New opportunities for the coastal town.

(Baonghean)In 2014, Cua Lo Town celebrated its 20th anniversary. At this vibrant age, the town's Party Committee and people need to strive to successfully build a "coastal tourism city" with the goal of becoming greener, cleaner, more beautiful, friendlier, and more hospitable. These were the messages conveyed by Comrade Nguyen Xuan Duong, Deputy Secretary of the Provincial Party Committee and Chairman of the Provincial People's Committee, during a meeting with the leaders of Cua Lo Town on June 11th.

Sunrise Square during the Cua Lo River Festival (April 30). Photo: Tran Hai

In the process of socio-economic development, Cua Lo Town has been identified by the province as the second most important growth pole after Vinh City. Therefore, since September 2006, the Provincial Party Committee has issued Resolution No. 05-NQ/TƯ “on building and developing Cua Lo Town into a tourist city by 2015, with consideration to 2020”. Based on this major orientation, over the years, along with the efforts of the Party Committee, the government, and the people in the area, provincial departments and agencies have implemented many policies to support and encourage the town to gradually become a vibrant and dynamic tourist destination. To date, the GDP growth rate has reached 9.8% (calculated for 2013 and the first six months of 2014); per capita income has reached 58.86 million VND/year; The economic structure is shifting towards an increased proportion of services and industry (reaching 60.7%), while agriculture and forestry are decreasing (7%).

Contributing to this positive shift, in addition to the budget allocated for infrastructure development, the town's Party committees, authorities, and people have undertaken numerous activities to promote and attract investment in tourism development while protecting maritime sovereignty. Beach and resort tourism services have developed extensively towards Cua Hoi and expanded southward towards Lan Chau Island. Notably, at the beginning of 2014, the "Lan Chau - Song Ngu Eco-tourism, Resort Villa, Sports, and Entertainment Complex" project (hereinafter referred to as the Lan Chau - Song Ngu Tourism Complex) officially commenced investment, promising to open up many new opportunities for the coastal town.

During his working visit to the town, Comrade Nguyen Xuan Duong - Deputy Secretary of the Provincial Party Committee, Chairman of the Provincial People's Committee, along with leaders of various departments and agencies, inspected the site and highly appreciated the initial efforts of Song Ngu Son Tourism Service Joint Stock Company. In a short period of time, the company actively built infrastructure, purchased high-speed boats, and opened a boat tour route connecting Lan Chau Island to Ngu Island, serving tourists during the 2014 tourist season. Introducing the project to the Chairman of the Provincial People's Committee and leaders of various departments and agencies, Dr. Tran Quoc Lam - Chairman of the Board of Directors of Song Ngu Son Joint Stock Company - enthusiastically stated: “Currently, the company is actively signing agreements with partners and accelerating the construction of items such as hotels, resorts, entertainment areas, and a cable car system connecting Lan Chau Island to Ngu Island. The project's facilities will be attractive highlights, contributing to beautifying the town and maximizing its tourism potential. At the same time, we are strengthening connections with domestic and international travel agencies to introduce and invite tourists to Cua Lo and the resort and tourism area invested and built by the company…”

During discussions with the leaders of Song Ngu Son Tourism Services Joint Stock Company, Mr. Nguyen Xuan Duong welcomed the company's bold investment in deciding to expand the beach and resort services south of Cua Lo beach – an area that has long been underdeveloped. The Chairman of the Provincial People's Committee also requested that the investing unit accelerate the construction of facilities and bring them into operation soon to contribute to achieving the goal of year-round tourism in the future. The province and town should actively coordinate with relevant units to strengthen the connection between the three key tourism areas: Cua Lo, Vinh City, and Nam Dan. In this process, focus should be placed on developing new tourism routes, diversifying tourism products, and increasing the duration of service operation as well as the length of stay for tourists. In fact, these efforts have been carried out through tourism promotion activities by the province and the Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism to other provinces such as Hanoi, Ha Tinh, Quang Binh, Lam Dong, Da Nang, Ho Chi Minh City… and provinces in Laos and the Northeast region of Thailand. Such domestic and international tourism promotion activities, along with the opening of more domestic and international flights to Da Lat, Buon Ma Thuot, Da Nang, and Vientiane, are bringing much promise to tourism in Cua Lo in particular and Nghe An in general.

Reporting to the Deputy Secretary of the Provincial Party Committee and Chairman of the Provincial People's Committee, Mr. Nguyen Nam Dinh - Secretary of the Cua Lo Town Party Committee affirmed: “The town is focusing on implementing solutions to develop tourism and services; emphasizing strengthening the connection between relaxation and beach activities with spiritual and cultural tourism; and effectively exploiting conference services associated with the development of tourism-related industries. The town is striving to restore historical and spiritual relics, revive traditional festivals, and reconstruct unique rituals and customs of the coastal people, including prominent festivals over the years such as the Van Loc Temple Festival, the Song Ngu Pagoda Festival, the Fishing Festival, the Boat Racing Festival, and other cultural and sports activities with a strong community spirit to attract tourists, increase their vacation time, and enhance tourism services…”

After inspecting production, service, and infrastructure development activities in Nghi Tan, Nghi Thu, and Thu Thuy wards, and working with town leaders, Comrade Nguyen Xuan Duong outlined directions for promoting the development of a "tourism city"; in which, strengthening linkages is one of the key conditions determining the success of tourism development. However, cultural factors, from the manner of service, behavior, and speech of each citizen and each person involved in tourism services, are what ultimately determine the retention of tourists…

Comrade Nguyen Xuan Duong also suggested that the Party Committee, government, and people of Cua Lo Town should focus on restoring, maintaining, and developing traditional craft villages such as fishing, aquaculture, and seafood processing; and at the same time, build and expand models of clean fruit and vegetable production to supply logistics for tourism activities. In particular, focusing on growing green vegetables and fresh flowers in wards and communes without coastlines will be a sustainable approach that can link tourism development by encouraging tourist visits. The town also needs a strategy for developing unique and practical souvenirs for tourists to buy after their vacation.

For a long time, local seafood products have attracted tourists, but transportation and preservation have not been truly convenient. Therefore, besides meaningful gifts, if we conduct research and innovate to make things more convenient for tourists, we will certainly improve services and create gifts for those who have not yet visited Cua Lo. This is a valuable message, an invitation to come to Cua Lo… At the same time, ensuring good social security and order, and the safety of tourists, plays an important role in building a civilized coastal tourism city. The Chairman of the Provincial People's Committee assigned the leaders and departments of the town to quickly complete the project to build a "tourism city" for submission to the Government for approval. If this work is completed in time for the 20th anniversary of the town's establishment, it will be a significant milestone and an important driving force for the Party Committee and people of Cua Lo to focus on development in the right direction. Through this, the town needs to focus on the key task of maintaining national unity; building a strong political system; Strengthen the training and utilization of personnel to effectively meet the requirements set forth.

After reviewing the four-year implementation of the Resolution of the 4th Party Congress of Cua Lo town, Cua Lo has now achieved or exceeded 32 out of 44 targets set in the resolution. The town is steadily progressing towards fulfilling the criteria for building a tourist city according to Resolution 05-NQ/TU (dated September 26, 2006) of the Provincial Party Committee. Twenty years of formation and development also presents an opportunity for Cua Lo town to rise with important orientations and actively implement Resolution 26 of the Politburo with specific targets, aiming to effectively exploit the potential and strengths of the locality, focusing resources on economic development while protecting maritime sovereignty.

Nguyen Son