Features

Ba Ria-Vung Tau is famous throughout Vietnam for producing ‘black gold’ which has helped fuel the nation’s economic resurgence.

Huy Nam, an economist and securities market specialist based in Ho Chi Minh City, says Ba Ria-Vung Tau has a lot of room to develop and reach its full potential.

But, its traditional advantages and future potential have shone through with visitors and investors flocking to the region.
Vung Tau “the city of a sea of oil” (words from a song popular in the 1980s) now offers key economic zones hosting a variety of high-profile investors. It also enjoys a close attachment to Ho Chi Minh City, despite Phan Thiet now looming large as a major attraction for Saigonese.
Not long ago besides the product ‘nuoc mam’ (fish sauce), Phan Thiet was only known for a limited range of activities and few came to ‘rest’ for more than one night. But since crowds of people flocked to the hillsides along Mui Ne to watch a total eclipse of the sun in 1995, Phan Thiet has woken up to offer high-quality resorts to a growing number of tourists.
The resorts, lush scenery and sea lying along the road leading to Mui Ne are impressive. But despite the obvious attractions, each time I came and stayed here I inevitably thought of the Long Hai-Phuoc Hai area of Ba Ria-Vung Tau. So, should we take a second look at Ba Ria-Vung Tau?
In addition to convenient transport, Vung Tau city’s large size and temperate climate are things other resort localities lack. But why has Vung Tau had trouble capitalising on its advantages? Why has it not been a place for long-term R&R in the eyes of tourists and visitors from Ho Chi Minh City?
An advantage is one thing, but it is another thing to know how to bring it into play. Economically, the industry that the province can actively develop is in fact not the oil and gas industry because its fate is decided by the central government. Apart from the advantages of natural gas and sea products, Ba Ria-Vung Tau will find it difficult to emerge as an important industrial city.
Furthermore, development in the manner of labour-intensive industries is needed to be weighed up because of the deterioration of the social infrastructure caused by crowds of immigrant workers. Ba Ria-Vung Tau does not have agricultural advantages either. But it has real potential for developing it services, in general, and tourism in particular.
Regarding tourism, Ba Ria-Vung Tau has beautiful geographic sites. The areas of Long Dat and Xuyen Moc with a blend of plains, forests and land sloping gently down along the shore from Long Hai, Phuoc Hai to Ho Tram, Ho Coc, Binh Chau, are attractive features ready for development.
However, while these areas have potential, tourism is already a reality in Vung Tau.
Visitors to Vung Tau have recently begun to find the place more interesting. They can go for a stroll in the streets at night, especially along Tran Hung Dao street and Quang Trung street along the sea shore. Compared with Nha Trang, Danang or Haiphong, the seaside streets here have different colour and feel.
I raised this idea in an analysis of urban areas relating to Danang and it was shared among many people. This is merely an incidental discovery when I spent two days in the inner streets of Vung Tau as I could not rent any rooms along the sea shore. For many families, it is more interesting to stay in the inner streets if they are on a three-day and two-night holiday. Vung Tau has good conditions to develop its service-based economy, only second to Ho Chi Minh City, especially MICE tourism.
MICE tourism, which stands for meetings, incentives, conventions and events, has recently emerged in Vietnam, but no places have implemented it properly. Conditions and ability may be the two important contents of the issue. Meanwhile, MICE has been introduced in many conferences on tourism in various localities as a modern tourist product.
It sounds attractive but many insiders say they do not understand thoroughly what conditions MICE needs, and what is the MICE product specifically. There are not many places in Vietnam where this form of tourism can be organised. Vung Tau is probably a good candidate for that, as it has the most suitable conditions in Vietnam to develop this kind of tourism.
MICE, besides attracting visitors to a place or a country, is also a gate open to the world. This is a way of doing business and gain advantages from outside an administrative border (Singapore has become rich as a result of this).



No. 756/April 10-16, 2006