Technical Report Central Coast Vietnam Regional Tourism Product Development August 2015 Programme No. DCI-ASIE/2010/21662 CENTRAL COAST VIETNAM REGIONAL TOURISM PRODUCT DEVELOPMENT REPORT i DISCLAIMER This technical report has been developed with the assistance of the European Union funded Environmentally and Socially Responsible Tourism Capacity Development Programme (EU-ESRT). The content of this report is the sole responsibility of the ESRT Programme and can in no way be taken to reflect the views of the European Union. The ESRT Programme does not guarantee the absolute accuracy of the data included in the report and accept no responsibility for any consequence of the use. The report should be used as a reference document only. CENTRAL COAST VIETNAM REGIONAL TOURISM PRODUCT DEVELOPMENT REPORT ii CONTENTS SECTION 1: BACKGROUND ANALYSIS ............................................................................................... 1 THE CENTAL COAST REGION ................................................................................................................ 2 Location .................................................................................................................................................... 2 Accessibility .............................................................................................................................................. 2 Geography ................................................................................................................................................ 2 History ....................................................................................................................................................... 2 Economy ................................................................................................................................................... 3 Climate ...................................................................................................................................................... 3 Tourism products ..................................................................................................................................... 3 TOURISM MARKET ANALYSIS ................................................................................................................ 5 Arrivals ...................................................................................................................................................... 5 Length of stay ........................................................................................................................................... 7 Destinations visited .................................................................................................................................. 7 Activities undertaken ............................................................................................................................... 8 Visitor preferences ................................................................................................................................... 9 SECTION 2: IDENTIFICATION & ASSESSMENT OF PRIORITY TOURISM PRODUCTS ................ 10 PRIORITY PRODUCTS ............................................................................................................................ 11 PRODUCT ASSESSMENTS .................................................................................................................... 12 Son Tra Peninsula ................................................................................................................................. 14 Marble Mountains .................................................................................................................................. 15 My Son .................................................................................................................................................... 16 Hue Heritage Citadel ............................................................................................................................. 17 Bach Ma National Park ......................................................................................................................... 18 Hoi An ..................................................................................................................................................... 19 My Khe & Phan Van Dong Beach ........................................................................................................ 20 Cham Museum ....................................................................................................................................... 21 Cửa Đại & An Bang Beach ................................................................................................................... 22 Cầu Thanh Toàn Village ....................................................................................................................... 23 Cham Islands ......................................................................................................................................... 23 Lang Co Beach ...................................................................................................................................... 25 Perfume River tombs and temples ...................................................................................................... 27 Thu Bon River craft villages .................................................................................................................. 28 Ba Na Hills .............................................................................................................................................. 29 SECTION 3: CONNECTING THE PRODUCTS – REGIONAL DESTINATION & PRODUCT DEVELOPMENT ...................................................................................................................................... 31 APPROACH TO CLUSTERING & CONNECTING THE PRODUCTS ................................................. 32 Clustering products ................................................................................................................................ 32 Connecting products.............................................................................................................................. 33 CENTRAL COAST (TOURISM HUB) ...................................................................................................... 34 Overview ................................................................................................................................................. 34 Target markets ....................................................................................................................................... 34 Priority products ..................................................................................................................................... 35 Key activities .......................................................................................................................................... 36 Branding and positioning ...................................................................................................................... 36 HERITAGE ROAD ..................................................................................................................................... 36 Overview ................................................................................................................................................. 36 Priority products ..................................................................................................................................... 37 Key activities .......................................................................................................................................... 38 Branding and positioning ...................................................................................................................... 39 NATURE TRAIL ......................................................................................................................................... 39 Overview ................................................................................................................................................. 39 CENTRAL COAST VIETNAM REGIONAL TOURISM PRODUCT DEVELOPMENT REPORT iii Priority products ..................................................................................................................................... 40 Key activities .......................................................................................................................................... 41 Branding and positioning ...................................................................................................................... 41 SECTION 4: STATE OF THE PRODUCT – THE GAPS IDENTIFIED ................................................ 42 HERITAGE ROAD: CULTURE PRODUCT GAPS ................................................................................. 43 Historic cities, towns and villages ........................................................................................................ 43 Coastal areas and inland waterways ................................................................................................... 43 Natural areas and scenic rural landscapes ......................................................................................... 44 Public infrastructure ..............................................................................................................................