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The Phong Nha-Ke Bang National Park, home to world’s largest cave Son Doong, announced on Aug. 12 Quang Tri Province’s decision to recognize the area as a provincial-level tourist area, removing the need for permits and making it easier to attract more foreign tourists to the World Heritage site.

Located in northwestern Quang Tri Province, the tourist area is about 50 kilometers from Dong Hoi ward and 500 kilometers south of Hanoi, and shares a border with Laos.

The area includes the border communes of Thuong Trach, Kim Phu, and Kim Dien, and Phong Nha Commune in Bo Trach District.

Following the reorganization of provinces and cities last year, many communes became border ones, meaning international visitors had to obtain entry permits and complete certain administrative procedures.

So, Quang Tri sought provincial-level tourist area status for Phong Nha-Ke Bang since foreign nationals entering designated tourist areas, service areas, or economic zones in border areas do not need entry permits.

Bui Thi Thanh Thuy, deputy director of the Quang Tri Investment, Trade and Tourism Promotion Center, said the change in designation would facilitate business operations.

Phong Nha-Ke Bang National Park was recognized by UNESCO as a world natural heritage site in 2003 and 2015.

It has a core area of 123,326 hectares and a buffer zone of 220,055 ha, and shares a boundary with Laos’s Hin Nam No National Park.

The park is renowned for its spectacular limestone landscape and more than 300 caves, including several open to tourists such as Phong Nha, Thien Duong, and En besides Son Doong. The area also features underground rivers, primeval forests and diverse ecosystems, making it a major destination for nature and adventure tourism.

In the first seven months of this year, it received more than 810,000 visitors, up 14% year-on-year, including more than 135,000 foreigners.