Hoang Mai opens up tourism potential

(Baonghean) - When mentioning Hoang Mai's tourism potential, people immediately think of the sea, from Quynh Lap beach with its wild beauty to Quynh Phuong beach associated with Con temple relic - the most sacred temple in Nghe An... In the socio-economic development orientation for the period 2016 - 2020, Hoang Mai Town identified exploiting tourism potential as one of the four important goals.

Wide open potential

Vuc Mau Lake welcomed us on a sunny day, but the harsh sunlight of Nghe An coastal region seemed to have cooled down when in front of us was a dark blue lake with many different types of trees, creating an ideal space for tourists to relax on weekends.

The romantic beauty of Mau Lake.

Vuc Mau Lake is one of the largest irrigation lakes in Nghe An province, started construction in 1978. The lake area is over 1,000 hectares, nearly 1km long from Quynh Thang, Tan Thang to Quynh Trang, with a capacity of over 40 million m3. Running along the solid concrete embankment of Vuc Mau Lake, looking to the other side of the vast water surface shining golden in the afternoon sun, the hills looming in the distance. This place is being planned by Hoang Mai town to attract investment to develop eco-tourism and resorts because of its beauty and vastness.

Recently, many tourist groups have come to visit, some investors have also come to survey Vuc Mau lake. However, they have not found a suitable investor yet. Therefore, to serve tourists, Vuc Mau lake currently has only one restaurant owned by Mr. Luu Van Cuong - a local who spontaneously rents life jackets, serves specialties of Vuc Mau lake such as shrimp, fish... and takes visitors around the lake by canoe when needed. Mr. Cuong said: His busiest time is from April to July every year. He serves 40 - 50 trips per day. For those who want to visit the lake by canoe, he charges 50,000 VND/person/trip.

Quynh Phuong Beach - one of the attractive destinations in Hoang Mai Town.

Along with Vuc Mau Lake, the pristine Quynh Lap beach is also waiting for investors to exploit the potential here. If you depart from Vinh, Quynh Lap commune is the last place of Nghe An, and if you go from Hanoi, after Thanh Hoa, you will set foot on Quynh Lap land.

To get to Quynh Lap, follow the Dong Hoi - Quynh Lap asphalt road constructed by the Nghe An Department of Transport and the Ministry of National Defense's Construction and Trade Investment Company 36 and opened to traffic in 2010. The good news is that since the road was built, Quynh Lap has developed a lot: trade and commerce, seafood products of the people are transported faster. In particular, in recent years, although not yet bustling, Quynh Lap beach has been known to many tourists. The goal of the Commune Party Congress for the term 2015 - 2020 has also been determined: Promoting exploitation and attracting investment for the development of sea tourism is the long-term direction of the commune.

Quynh Lap beach has wild beauty.

However, the biggest difficulty of Quynh Lap at present is still the traffic. From Dong Hoi asphalt road to Quynh Lap beach is still a small dirt road, only accessible by motorbike or 4-seat car - this is one of the obstacles for Quynh Lap to be able to welcome tourist groups. Besides, because there is no specific planning, the shops in Quynh Lap are still very small and spontaneous. Mr. Ho Sy Luyen - a person attached to this sunny and windy land, currently selling specialties at Quynh Lap beach, worries: If only Quynh Lap beach were known by many tourists; if only a few investors came to exploit this beach area considered the most beautiful in the North... to make Quynh Lap beach more bustling, so that his shop would have more "competitive objects", then he will expand the shop, build a motel, plan better, hire more staff to serve...

In the future, if there is a reasonable tourism development policy, a beautiful coastline stretching from Quynh Lap to the border of Quynh Bang, which is still very wild, will be a great advantage for developing high-quality sea tourism, to welcome a large number of tourists from the North, combined with the natural eco-tourism area of ​​Vuc Mau Lake and existing spiritual tourist attractions to develop into a colorful tourist route.

Investment orientation

Hoang Mai has always been a land of outstanding people, with many historical and cultural relics and scenic spots (including 6 relics ranked at national level and 5 at provincial level) that can be developed into attractive tourism products. Among them, there is Con Temple (Quynh Phuong) worshiping the Four Holy Ladies (one of the four most sacred temples in Nghe An).

Along with historical and cultural relics, the Hoang Mai coastal area has many traditional folk festivals. The festivals also preserve the cultural features of each region, recreating customs and practices associated with the lives of coastal people, attracting tourists such as: Con Temple Festival, Ha Temple Festival, Phung Hung Temple Festival, Xuan Hoa Temple Festival... Hoang Mai people also preserve many folk melodies of Ho Ve, Hat Vi Giam, Ca Tru...

Con Temple in the ocean breeze

In particular, Hoang Mai has many specialties and delicious dishes that attract tourists such as: shrimp, crab, squid, mackerel, la lang soup... with the traditional craft village of Quynh Di fish sauce and the boat building craft of Quynh Lap.

In recent times, along with the development of service industries, Hoang Mai tourism has had significant changes. The number of visitors - relic sites each year is from 25,000 to 30,000 people. To meet the needs of tourists, the town has 17 accommodation establishments, including 6 hotels; 11 motels with a total investment of over tens of billions of VND. Currently, Muong Thanh Group is investing in a commercial service complex including hotels, apartments, supermarkets right in the center of the town, expected to come into operation on September 2 this year.

Highlights of Con Temple Festival.

Ms. Vu Thi Thao - Vice Chairman of the Town People's Committee affirmed: As one of the three economic growth poles of the province, Hoang Mai clearly identifies its responsibility to focus on economic development, in which tourism is a key industry. In the coming time, Hoang Mai strives to become one of the important sea tourism destinations associated with spiritual tourism in the system of spiritual tourism destinations of the whole country in general and the North Central region in particular. Effectively exploiting the potential factors of the sea, rivers, lakes, dams, historical relics, revolutionary relics, culture, festivals... to create tourism products with their own identity and attractiveness.

Focus on attracting investment in developing coastal tourism areas, associated with the relic sites of Con Temple, Can Mon Pagoda and Bat Nha Pagoda; eco-tourism sites along Hoang Mai River up to Vuc Mau Lake; historical relic sites such as Hoa Tien Cave, the site of evidence of 230 leprosy patients in Quynh Lap Commune who were massacred during the American bombing... Strive to attract tourists to increase by an average of 15 - 20%/year, contributing to promoting the economic restructuring of the town.

Thanh Hien