Ba Ria – Vung Tau misses tourism season

[waytovietnam]

Ba Ria – Vung Tau Vietnam was just entering the tourism season when Xangsane burst into the province, making the plan to receive 250,000 foreign tourisms fall to pieces.

Ba Ria – Vung Tau misses tourism season The tourism season in Ba Ria – Vung Tau begins in December and lasts until the Lunar New Year. The southern land of Vietnam proves to be an ideal destination for foreign tourists, who come in December and January to avoid the winter’s coldness in their home countries and enjoy Christmas and New Year.

Ba Ria – Vung Tau is always full of foreign travellers in the tourism season. In December 2005, for example, Ky Van resort received some 1,000 international tourists and gained the turnover of VND2.5bil ($0.15mil). The newly operational resorts there like Long Hai Beach, Intourco and Binh An also receive a lot of foreign tourists from Sweden, Norway, Switzerland, Denmark, Germany, Australia, Russia and the US.

Foreign tourists coming to Ba Ria – Vung Tau in the season always come with their families, stay for a few weeks and spend several thousand dollars each, according to Phuong Dung, Managing Director of Ky Van Resort.

However, Typhoon Xangsane made the resorts there desolate. Ky Van is a four-star resort which has been recognised as the best resort in the southern region for three consecutive years, but it is now deserted and forlorn.

Ky Van resort’s leaders said that it would take six months to restore the normal operations of the resort. Located next to the Ky Van resort, Long Hai beach was also damaged by Xangsane. Though repairs were started right after the typhoon went away, Long Hai Beach also missed a tourism season.

Other resorts including Thuy Duong, Loc An, Ray River, Osaka, located in Dat Do and Xuyen Moc districts are also in the same situation. Thuy Duong resort said that foreign clients who planned to come on Christmas cancelled tours as they heard about the damage. Several resorts even had to pay fines for breaking contracts with travel firms.

The resorts in Vung Tau City have also been severely devastated like the resorts in coastal districts. Bimexco has been razed. Paradise and Vung Tau Intourco, located next to Bimexco, suffered less damage, but it will take them much money and time to resume their normal operations. The two-star hotel Taiwan under Paradise, which was opened two days before the typhoon burst into the city, has also been devastated and now cannot operate.

Binh An Tourism Village, which was once recognised by readers of Thoi bao kinh te Vietnam as the most beautiful small resort in Vietnam, now has few customers.