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Nikkei Asian Review: Resort city echoes Singapore as the place to be
Thứ Hai, 31 tháng 8, 2015
Big changes are transforming the central Vietnamese city of Danang into a booming travel and business destination. The number of foreign visitors to the city has nearly quadrupled over the past eight years. Its economy has been growing at around 10% annually, almost double the national level. And it has begun attracting attention not only for tourism, but as a model city leading the country into the future.
After a several-kilometer drive on a triple-lane road from My Khe Beach, one of the country's finest, into town, a big yellow bridge in the shape of a dragon appears in sight. Beyond the bridge, the Danang city hall, high-rise apartments and luxury hotels stand in tidy rows. This city is clearly different from Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City, where narrow roads weave their way though a jumble of old and new buildings.
The Danang city government has promoted the speedy and systematic development of its infrastructure and tourism resources. In around 2000, it started to sell coastal properties to foreign hotels, which helped it raise money to fund development and attract more businesses to the city.
There was much discussion between the local government and residents about how the city should be redesigned, including roads, bridges, houses and parks.
The late Nguyen Ba Thanh, a renowned local politician, led the efforts, which earned him the nickname the King of Danang. He was often named as a rival to Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung. But the "King" died in February, from cancer at the age of 61.
Thanh started by building ties with the citizens of Danang. He began a campaign to reduce poverty, crime and illiteracy, as well as promote home ownership and urbanization. He called for ideas for reform from residents, and spent most of his time, except for Sunday afternoons, listening to their ideas in person.
Danang residents responded with ideas such as setting up one-stop services for administrative procedures and building homeless shelters. Thanh put these ideas into practice one by one.
Mai Dang Hieu, deputy director of the city's foreign affairs department, drew up an 18-page report in 2009, in which he explained the necessity of introducing direct flights to developed countries, such as Japan, to promote tourism and attract foreign businesses. When Hieu presented the report, Thanh immediately approved the proposal. In 2012, Thanh himself undertook promotion of the city to Japanese travel agencies.
Hieu said Thanh carefully watched the practices implemented in Singapore. Echoing that city's "clean and green" campaign, Thanh introduced a fine of 200,000 dong ($8.88) for littering, and a reward of half the fine to the whistleblower.
Singapore's founding father, Lee Kuan Yew, who made concerted efforts to promote dialogue to connect with his people and improve their mindset, was an ideal example for Thanh to follow.
All this hard work has paid off. TripAdvisor, a leading U.S. travel information provider, in May named Danang as the best choice among 2015 holiday destinations. Many travelers commented that they had found the city to be clean, safe and comfortable.
Foreign arrivals in the city totaled 955,000 in 2014, 3.7 times the 2006 number. In contrast, the number of visitors for all of Vietnam is declining amid heightened tensions with China, due to a dispute over territory in the South China Sea.
Thanks to the city's organized and vigorous infrastructure development, as well as its promotion of cleanliness and safety, the popularity of Danang has become unbeatable.
The Danang city government sold prime locations along the coast to raise money for infrastructure development.
Cooperation among local politicians and residents has brought modern infrastructure and political change to the city, which has developed independently from the state government and is often dubbed the "Singapore of Vietnam."After a several-kilometer drive on a triple-lane road from My Khe Beach, one of the country's finest, into town, a big yellow bridge in the shape of a dragon appears in sight. Beyond the bridge, the Danang city hall, high-rise apartments and luxury hotels stand in tidy rows. This city is clearly different from Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City, where narrow roads weave their way though a jumble of old and new buildings.
The Danang city government has promoted the speedy and systematic development of its infrastructure and tourism resources. In around 2000, it started to sell coastal properties to foreign hotels, which helped it raise money to fund development and attract more businesses to the city.
There was much discussion between the local government and residents about how the city should be redesigned, including roads, bridges, houses and parks.
The late Nguyen Ba Thanh, a renowned local politician, led the efforts, which earned him the nickname the King of Danang. He was often named as a rival to Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung. But the "King" died in February, from cancer at the age of 61.
Thanh started by building ties with the citizens of Danang. He began a campaign to reduce poverty, crime and illiteracy, as well as promote home ownership and urbanization. He called for ideas for reform from residents, and spent most of his time, except for Sunday afternoons, listening to their ideas in person.
Danang residents responded with ideas such as setting up one-stop services for administrative procedures and building homeless shelters. Thanh put these ideas into practice one by one.
Mai Dang Hieu, deputy director of the city's foreign affairs department, drew up an 18-page report in 2009, in which he explained the necessity of introducing direct flights to developed countries, such as Japan, to promote tourism and attract foreign businesses. When Hieu presented the report, Thanh immediately approved the proposal. In 2012, Thanh himself undertook promotion of the city to Japanese travel agencies.
Hieu said Thanh carefully watched the practices implemented in Singapore. Echoing that city's "clean and green" campaign, Thanh introduced a fine of 200,000 dong ($8.88) for littering, and a reward of half the fine to the whistleblower.
Singapore's founding father, Lee Kuan Yew, who made concerted efforts to promote dialogue to connect with his people and improve their mindset, was an ideal example for Thanh to follow.
Danang, unusually for a city in Vietnam, has many new roads, including this one with three lanes on each side.
The payoffAll this hard work has paid off. TripAdvisor, a leading U.S. travel information provider, in May named Danang as the best choice among 2015 holiday destinations. Many travelers commented that they had found the city to be clean, safe and comfortable.
Foreign arrivals in the city totaled 955,000 in 2014, 3.7 times the 2006 number. In contrast, the number of visitors for all of Vietnam is declining amid heightened tensions with China, due to a dispute over territory in the South China Sea.
Thanks to the city's organized and vigorous infrastructure development, as well as its promotion of cleanliness and safety, the popularity of Danang has become unbeatable.
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