The resort town of Mui Ne in the central coastal province of Binh Thuan is flourishing in the middle of a general economic slump.

Local statistics show increasing numbers of tourists and new projects.

According to the Binh Thuan Department of Tourism, until March 31, the province welcomed 528,000 arrivals.

Tourism has contributed over VND400 billion (US$22.54 million) to the state budget during the first quarter of 2009.

The number of tourists arriving in Mui Ne in March increased 50 percent over the same period last year.

Managing director of the four-star Seahorse Resort and Spa, Tran Viet Ha, said many domestic customers have chosen Mui Ne over foreign destinations to cut costs.

“They usually stay from five days to a week and spend a lot. We have to grasp this opportunity,” he said.

A host of resorts including Seahorse, Hoang Ngoc and Saigon-Mui Ne have slashed their prices to attract more customers.

An official from the provincial Department of Planning and Investment said the beach town now has over 136 projects with over 70 active two-to-four-star resorts.

Investors are speeding up implementation of another 18 projects, he said.

The official also said Mui Ne had few pending projects unlike other tourist spots in the province like Bac Binh, La Gi and Ham Thuan Nam.

A representative of the Sea Links Golf and Country Club said it is completing a five-star hotel with 300 rooms, adding to its 18-hole golf course and 300 up-market bungalows.

Other projects by investors from South Korea, France and the US are also underway, tourist officials said.

Vice Chairman of Binh Thuan People’s Committee Nguyen Van Thu said the province will give priority to big and environment-friendly projects, adding that investors must abide by the authority’s urban plans.

“We will revoke the license of any investor who delays their projects on unreasonable grounds,” Thu said.

People crunch

Nguyen Van Khoa, head of the Binh Thuan Tourism Association, said one of the biggest challenges facing the province’s tourism sector is the lack of human resources.

The number of staff at local venues was very small and couldn’t meet the standard of a national-level tourist hub like Mui Ne, he said.

Khoa said few employees in the town could speak Russian, German, Japanese and Korean.

Other experts said the infrastructure in Mui Ne also needed to be upgraded.

Reported by Que Ha