Focusing on building and developing unique tourism products, promoting tourism, managing the tourism business environment, and training human resources... towards sustainable tourism and service development, Van Don attracted over 1.52 million visitors in the first half of this year, reaching 44.7% of the annual plan and increasing by 40% compared to the same period last year. Tourism revenue in the special economic zone is estimated at 2,719 billion VND, equivalent to 40.6% of the annual plan and an 86% increase compared to the same period last year.

Leveraging unique and attractive product lines.
In recent times, in order to diversify tourism products and services in the area, Van Don has proactively directed the development of products, coordinated with relevant units and tourism and service businesses to organize cultural, sports, and tourism activities to attract tourists.

Accordingly, the locality has developed and approved a pilot plan for eco-tourism products linked to aquaculture in the Van Don Special Economic Zone; organized meetings with 9 units proposing to participate in the model of developing eco-tourism linked to aquaculture; and guided units that meet the requirements to prepare a pilot project proposal for businesses and cooperatives to submit to the Special Economic Zone People's Committee for appraisal. The locality will maintain the Van Don Sea Tourism Festival in 2026, scheduled for the end of July and beginning of August; and promote the two walking routes and two community-based eco-tourism itineraries on Quan Lan and Minh Chau islands.

Van Don also continues to effectively exploit the tourism products of tourism and service businesses that have successfully developed in previous years. These include wellness and wellness products, outdoor sports and beach activities, campsites, outdoor wedding venues, MICE tourism (meetings, incentives, conferences, and exhibitions), and night markets at Wyndham Garden Sonasea Van Don Resort and Sonasea Van Don Harbor City. There are also high-end beach and resort tourism products combining yoga, onsen, wellness, and MICE tourism at Angsana Quan Lan Resort… In addition, there are culinary, entertainment, ecotourism, and experiential tourism products in many areas throughout the district such as Dong Xa, Van Yen, Ha Long, Doan Ket…

In addition, the locality regularly organizes cultural and artistic activities associated with preserving and promoting the national cultural identity, typically serving the people and tourists in the islands, residential areas, tourist areas and historical and cultural relics in the area.

These include mass cultural and artistic exchange programs; folk song and dance festivals; activities in response to the Ha Long Carnival, Quang Ninh Summer Tourism Week; mass sports competitions; folk games; cultural and sports activities on holidays and Tet (Lunar New Year); traditional festivals; cultural and professional festivals such as: Ngoc Vung Temple Festival, Cau Ngu Festival, Van Don Orange Festival, Dai Phan Festival of the San Diu ethnic group, Van Don Peach Blossom Festival… creating an attractive and vibrant atmosphere to attract tourists.

Ensuring a favorable business environment for tourism
Van Don is a key coastal and island tourism area of the province, attracting a large number of visitors, especially during the summer. Therefore, to ensure a favorable business environment for tourism in the area, Van Don has focused on directing specialized departments and relevant units to seriously implement the Regulations on the Management of the Tourism Business Environment; requiring units to regularly inspect compliance with State regulations in tourism and service business activities during peak periods and the summer tourism season.

Recently, Van Don has organized three in-person conferences with tourism accommodation establishments and food service businesses on Quan Lan, Minh Chau, and Cai Bau islands to discuss solutions to improve the quality of tourism services and ensure environmental hygiene and food safety to meet the needs of tourists during the summer. The conference also guided relevant agencies and tourism businesses to proactively ensure the safety of residents and tourists before and during the rainy season.

Manage and implement the establishment of boundary buoys, watchtowers, and related conditions to ensure the safety of residents and tourists swimming at Minh Chau, Quan Lan, Ngoc Vung beaches and other areas with potential risks. Establish three self-governing groups for Minh Chau, Quan Lan, and Ngoc Vung beaches and strengthen safety measures at beaches, bathing areas, swimming pools, ponds, lakes, and lagoons, and implement drowning prevention measures in the area. Install hotline and warning signs in areas with high concentrations of tourists. Direct agencies and units to strengthen the management of accommodation establishments and organize inter-agency inspection teams to inspect cultural, sports, and tourism service businesses in the area...

Assessments show that the management of the tourism business environment in the special economic zone is ensured, preventing negative phenomena (touting, haggling, arbitrary price increases during peak seasons, holidays, etc.). The awareness of organizations and individuals involved in tourism service businesses has significantly improved. To date, complaints from tourists about service prices and seafood prices have gradually been eliminated. Tourism and service businesses have actively implemented digital transformation, contributing to the promotion of tourism and cashless payments effectively, bringing satisfaction to tourists.

Efforts are being made to achieve the goal of welcoming 3.4 million visitors.
This year, Van Don has been assigned a target of attracting over 2.6 million tourists by the province, and the special economic zone aims for an even higher target of over 3.4 million visitors and revenue exceeding 6,700 billion VND. Therefore, to achieve this target, the locality will continue to improve the quality and competitiveness of existing tourism products and services to increase spending, revenue, and the economic efficiency of tourism. It will also promote sightseeing tours on Bai Tu Long Bay and pilot eco-tourism projects linked to aquaculture activities within the special economic zone.

Diversify tourism forms and products, improve the quality and competitiveness of tourism services, especially high-end resort tourism, high-quality island and beach tourism, and nighttime tourism products and services, both on land and in Bai Tu Long Bay. Along with this, strengthen inter-sectoral coordination in managing the tourism business environment, ensuring service quality, security, safety, and addressing complaints and feedback from tourists; promptly rectify and handle violations in tourism service business activities...

According to local assessments, Van Don is currently facing many difficulties in exploiting its unique resource values ??to become tourism products, especially in developing marine and island ecotourism associated with agricultural and rural tourism (experiential tourism involving aquaculture activities of local residents, water sports activities, and tourism under the forest canopy), and cultural and historical tourism associated with experiencing the life of coastal residents (squid fishing, fishing, etc.).

The reason is that the development of these unique tourism products faces many legal procedural obstacles, and there are no specific and clear regulations guiding community-based experiential tourism activities or encouraging the development of agricultural and rural tourism.

These limitations have significantly impacted the creation of experiential tourism value, the length of stay of tourists, and the increase in income and livelihoods for local communities. Therefore, the locality proposes that ministries and agencies research and develop appropriate regulations and policies to overcome these difficulties, creating conditions for local communities to legally benefit, increase production value, and create livelihoods from tourism activities in the locality.

Indochina Junk - Halong Bay is worth visiting for many travelers, especially if you enjoy dramatic natural scenery, cruising, kayaking, or photography. Whether it's "worth it" depends on what kind of trip you're after. If you have 2–3 days available, I would recommend an overnight cruise, preferably in Lan Ha Bay or a cruise that includes quieter parts of Halong Bay. You'll still get the spectacular limestone scenery, with more time to enjoy it than on a rushed day trip.