Mong Cai City at Vietnam’s northeastern tip strives for tourism boom

Mong Cai has become an attraction of Quang Ninh's tourism

Encouraging friendliness

The city of Mong Cai has a favorable geographical location and a strategic position in the economic, political life and external relations of Quang Ninh Province. It is part of the region named “Two corridors, one economic belt” between Vietnam and China, the Tonkin Gulf inter-regional cooperation area, and the Nanning-Singapore economic corridor. Mong Cai is also home to well-known landscapes as well as cultural and historical sites.

Identifying tourism as one of its advantages, the Communist Party Executive Committee, the government and the people of Mong Cai City have taken the initiative in overcoming difficulties to effectively implement Resolution 07-NQ/TU dated May 24, 2013 of the provincial communist party executive committee regarding Quang Ninh’s tourism development in the 2013-2020 period, with an orientation towards 2030.

Vu Van Hoan, Deputy Director of Mong Cai City’s Culture and Information Office, said the city has intensified tourism promotion activities and issued its own Code of Conduct along with activities to enhance the awareness of officials and the community in an effort to impress visitors by the friendliness of local residents and provide them with interesting experiences. The city has also created specific, distinctive tourism products unique to the border area.

In order to attract more visitors and encourage them to stay longer in Mong Cai, the city has diversified its tourism products by creating new tours, while at the same time improving the environment for investment in tourism, and tightening management of travel businesses to prevent them from charging unreasonable prices and pestering foreign tourists.

According to Vu Van Hoan, the city has mobilized resources for tourism infrastructure development and improved tourism products, giving priority to developing two-to-five-star hotels and restaurants. Currently, Mong Cai has 163 accommodation facilities with more than 3,000 rooms, including 24 hotels with star ratings. Tourist services in the city are diverse. The city has pedestrian streets and specific areas where visitors can discover different kinds of food, apart from 49 entertainment facilities and 16 beauty care facilities. Means of transport by land and water have been diversified and modernized to meet tourist needs.

Increased tourism

Tourists enter the city via the Mong Cai International Border Crossing

On April 24, 2019, the Tra Co Tourist Site in the city of Mong Cai was recognized by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism as a national tourist site. This is the first national tourist site of Quang Ninh Province and one of four nationwide. The recognition promises new opportunities for the city of Mong Cai to develop its “non-smoke” industry.

Data from the Mong Cai People’s Committee show that in the first 10 months of 2019, the city welcomed nearly 2.42 million visitors, an increase of seven percent compared with the same period last year. These included 275,648 residential tourists, up eight percent, and more than 2.14 million tourists entering the city via the Mong Cai International Border Crossing, up four percent. The city’s tourism sector paid an estimated VND90 billion in taxes, up three percent compared with the first 10 months of 2018.

Given these impressive results, the city will continue applying its Code of Conduct; organize training courses for employees of tourism service facilities; improve the quality of tourism products and service quality at tourist sites; and develop Mong Cai’s tourism brand by building a brand identification system. The city will also host cultural activities and events in Quang Ninh Province and coordinate with the Chinese cities of Dongxing and Fangchenggang to organize cultural and tourism activities.