Dien Thanh prepares for the tourist season.

(Baonghean)With its long stretches of sand, tranquil pine forests, and gentle waves, Dien Thanh beach (Dien Chau) attracts tourists with its pristine and romantic beauty. In recent years, Dien Thanh has gradually become a familiar beach destination...

In March, preparations for a new tourist season at Dien Thanh beach have begun to stir with urgency and activity. Nguyen Van Dang, the owner of Thuy Dang's wind-swept eatery, happily shared while working alongside roofers: "The wind-swept eateries in Dien Thanh operate almost year-round. Customers come here to enjoy fresh and inexpensive seafood specialties. During the summer months, from April to August, my eatery welcomes 70-80 customers, and over 100 on weekends." Dang took on the contract to build his eatery on this beach in 2000, when the entire stretch of beach only had a few dozen rudimentary stalls. Witnessing the changes in this rapidly developing beach, he has never considered leaving to pursue another profession. His wife, Thuy, shared: “Most of the customers here are from within the province; there are also some from Hanoi and other provinces, but they are still few. To attract and retain customers, almost all the beachside eateries here follow the motto of ‘selling cheaply, at the right price, and being friendly and polite to customers.’ Tourists can rest assured about the quality of service, and Dien Thanh is considered a beach that keeps customers coming back.”



The cafes are getting ready for the new tourist season.

Despite being developed for over 10 years, with dozens of resorts, restaurants, hotels, and seaside cafes, Dien Thanh Beach has retained its pristine, charming, and peaceful character. Mr. Nguyen Huu Dung (a specialist from the Culture Department of Dien Chau District) stated: "During the French colonial period, the French built School No. 7 here, combined with a resort and recreation area. In later years, the 40A Convalescent Unit of the army continued to build a convalescent area to serve the recreational needs of soldiers nationwide. Gradually, Dien Thanh Beach has become a familiar destination for an increasing number of tourists. To fully exploit the tourism potential, Dien Chau District has decided to take strong steps, first and foremost focusing on opening transportation routes." In 2007, hundreds of houses along the Dien Chau intersection (now the Muong Thanh Hotel) were compensated and demolished to make way for a wide, paved road over 2 km long, extending all the way to the Dien Thanh beach. Along with that, another road leading to the beach south of the town was also upgraded, and two cross roads along the beach were also constructed, creating extremely convenient transportation conditions.

Since then, along with the increasing number of tourists visiting Dien Thanh, the development of tourism infrastructure has also become stronger. On the beach, in addition to 126 beachside eateries, there are 4 large hotels and several dozen guesthouses with over 640 rooms. Besides the tourism management office, there is already a cultural center, a stadium, and a complete lighting and drainage system. In the upcoming plan, the central cultural area will be further developed and completed, including a multi-purpose sports arena, a seaside cultural park, and a water-generating lake. Visitors to Dien Thanh can also personally select fresh seafood brought in from the Van estuary. Besides the two seafood markets, So Market and Chieu Market, located in Dien Chau town a few kilometers from the beach, Dien Chau is scheduled to inaugurate a new seafood market serving tourists right in Dien Thanh commune on May 19th, with a total investment of nearly 20 billion VND.

However, a common feeling among tourists visiting Dien Thanh beach is that the sanitation is not up to par with a tourist area. Mr. Nguyen Van Hong (Hoa Thanh - Yen Thanh) said: "In the summer, my family and I often come here. Swimming isn't possible this season, but I still occasionally bring my wife and children down to enjoy fresh and inexpensive seafood. 'Even with the peak tourist season approaching, the beach is still covered in trash. Recently, I've even seen locals digging large holes along the beach to store garbage, causing environmental pollution,' Mr. Hong shared." Regarding this issue, Mr. Phan Dinh Trung, Vice Chairman of the Dien Thanh Commune People's Committee, said: "A sanitation team and a security team have been established and are now operational." However, it is difficult to completely solve this problem because water hyacinths and household waste from the villages along both sides of the Bung River float a lot, especially before and after the early summer floods, when the agricultural sector releases water for production, or in July and August, when the river water is often released strongly to drain water and protect the fields, which is both unsightly for tourists and unsanitary. In addition, some villa and resort projects that have been allocated land but left abandoned also affect the overall landscape.

Phu Huong