Quang Binh province's tourism sector is expanding market access through digital platforms. Digital transformation has created greater opportunities for the local tourism industry and businesses to realize the goal of green, sustainable tourism development and reaching out to the world.
Son Doong's 3D map and names of locations in the cave. (Photo: VOV)
Son Doong Cave, a popular destination in Quang Binh, is being operated by Oxalis Company in the form of adventure tours. Each explorer must pay more than 3,000 USD for a tour of six days and five nights.
To date, the Son Doong expedition for 2024 has been fully booked and the operator is opening sales for next year expedition. As soon as it was opened in August 2013, the Son Doong tour started attracting adventurers worldwide.
Nguyen Anh Tuan, a tourist from Ha Noi, said, “The tour of Son Doong, the world's largest cave, is so interesting. The Oxalis Company guides tourists on a safe and thoughtful itinerary. As soon as you enter the Cave, you’ll be impressed by its majesty ."
In the past five years, Son Doong Cave has been explored by 3,500 visitors. A picture of Son Doong appeared on Google's homepage and instantly gave a boost to Vietnamese tourism.
If you’re interested in Son Doong Cave but don’t have enough time or money to sign up for the tour, you can take a virtual tour launched in early 2021 on the Google Arts & Culture page. Interactive features allow you to experience a collection of photos and videos of Son Doong Cave in a novel way. This was a project on which the Vietnam National Authority of Tourism collaborated with Google to promote Vietnamese tourism internationally.
Digital devices help tourists experience a collection of photos and videos of Son Doong Cave in a novel way.
Thanks to digital transformation, Son Doong has become known to tourists around the world. Nguyen Chau A, the founder and CEO of the Oxalis Company, recalled when Son Doong Cave was discovered in 2009 and declared to be the largest cave in the world, there was no information about the cave online and none of the explorations had been video recorded.
“As soon as its status as the world's largest cave was covered by the press, TV, and social networks, Son Dong became internationally famous. Since then, people from all over the world have searched online for information about Son Dong Cave. We receive about 90,000 searches a month,” said Chau A.
To adapt to a growing interest in international travel, Quang Binh’s tourism sector is developing more specialized products and improving the competitiveness of its destinations and products.
According to Nguyen Ngoc Quy, Director of the provincial Department of Tourism, digital technology has changed the way tourists search for information, book services, interact with attractions, and share their adventures with family and friends.
Digital technology has also made it easier for tourism businesses to organize tours, improve their competitiveness, and attract domestic and foreign visitors, said Quy. He added, “Quang Binh’s tourism products are widely famous. We’ve promoted them in English, Chinese, Japanese, Korean, French, and a number of other languages.”
This year Quang Binh hopes to welcome five million visitors. Using digital technology to attract more tourists will help the province reach its target numbers and achieve green, sustainable growth.
