The island district of Co To is an archipelago, east of Quang Ninh province, comprising nearly 50 islands with the three largest being Co To, Thanh Lan and Tran. This is a large fishing ground where there are many rare and precious marine species - a great advantage for Co To to develop the marine economy. Besides, there are many famous landmarks and beautiful beaches which are very attractive to domestic and foreign tourists.
Being invested and supported by the central government and Quang Ninh province, Co To district has made much progress in socioeconomic development in recent years. The district has received much investment in many technical, economic, cultural and social infrastructure works. From a poor island district, Co To has now grown to become a famous tourist destination and a major fishing logistics center in the Northeast region.
The first impression on the journey to Co To is the lighthouse built in the late 19th century. Co To is famous for many beautiful beaches such as Tau Dam, Hong Van, Van Chai, Bac Van, Vom Si, Ong Vien and beaches between greater Co To Island and smaller Co To Island. While Bac Van Beach is home to starfish, Cau My Beach is a place to watch waves and charming cliffs. Hong Van is the most beautiful beach, featuring carpet-like fine white sand, a clean beach, and clear water.
Co To is not only famous for its charming natural scenery but also seductive to tourists for a variety of rare specialties. Abalone, one of the most popular specialties, is often processed into many different dishes such as soup, stewed and stir-fried dishes and porridge. It is also combined with other ingredients like abalone stewed with shiitake mushrooms, abalone with oyster sauce, abalone with mushrooms and lean pork, and abalone stewed with pigeon porridge.
Co To Island has many kinds of economically valuable seafood such as sea urchin, snapper, grouper, pompano, crab, snout otter clam, mantis shrimp, juvenile shrimp, dried mackerel, flounder and dried squid. In addition, stir-fried razor clam with laksa leaves, tamarind sauce or stir-fried water spinach and jellyfish mannequin are popular local dishes.
With its unique terrain, Co To possesses much potential for maritime tourism which is attracting more and more domestic and foreign tourists over the years. Realizing that Co To has an inland port in calm waters, suitable for seaplane services, Co To People's Committee worked with Hai Au Aviation Joint Stock Company to survey seaplane services on Co To Island. The distance from Tuan Chau to Co To is about 80km. One can fly over scenic spots of Ha Long Bay, Bai Tu Long Bay, Ngoc Vung Island, Ban Sen, Quan Lan and Minh Chau. With a flight time of 20 minutes, it will help diversify service means, help tourists reduce the travel time to Co To, and meet the demand for high-paying tourists, especially international visitors.
Mr. Nguyen Viet Dung, Secretary of the Co To District Party Committee, Chairman of the Co To District People's Committee, emphasized that tourists' demand for seaplanes to Co To is very potential. In the coming time, if the Tuan Chau - Co To route goes into stable operation, it will help woo high-class tourists to Co To and bolster its high-class tourism development scheme.
This year, Co To will strive to lure 200,000 visitors. To achieve this goal, the district will launch various activities to stimulate demand, promote tourism and leverage local service providers to resume operations; and strengthen tourism communication. At the same time, the district will organize many tourism-related activities and events such as Co To Marathon, Food Festival and Co To Tourism Culture Week.
By Vietnam Business Forum
Vietnamese
October 2024
Hanoi