Linking forest–mountain ecotourism with marine and island tourism is a strategic direction to position Quang Ngai on the national tourism map.
Kon Tum and Quang Ngai, which are rich in historical traditions and distinct cultural identities, form a significant endogenous driving force for sustainable socio-economic development. After the merger of the two regions, the new, larger Quang Ngai Province stretches from high mountainous and border areas to the sea and islands, offering many majestic landscapes that serve as the foundation for making tourism an important economic growth driver in the new period.
Connecting forestry and sea culture–tourism
The Resolution of the first Quang Ngai Provincial Party Congress for the 2025–2030 tenure identifies five key tasks, including promoting tourism development, building Ly Son into a centre of marine–island tourism, and developing Mang Den Tourist Area into a centre for ecological and resort tourism. Integrating ecotourism with marine–island tourism is expected to help make tourism a spearhead economic sector in the coming years.
New travel companies find it difficult to compete with many well-established professional tour operators. Therefore, developing unique and specialised tour routes—such as combining mountain and coastal cultural tourism—will offer more choices for tourists.
In recent years, Mang Den Commune has been invested with comprehensive tourism infrastructure, with quality accommodations and services. Currently, the commune has 143 lodging facilities with 1,280 rooms, capable of serving more than 6,000 visitors per day. Many high-standard hotels and resorts have created a unique brand for the Mang Den ecological tourism area.
After establishing a travel company in early 2025, Pham Bich Thao, Director of Smart Travel, partnered with various travel agencies to develop the Mang Den ecotourism–Ly Son Island tour route.
“New travel companies find it difficult to compete with many well-established professional tour operators. Therefore, developing unique and specialised tour routes—such as combining mountain and coastal cultural tourism—will offer more choices for tourists,” Thao shared.
To make tourism a major driver of economic growth, Quang Ngai is promoting the marine economy–tourism–services chain through linkages between the highlands and island regions. In particular, the province aims to capitalise on its strengths to attract strong tourism investment, forming a development triangle that includes My Son Marine–Island Tourism Centre, Mang Den Tourist Area, and the Sa Huynh National Special Relic Site, oriented toward the model of “three cultures, one destination.”
Localities are proactively coordinating to fully leverage the diverse cultural identities of regional and ethnic minority communities, historical and cultural relics, and scenic landscapes imbued with the spirit of the Central Highlands and coastal–island regions to develop tour routes linking forests and the sea.
Nguyen Van Huy, Chairman of Ly Son Special Zone, stated that Ly Son Island defines tourism as its key economic sector for the new term. To fully harness its advantages and potential in marine tourism, the local government prioritises attracting investment in tourism and services while diversifying tourism products in the coming years.
Effectively unlocking potential and strengths
The merger of Quang Ngai and Kon Tum has created a large and unified administrative space with significant combined potential. This strategic milestone has opened a new development landscape that harmonises the strengths of the dynamic coastal region with the majestic and culturally rich Central Highlands. With its expanded development space, Quang Ngai now seamlessly connects cultural and tourism resources from mountains and rivers to the sea and islands.
Quang Ngai currently has 232 national and provincial heritage sites. In this new development context, the province is advancing the exploitation of natural strengths, tourism potential, and traditional cultural heritage—from the high mountainous regions to coastal and island areas.
In its tourism development strategy for the coming years, Quang Ngai aims to create distinctive tourism products that link the “forest” and the “sea,” realising the vision of “one destination, three countries.” Notably, the province seeks to leverage the island tourism potential of Ly Son Special Zone, the landscape and climate advantages of Mang Den, and the Indochina Junction to craft a unique interconnected tourism experience, where visitors can explore the diverse cultures of Viet Nam–Laos–Cambodia within a single journey.
Since the beginning of the year, Quang Ngai has welcomed around 3.5 million tourists, an increase of more than 15% compared to the same period last year, with estimated revenue reaching 2,100 billion VND. Destinations such as Son My, Ly Son, Dak To – Tan Canh and Mang Den, along with many scenic sites, are gradually being recognised on the tourism map of the central and Central Highlands regions. These are promising signs for a dynamic and adaptive new term in elevating the province’s culture and tourism sector.
According to Secretary of the Dak Koi Communal Party Committee Nguyen Van Thuy, local authorities are actively promoting tourism and services to improve livelihoods in mountainous communities while enhancing residents’ quality of life through the region’s inherent strengths.
To fulfill its goals for the new term, Quang Ngai Provincial Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism plans to preserve, restore, and promote cultural values in conjunction with developing cultural industries and the creative economy, enhancing the quality and competitiveness of Quang Ngai tourism. At the same time, the province will accelerate digital transformation and apply digital technologies and artificial intelligence in digitising and exhibiting heritage, building “digital culture,” “open museums,” and “digital libraries.”
In the new context and development space, Quang Ngai is maximising its natural and cultural strengths to promote tourism growth. The province aims to attract investment in ecotourism, resort tourism, and community tourism, while strengthening inter-provincial tourism linkages. This will contribute to economic growth and help Quang Ngai become an important growth pole of the Central–Central Highlands region.
Localities are proactively coordinating to harness tourism potential, and implementing various incentive policies to attract strategic investors to develop integrated urban–service–resort tourism complexes in areas such as Dung Quat–Sa Huynh coastal zone, Ly Son Special Zone, and Ca Dam Mountain.
Director of Quang Ngai Provincial Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism Pham Thi Trung, affirmed: “In the new context and development space, Quang Ngai is maximising its natural and cultural strengths to promote tourism growth. The province aims to attract investment in ecotourism, resort tourism, and community tourism, while strengthening inter-provincial tourism linkages. This will contribute to economic growth and help Quang Ngai become an important growth pole of the Central–Central Highlands region.”
