024.

Ha Long Pearl Company, which is well-known for its pearl farm and stores, is also hastening to address storm consequences and restore business.

Its four tourism sites in Ha Long Bay – a pearl farm in Vung Vieng fishing village, another at Bo Hon island, My Ngoc store and Le Pearl store - were all severely affected by the typhoon.

Aiming to resume operation as soon as possible, the company quickly repaired and reopend My Ngoc store. On Sept. 13, the store welcomed more than 200 international tourists to visit and shop.

The company director Nguyen Thuy Huong said that after My Ngoc store, the company will reopen Le Pearl store in late September and strives to complete the reparation at its pearl farms by the end of 2024.

In 2024, Quang Ninh aims to welcome 19 million visitors, including 3.5 million international visitors.

By the end of August 2024, the province had welcomed 14.7 million visitors including 2.4 million foreign ones.

Typhoon Yagi has caused severe damage in many provinces and cities in the northern region, including major tourist centers such as Hanoi, Quang Ninh, Hai Phong, and Sa Pa of Lao Cai Province. In an effort to overcome the damage, many localities have organized activities to welcome tourists back.

Since Sept. 13, the Management Board of Ha Long Bay has welcomed visitors at places that meet safety standards.

The Ha Long and Tuan Chau International Passenger Ports have resumed operations and have welcomed thousands of visitors.