The northern province of Quang Ninh is considering reducing bus fares from Van Don International Airport to Ha Long’s city centre and entrance tickets to popular attractions like Ha Long Bay and Yen Tu for tourists arriving by air.

Nguyen Duc Long, chairman of the provincial People’s Committee, said the move was aimed at attracting more tourists to the northern province on flights to Van Don International Airport, which was expected to open at the end of next month.

The current price for entry to Ha Long Bay is from VND200,000 (US$8.7), depending on specific tours, and the ticket for Yen Tu is VND40,000 per adult.

Van Don International Airport has been hailed as a driver for growth in Quang Ninh Province, so authorities are focusing on policies to encourage carriers to open flights to and from the airport.

Domestic carriers Vietnam Airlines and VietJet both plan to operate flights from the airport.

Vietnam Airlines plans to firstly offer daily flights between Van Don and HCM City, while VietJet said that Quang Ninh Province held potential market and the low-cost carrier always wanted to expand its operations.

Van Don, developed by the Sun Group, is the first privately-invested airport in Viet Nam. The airport is designed to receive 2.5 million passengers per year in 2020 and five million by 2030.

Van Don International Airport is part of the province’s push to improve infrastructure in recent years, besides the development of the Ha Noi-Hai Phong-Ha Long-Van Don-Mong Cai expressways to promote socio-economic development, especially tourism.

The province expects to received 12 million tourists this year, up 24 per cent, together with tourism revenue of VND23 trillion (US$1 billion). — VNS