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Vietnam’s central region is gaining world renown and could become a new Bali, said Paul Stoll, General Director of the Furama Resort in central Da Nang City.
Although the current tourism infrastructure in the region is poor - especially its hotels - the Central Region has the potential to become a significant destination that can compare to luxurious tourist traps like Langkawi in Malaysia or Cebu in the Philippines.
The region not only boasts world heritage sites such as the My Son Holy Land, Hoi An ancient town, Hue ancient capital and Phong Nha – Ke Bang cave, it also has some of the top beaches in Vietnam such as Lang Co, Son Tra, Non Nuoc, and Hoi An, which are ideal for the construction of high-grade resorts like those in Bali in Indonesia, or Phuket in Thailand.
The region is drawing a great number of investors wanting to build luxury seaside resorts and four or five-star hotels. Some resorts have already been completed, including the Golden Sands Resort in Quang Nam Province, the first five-star hotel project in Hoi An, and four-star Palm Garden Hotel in Cam An. Another big project is a five-star resort named The Nam Hai at Ha My beach, with 60 villas and 60 bungalows, managed by General Hotels Management, which will be inaugurated in early 2006.
Nguyen Quang Ninh, General Director of the project said that The Nam Hai would open a new development direction for Quang Nam tourism. The resort will receive tourists who have stayed at Bali or Phuket with rooms going for several thousand US dollars per night.
Quang Nam is now a magnet for sea resorts, with 166 tourism projects totalling $1.64bil (VND4tril) currently under construction. Notably, the Global C & D is fulfilling formalities for a $1bil project to build a tourism complex on 450ha in Dien Ban District. The Chu Lai Open Economic Zone is also very attractive with eight foreign-invested projects totalling nearly $400mil and VND1.6tril in registered capital.
US firm Silver shores is conducting a $86mil resort project at Non Nuoc, while Millennium Group International is considering a $60mil project in Da Nang, revealed Lam Quang Minh, Director of the Da Nang Investment Promotion Centre. In addition, Magnum Investment is implementing a $24mil project in the city.
The Son Tra peninsular is changing shape, with six resort projects bringing in VND2tril in registered capital, including the VND650bil Son Tra Resort & Spa of the Son Tra Joint Stock Company, the largest resort project invested by a local company. The resort will have 200 villas and a five-star 100-room hotel and other facilities of a high-grade resort. Part of the project will be put into operation next year. This will be the second five-star resort in Da Nang, after the Furama.
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