Turning Dak Lak into Tourism Centre

4:06:03 PM | 19/4/2012

Blessed with many landscapes, unique cultural identities and attractive tourism forms, Dak Lak province has become an ideal destination for many tourists far and wide. In the past years, the tourism sector continuously received good news of the number of visitor arrivals rising.
Positive signs
The beauty of Dak Lak is usually linked to such places of interest as Lak Lake, Don Village, Krong Kar, Thuy Tien, Yok Don National Park and Chu Yang Sin - names that create a style, a vision. It is the coffee capital and the wonderful land for natural discovery. Dak Lak province is famous for historical monuments, such as Lac Giao communal house marking the presence of Viet (Kinh) people on this upland, Bao Dai Retreat Palace, Yang Prong Cham Tower built in the 14th century, Dak Tuar Cave, Buon Ma Thuot Prison, and Buon Ma Thuot Museum.
 
The province also has primary forests with a diverse ecosystem where about 3,000 varieties of plants, nearly 100 species of mammals, approximately 200 species of birds, with many rated rare or recorded in Vietnam and World Red Books. Currently, Dak Lak has 10 sites recognised as national-level scenic, historical and cultural relics and 70 other famous relics throughout the province.
 
As the central province of the Central Highlands, Dak Lak has relatively complete road and air traffic systems, facilitating economic, cultural, social and tourism development.
 
Endowed with the above potentials and advantages, in 2011, the tourism sector of Dak Lak province welcomed 310,000 visitors, equal to 88.57 percent of the full-year plan and up 5.08 percent over 2010. Of the sum, international visitor arrivals reached 27,000, equal to 84.38 percent of the yearly plan and up 11.92 percent year on year, and domestic tourist arrivals accounted for 283,000, equal to 88.99 percent of the annual plan and up 4.47 percent year on year. Total tourism revenues reached VND235 billion as expected, representing a year on year rise of 18.09 percent.
 
Mr Y Wai Bya, Director of Dak Lak Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism, said: These results are attributed to continuous efforts in the past years to promote the province’s tourism images to domestic and foreign travellers, issue publications, maps, trade, investment and tourism manuals, introduce local tourism potential and strengths to foreign embassies and consulate generals, and 10 visiting foreign news agencies.
 
Attracting more investment
In 2012, the Dak Lak tourism industry strives to attract 370,000 visitors and earn revenues of VND277 billion. The province will focus on attracting tourism investment, aiming to make tourism an important economic sector of the province.
 
To realise its plans, the provincial tourism industry will promote tourism, actively invest in new infrastructure systems, encourage economic sectors to develop tourism, attract investment capital for this sector, and diversify tourism products.
 
The province will develop tourism in association with developing and preserving unique cultures and famous landscapes, protecting ecological environment, and thus creating sustainable development for the industry. Then, the contribution of this sector to the local GDP will be boosted, and more jobs will be created for the people.
As human resources play a very important role in tourism development, so we have to heighten the skill levels of tourism workers, particularly foreign language proficiency, to serve foreign travellers.
 
Infrastructure systems in Dak Lak also need special care because travellers always have a very high demand for comfortable accommodations and other essential services like banking, telecommunications and transportation when they stay in the province. This helps increase the number of tourists to the province.
 
On the basis of tapping its potentials and strengths, Dak Lak province is determined to become a tourism centre of the nation.
 
The Cuong