FOREIGN AFFAIRS DEPARTMENT OF BA RIA VUNG TAU PROVINCE

TOURISM

Ba Ria - VungTau is one of the nation’s seven targeted areas being given priority to develop tourism. It has a specially important position in the system of tourist area of the South and the southern Central Region in particular and of the whole nation in general. It is endowed by nature with rich and diverse natural resources, nice beaches, famous cultural and historical and cultural relic sites, and primitive forests lying along its present coastline. All kinds of tourism could be developed in this province such as recreational tourism,

excursion, rural tourism, and social tourism.

Of Ba Ria- Vung Tau’s 305.4 km – long coastline length, 72 kilometers are studded with beautiful long beaches with a harmony of white sand and pure water all the year around such as Front Beach (TamDuong Beach), Rear Beach (Thuy Van Beach), Nghing Phong Cape, Dua Beach, Dau Beach(in Vung Tau City); LongHai Beach (in LongDat District); Ho Tram, Ho Coc beaches, Binh Chau geyser (in Xuyen Moc); Dat Doc, Dam Trau, Hon Tre(in Con Dao District),etc.

Coming here, visitors can relax and enjoy seafood, or go for picnics, camping trips, natural sightseeing tours which bring immense comfort.

Besides beaches and lakes mentioned above, Ba Ria-Vung Tau also has two primeval forests such as The Binh Chau Phuoc Buu Nature Preservation Park with an area of 11,293 hectares, and Con Dao National Park stretching on area of 6,043 hectares with various rare plants and animals, suitable to ecological tourism on sea and forests.Parallel with its potentials on forests and beaches; Ba Ria-VungTau has a lot of picturesque landscapes closely linked with unique cultural and historic relic sites which hold tourist attractions.

	Vung Tau City has the Lighthouse, the Statue Of Jesus Christ opening wide his arms, Niet Ban Tinh Xa (Nirvanna Vihara), Thich Ca Phat Dai (Sakymuni Monument Pagoda), BachDinh (White Palace), Nha Lon in Long Son village. Ba Ria town has Long Phuoc Underground passage and the historical Nha Tron.Long Dat District has Long Phuong ancient Temple, DinhCo, Long Ban Pagoda.
Tan Thanh District has Suoi Tien. Chau Duc District has Bau Sen resort,etc. Particularly in Con Dao District, there is a famous revolutionary relic site, Con Dao prison with a network of prisons built by French and American colonials.

Festivals in Ba Ria - VungTau are mainly linked to religious activities such as DinhCo Festival (Long Hai) held from the 10^th to 12^th of the second month of the lunar year, Double Nine Festival on the 9^th month lunar year in Long Son, Fish Worshiping Festival (Whale procession) held at Whale Tomb, Thang Tam Temple (Vung Tau) on 16^th of the 8^th month lunar year, Lady Temple festival from the 16^th , 17^th to the 18^th of the 10^th lunar year, etc.

These festivals attract a lot of visitors from Southern provinces and neighboring provinces such as Ho Chi Minh City, Tay Ninh, Binh Thuan, Binh Duong, Binh Phuoc, etc., who come for attendance and tourist purposes.

Besides favorable conditions for tourist development, Ba Ria Vung Tau is geographically convenient for communication with inland and foreign provinces by road, air and sea. The infrastructure and technical material basis of the local tourist branch are fairly developed, good for exploiting its resources and potentials to form large – scale tourist resorts attractive to visitors.

According to the latest statistics given in the Congress of Provincial Party, some 3.96 million tourists, 140,000 of them are foreigners, have visited Ba Ria – Vung Tau in 2001.

In future, calling for tourism investment, the province:

Encourages the development of entertainment parks on land, in the mountains, or in the sea, ecological tourism areas
Encourages upgrading and improving beaches, historical vestiges areas, landscapes