Many groups and individuals have turned their attention and money toward Ly Son Island in Quang Ngai Province, to get in on the ground floor of what they expect will be a tourism boom.

More visitors coming to Ly Son Island.

Since late 2013 when the number of travelers to the Island sharply increased, local hotels and restaurants have been very busy. Many tourists who fail to book hotel rooms have to stay at the homes of local people.

As a result, a number of local families have decided to invest in building guest houses. Nguyen Van Thanh, from An Vinh Commune, spent VND2 billion (USD95,238)to build a guesthouse near Ly Son Wharf. Since then, it has usually been at full occupancy, so he decided to invest an additional VND1.5 billion (USD71,428) to buy more land to build restaurants.

Phan Chuong built a 30-room hotel, which cost about VND5 billion (USD238,095). He also spent more on building restaurant and buying cars to serve the transportation needs of tourists.

Currently, Ly Son Island has 13 guesthouses and hotels that can accommodate more than 1,000, with dozens more hotels and other projects to be completed soon.

 A small hotel being built on Ly Son Island.

Tran The Dung, deputy director of The He Tre Travel Company in HCM City, said that even though Ly Son Island has natural beauty, the infrastructure there is still limited.

The island has been linked to the national power grid, but a more pressing problem is the fresh water supply.

Nguyen Van Khoi, deputy director of Quang Ngai Tourism Company, sad that the population density on Ly Son Islands is quite high, and in summer residents often face water shortages.

In the first nine months of the year, Ly Son Island hosted nearly 400,000 visitors. This figure is expected to increase in the time to come.

"We are trying to attract investors by offering incentives to those willing to develop eco-tourism projects,” said Tran Van Nguyen, chairman of Ly Son District’s People Committee.