Located in the southern key economic region, few localities in the Southeast have as great potential and favorable conditions for tourism development as the southern province of Tay Ninh.

Located in the southern key economic region with a 240km-long border with Cambodia, Tay Ninh has 16 border gates, including two international border gates of Moc Bai and Xa Mat that directly connect Ho Chi Minh City with Cambodia’s capital Phnom Penh. Tay Ninh is also located on the Trans-Asia route, which is an important lifeline in organizing tours between Vietnam and ASEAN countries.

Many experts said that Tay Ninh is favored by nature to have all forms of travel. This place is also known as the "Holy land" - the birthplace of many unique beliefs and religions that cannot be found anywhere else, such as the custom of worshiping Linh Son Thanh Mau (Mother Goddess of the Mountain) at Ba Den mountain, the 'roof' of the Southern region, the pilgrimage site of millions of tourists and believers each year; the Cao Dai Temple; Go Ken Pagoda; and the base of the Central Executive Committee of the People's Revolutionary Party, a national historical site and others.

Besides spiritual tourism, Tay Ninh is also a wild and mysterious land for senior "backpackers" to challenge themselves to the extreme. It has the Lo Go - Xa Mat National Park, the ASEAN heritage garden with a unique ecosystem; Ma Thien Lanh valley, which is dubbed the “Northwest” of the Southeast; and Dau Tieng, the largest artificial freshwater lake in Southeast Asia. Nearby, mountain routes of Cot Dien, Da Trang or the route to the Roof of the South are attractive destinations for those who love adventure.

However, for a long time, these advantages have been only untapped potential. The land on the banks of the Vam Co River is like a beautiful princess sleeping in a dream, with only about 30% of visitors staying overnight and with only seasonal tourism.

Awakening the golden potential

With tourism development as a key economic sector, Tay Ninh province has set a long-term strategy to open the door to strategic investors to join hands to wake up the sleeping "gold mine".

In January 2020, Sun Group put into operation a modern cable car system with the world's largest cable car station at Ba Den Mount tourist site. The Sun World Ba Den Mountain cable car system not only shortens the travel time but also increases the visitor's experience, opening up many opportunities for Tay Ninh tourism to take off.

Today, besides Ma Thien Lanh, Ba Den pagoda, Dau Tieng lake and other sites, tourists talk about the beautiful Van Son station, the giant Buddha statue, the trips in misty clouds, special entertainment shows, or delicious cuisine sampled on the top of the mountain.

After less than a year of operation, Sun World Ba Den Mountain has become an important "push" for the "princess" on the banks of Vam Co Dong River to make an impressive transformation.

While the tourism industry of many provinces and cities was hit by the Covid-19 epidemic, thanks to the new motivation from strategic investors such as the Sun Group, Tay Ninh has still achieved optimistic results.

According to Nguyen Thanh Tien - Director of the Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism of Tay Ninh, after two periods of social distancing last year, Tay Ninh welcomed 4.7 million tourists in 2020, reaching 87% over the same period of 2019.

About 2.2 million people visited famous tourist attractions such as Ba Den Mountain and Cao Dai Temple. equivalent to 89% in the same period of the previous year. It is predicted that by 2025, Ba Den Mountain National Park alone will attract about 5 million visitors per year and up to 8 million visitors by 2035.

Tien said that with the great contribution of investors, including the Sun Group, Tay Ninh will grow strongly to become an attractive tourist destination in the Southeast region in the future.

"Tay Ninh province is prioritizing diversified development of tourism. Turning Ba Den Mountain national tourist site into a unique and highly competitive tourist center is one of the important tasks of the local tourism industry in accordance with the Resolution of the 11th Party Committee of Tay Ninh Province, 2020-2025 term. With the high determination of the whole political system, Tay Ninh will create favorable conditions for strategic investors to implement projects to develop Ba Den Mountain tourist area to become the focal point of tourism development not only of Tay Ninh but also of the Southeast region and the whole country," said Tien.

P.V