Nipa palm forest in Hoi An

(QNO) - The Bay Mau nipa palm forest (Cam Thanh commune, Hoi An city) has become one of the most interesting destinations in Quang Nam province. The forest receives thousands of visitors every day.

Sightseeing tours around the nipa forest by coracles.

People living in this area inherently earned their living by fishery. However, they have recently changed their jobs. The coracles that used to acompany them to the sea are now used to bring tourists to visit the nipa palm forest. It takes visitors about 45 minutes to finish a tour around the forest. Besides visiting the nipa palm forest, visitors also have chances to enjoy some original aquatic artistic activities such as playing with coracles, cashing nets into the river and keeping balance on the coracle. The spectators are often excitied and enthusiastic about these performances. A majority of visitors to this forest are foreigners from China, Korea and Europe.

Since the eco-tourism area of Bay Mau nipa palm forest came into operation, the lives of the residents here have been bettered. However, the tourism administration here has exposed a lot of weakness, especially in price management. The increase of visitors using this kind of tour has resulted in the disorder of tour price and reduced its charm. Some activities that used to be very attractive to visitors such as giving them instructions for making souvernirs of nipa or coconut leaves have been removed. Moreover, the actual state of the landscape and environment here is in danger of destruction. Some canals have been enlarged for more coracles to pass by. Therefore, it is necessary for the local authorities to oversee and controll tourism activities here for the sustainable tourism and socioeconomic development in the area.