On July 17, Quang Tri Provincial People's Committee announced that it had issued Decision No. 2850/QD-UBND recognizing Phong Nha - Ke Bang as a provincial-level tourist area.
According to the decision, Phong Nha - Ke Bang tourist area has an area of nearly 170,000 hectares. The planning scope includes the entire area of Phong Nha - Ke Bang National Park and part of the buffer zone belonging to the administrative boundaries of communes: Phong Nha, Thuong Trach, Kim Dien, Kim Phu and Bo Trach.
To implement the decision, the Provincial People's Committee assigned the Phong Nha - Ke Bang National Park Management Board to preside over and coordinate with departments, branches, and localities to organize the announcement and development of regulations on tourism area management. This unit is responsible for promoting promotion, investment promotion, diversification of tourism products to attract tourists, and at the same time closely linking exploitation activities with the sustainable preservation of the core values of world heritage.
At the same time, the Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism of Quang Tri province is responsible for presiding over the construction of a provincial-level tourism area management model according to the Tourism Law and current regulations, and at the same time implementing state management of this area.
Dubbed the "Cave Kingdom", Phong Nha - Ke Bang is globally famous for its limestone mountain system, underground rivers and hundreds of pristine caves with special geological, geomorphological and biodiversity values.
The recognition of the title of provincial-level tourist area will create a solid legal basis for localities to better control travel activities, protect the landscape, ensure safety for tourists, and at the same time attract more resources to invest in infrastructure development.
Thereby, it is expected to improve service quality, extend stay time and increase tourist spending, ensuring harmony between economic development and nature conservation.
This is the second provincial-level tourist area of Quang Tri province. Previously, Kim Phu Tourist Area with an area of more than 300km2, home to the Tu Lan cave system and a destination once honored as "Best Tourist Village in the World", was recognized as a provincial-level tourist area.
