Deeply marked by the strong ancient culture of the Cham, South Central Vietnam’s coastal province of Khanh Hoa has an invaluable inheritance of ruins and historical sites to that lure thousands of tourists every year. However, one of what makes the province more popular to visitors is the beautiful natural sites and sand beaches it cradles. Among the most famous, the resort town of Nha Trang is considered its pride.

Now, Khanh Hoa has just made a bigger move to rev up tourism in its place. Just this week, a memorandum was signed to open international flights to its government-owned public airport, Cam Ranh. Among those who signed the agreement include representatives of the Khanh Hoa provincial People’s Committee, the Middle Airports Corporation (MAC), the Association for International Airlines operating in Vietnam and the Khanh Hoa Tourism Association. As the major airport do not serve any international flights as of yet, International airlines are now urged to launch more flights to the destination.

As included in the memorandum of understanding, Middle Airports Corporation will cut the prices of its aviation services into half for international flights to and from Cam Ranh International Airport and even provide preferential conditions for the airlines who will serve these flights. More so, local three- to five-star hotels and other tourism-related services pledge to offer a 20-50 percent discount on accommodation and a 5-10 percent discount on tours, and restaurant and recreation services for international tourists who arrive in Khanh Hoa via Cam Ranh airport.

The decision to go international is a smart move to maximize the use of the airport, at the same time, attract more tourists to the resort town of Nha Trang. Cam Ranh was declared an international in December 2009. Even with annual growth rate of 21 percent (known highest in the country) in the number of passengers, with 700,000 travelling in 2009 alone, including 385,000 foreigners, it has not yet conducted any international flights.

Featuring a single wide and concrete runway of 3,048m (10,000ft) long and 46m (150ft) wide, Cam Ranh is known to have the longest runway in Vietnam. Surely, it can handle large Boeing and Airbus aircrafts. The airport measures 750-hectare airport and is only 35 kilometers away from Nha Trang Town. National carrier Vietnam Airlines is expected to launch a direct route from South Korea’s Incheon to the airport this month apart from the scheduled direct flights to open for Russian airline Vladivostok Air to Cam Ranh.

With that, responsible officials are further preparing to invest in infrastructure and several other various developments to ensure the best possible conditions for such flights. Authorities plan to build another runway at the airport by 2020, increasing its annual capacity to 5.5 million passengers and 100,000 tons of cargo. The existing runway at the airport is also planned to be upgraded. At any given time, the airport will be able to handle 37 aircraft by 2030.