Sea strip devastated after storms and floods
Two historic storms and floods successively swept through eastern Gia Lai province, covering the sea strip with an unprecedented gloomy color. From bustling sea tourist centers, densely populated with resorts, accommodation facilities, shops... now only piles of ruins remain. Quiet coastal roads, beaches covered with mud and garbage, many services closed. Infrastructure was swept away, people's lives were disrupted and visitor reception activities were almost paralyzed. Storms and floods affected 97 tourism businesses, including 92 accommodation facilities and 5 tourist areas - attractions, total damage of more than 108 billion VND. But that number only reflects the surface.
In Ky Co (Quy Nhon Dong ward), the storm knocked down restaurants, reception areas, accommodation areas, seal circus houses and many check-in miniatures - items that created the "sea paradise" brand. Ho - Rosa Alba tunnel was also heavily damaged, the landscape was deformed, restaurants and hotels were damaged, the stream bridge was broken, and the electricity system was interrupted. Hai Au Hotel - one of the icons of Quy Nhon beach tourism - was heavily damaged in the reception area, VIP rooms, swimming pool, and guest rooms.
Losses do not stop at tourism. The whole province has more than 100,000 damaged and deeply flooded houses; 560 boats, 540ha of aquaculture, 254 cages and rafts destroyed; thousands of hectares of rice and crops swept away... Total damage exceeded 11,600 billion VND - enough to pull back many years of development efforts.
Visitor reception activities are almost paralyzed. The landscape is desolate, infrastructure is degraded, many destinations are forced to close. Storms and floods have receded, but aftershocks are still faint - houses have not been repaired, beaches are still messy, many services cannot be reopened. People are struggling to overcome, and the tourism industry is facing urgent recovery pressure to save the peak season.
Reviving the rhythm of tourism life
After days of natural disasters, the local tourism picture gradually revived thanks to reconstruction efforts. In key areas, each item - from rooms, restaurants to landscapes - is urgently restored to restart.
In Ky Co, technical groups are focusing efforts on rebuilding the seal circus area, renovating miniatures and greening the collapsed areas,... to be ready to open to welcome guests right in the first days of the new year.
In Ham Ho - Rosa Alba valley, the tourism life cycle is clearly returning. Functional forces coordinate with businesses to clear mud and garbage, restore electricity, repair restaurants, hotels and accommodation areas. Hai Au Hotel is significantly restored with a lobby, restaurant, swimming pool and dozens of rooms completed repairs, with a capacity of 70%. Tourists are starting to return, bringing good news for the first tourist season of the year.
Along with restoring services, the beach is cleaned of mud and garbage, fallen trees are collected, bridges and sewers are repaired, and the sea entrance is renovated, traffic becomes smoother. The tourist pace seems to regain breath.
The Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism plays a leading role, together with businesses, urgently rebuilding infrastructure, improving service quality, promoting communication and launching stimulus packages... preparing the best conditions to welcome guests back.
Returning to growth trajectory
After a series of successive natural disasters, Gia Lai Tourism industry is facing a dual task - both overcoming the consequences and creating momentum for recovery. 2025 recorded positive figures, creating a foundation for the reconstruction phase: Welcoming 12.4 million visitors, an increase of 16.7%; estimated revenue of 29,000 billion VND. With 89 travel businesses and 1,257 accommodation establishments, the industry has enough resources to restart, welcome visitors back and prepare for the 2026 Binh Ngo Tet season.
To accelerate recovery after natural disasters, Gia Lai Tourism industry focuses on developing tours, routes and destinations that have been restored, and at the same time build products that adapt to climate change such as safe trekking, risk-controlling ecology, and dry season agricultural experience. Challenges from natural disasters force the industry to innovate product thinking and improve service quality in a more sustainable direction.
Business support policies are also being implemented: Widespread promotion, stimulus packages, human resource training and strengthening safety standards. The goal is to reconnect the tourism rhythm and bring Gia Lai back to a stable customer reception state from the traditional Tet season.
The period 2025-2026 is expected to explode with many new products such as Vinh Son Cherry Blossom Festival, An Lao Trail Race, Ha Thanh River Flower Boat Night; along with destinations that are taking shape such as Bac Nhan Thap woodworking village, Nhon Hai community tourism, Thi Nai lagoon experience... All expectations create a vibrant and different tourism season.
In 2026, Gia Lai will host the National Tourism Year with the theme "Convergence of identity, green spread". The program takes place from the end of March to the end of the year, with the goal of welcoming 15 million visitors and collecting 40,000 billion VND - the highest level ever. This is also a great opportunity for the province to promote its image, attract investment, improve service quality and consolidate its green - sustainable tourism brand.
The tourist space of the province is sketched more clearly, with the east being a 130km sea strip with Quy Nhon, Ky Co, Eo Gio, Nhon Ly - the center of marine activities and water sports; the west is the green color of Kon Ha Nung plateau, Bien Ho, Chu Dang Ya - places for trekking, ecology and resort development. The cultural values of Champa, Tay Son, traditional martial arts and poetry become a source of materials to create depth for tourism products, helping tourists fully feel the identity of the "Land of Martial Arts, Heaven of Literature" region.
