Hoi An

Along the banks of the Thu Bon River in Central Vietnam, just a short distance from Cua Dai (Great Gate) where the river meets the sea, sits an iconic city. Its economic heyday ended more than two centuries ago and only 150,000 residents remain, yet Hoi An typically draws up to 4 million visitors every year with its rich cultural heritage and stunning natural setting.

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Tourism forms a major part of the city’s economy, yet also causes tensions as the city struggles to balance the demand for development with preserving its natural and cultural assets; to meet the expectations of visitors while providing for its own population; and to protect itself against the increasing ravages of climate change.

A CITY OF BUILT AND NATURAL HERITAGE

Hoi An owes its current popularity to its position as a prominent entrepôt in Southeast Asia from the 15th to 19th century, and the preservation of architectural heritage from this period. This prominence was the result of a geographic jackpot. Upstream from Hoi An is a land of treasures, endowed with agarwood, cinnamon, ivory, gold and bronze. Drawing on this trove, the Thu Bon River delta became famous for its craft villages, many of which still produce exquisite souvenirs for boutique shops in Hoi An today.

This area is a frontier between the old and new Hoi An, a district in rapid transition. Small fishing villages are interspersed with an ever-growing number of tourist resorts and new residential developments built to accommodate the flood of tourists who come to visit Hoi An, and of Vietnamese who seek to relocate or buy holiday homes in this idyllic setting.

ECOLOGICAL CAPITAL AS A NEW ENGINE FOR GROWTH

The 2020 pandemic and severe floods have reminded the locals that they cannot depend on tourism and the city’s built heritage to make a living. The pandemic reduced tourist revenue by over 80 per cent in 2020 compared to 2019, and forced 90 per cent of shops in the old town to close down. However, it also has the unexpected result of revitalising the city’s farmlands, as residents sought alternative means of food security, a stable source of income, and domestic tourism offerings that avoided crowded, narrow streets. Many of the 11,000 locals who lost jobs in the tourism sector have returned to their farmlands or fishing boats, with the rich regional assets once again offering the community a source of livelihood. This return to the land may be a sign of the city’s shifting priorities.

The pandemic has the unexpected result of revitalising the city’s farmlands, as residents sought alternative means of food security, a stable source of income.

THE NEW BALANCING ACT

Protecting the mangrove forests to the east of Hoi An is not an easy task. The development of a coastal highway initiated by the national government to connect Da Nang to Hoi An and the southern bank of the Thu Bon River has turned the coastal district into the city’s gateway, and a tourism hotspot.

At the same time, the natural and cultural attractions of Hoi An have brought not only tourists, but also domestic buyers seeking holiday homes. Highway-adjacent plots have rocketed in value, replacing aquaculture farms and mangrove forests with waterfront resorts and residential developments. These developments sit precariously on low-lying plots along the Co Co River, protected from the sea by only a narrow stretch of land. Developers and designers alike should treat these plots with care; however, only a few developments attempt this.

One such development is enCity’s Casamia project, one of the first large-scale developments along the new coastal highway. Where conventional developments use infill to raise the land and embankments or dykes to keep the water out, Casamia’s master plan optimises land values by opening the site to the Co Co River, creating an internal water body and a park to provide every parcel with access to open space.

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