Ben Tre: Positioning the brand "land of green coconuts"

16/01/2023 1676 0
​Thuộc vùng Đồng bằng sông Cửu Long, tỉnh Bến Tre được hình thành bởi 3 cù lao do phù sa của 4 nhánh sông Cửu Long bồi tụ. Vì thế, nơi đây sở hữu hệ sinh thái đa dạng, môi trường tự nhiên trong lành với những rừng dừa kéo dài bất tận và những vườn cây trái sum suê. Đây chính là lợi thế để Bến Tre phát triển các dòng sản phẩm du lịch đặc trưng, tránh sự trùng lặp với các địa phương trong khu vực.

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International tourists visit the Coconut floating market.

Immense land of Coconuts

When mentioning Ben Tre, people immediately think of stretching coconut forests, but few people know that, many centuries ago, this was the land of bamboo, hence the name "Ben Tre". Coconut trees have been closely associated with the people here since more than a century ago, because this tree species can grow and develop well in soil conditions and brackish water sources. Ben Tre is known as the "coconut land" because this is the place with the largest coconut growing area in the country. According to the Ben Tre Coconut Association, the whole province currently has more than 77 thousand hectares of coconut cultivation, accounting for 40% of the country's coconut area; Output is about 600 million fruits/year.

For the people of Ben Tre, coconut trees have many uses: Coconut trunks are used to build houses, coconut leaves can be used for roofing or woven into flower pots; Coconut provides cool water, coconut rice can be transformed into many unique dishes. Today, the coconut processing industry in Ben Tre is developing very strongly thanks to the export of coconut fiber to make mattresses and weave nets; Coconut shells are used to make handicrafts or to burn activated carbon for high economic efficiency. Over the years, China, America, Sri Lanka... have become the main markets specializing in purchasing and setting up factories to produce coconut raw materials in Ben Tre.

Coming to Ben Tre, tourists can not only cycle under the coconut forest, visit villages, learn about people's lives, but can also experience visiting the Coconut floating market on the Thom River. Floating markets are a typical cultural feature of the West. Floating markets such as Cai Rang (Can Tho), Long Xuyen (An Giang), Cai Be (Tien Giang)... specialize in selling fruits and agricultural products; But the Coconut Floating Market in Ben Tre is the most unique floating market because it only sells coconuts. Not simply a trading place like other floating markets, the Coconut Floating Market in Ben Tre is associated with the production and processing of coconuts. Purchasing and processing facilities are located along the Thom River, along the 5-6km length, from Mo Cay market (Mo Cay Nam district, Ben Tre province) to Co Chien river area of ​​Tra Vinh province. This is also the shortest waterway connecting these two localities and is very convenient for tourism development.

Tourists will witness the vibrant working atmosphere at the Coconut floating market. Each facility has dozens of workers working quickly to catch and separate coconut shells; Busy conveyor belts bring coconuts from boats to shore or large ships with giant nets transport tons of coconuts to foreign joint venture factories to process raw materials on the spot. At Ben Tre Coconut Floating Market, the atmosphere of trading and production is always bustling from early morning to late evening, regardless of rain or shine, and spreads along the river, not concentrated at the river junction like other markets. Furthermore, the pristine, rustic look, without many tourists, adds to the appeal of the unique Coconut Floating Market.

Develop unique destinations

Coconut Floating Market is one of the highlights in the tour of "Coconut Road" which is currently being "joined up" by travel agencies in Ben Tre with travel companies in Tra Vinh, Can Tho and Thanh Hoa, Ho Chi Minh City to exploit and develop routes passing through these localities.

According to Mr. Tri Van Nghiep, Director of Vinh Binh Trading Service Co., Ltd.: "The product "Coconut Road" was formed to exploit the unique strengths of each locality, helping tourists learn about the typical culture of the West with the Cai Rang floating market (Can Tho), passing through Ben Tre Coconut land and then connecting with the Khmer cultural region of Tra Vinh. Tourists can also continue to travel from Can Tho to Cambodia or to Phu Quoc (Kien Giang)... We want to build linked products between localities, while also promoting the unique strengths of each destination, attracting customers with high spending levels and long stays from Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City and especially international tourists.

Efforts to find ways to shape the unique identity of tourism products with unique advantages is one of the province's top priorities. According to Deputy Director of Ben Tre Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism Nguyen Thi Ngoc Dung, recently, Ben Tre has built tourism products associated with the brand "Coconut Land". The province focuses on promoting to tourists ecotourism, resort and community tourism tours associated with Coconut culture such as: Building the Thom River Coconut Village project; Organizing the annual Coconut Festival in association with other cultural events such as Nghinh Ong Festival, Cake Festival, Flower and Delicious Fruit Festival or Weekend Market, Coconut Night Street in Ben Tre City to promote cultural characteristics and attract tourists to the province. Ben Tre is also trying to build a destination brand for the land of green coconuts associated with sustainable tourism development to avoid duplication with localities in the Mekong Delta, thereby affirming the attractiveness and difference of Ben Tre on the Vietnamese tourist map.

Source http://www.hanoimoi.com.vn

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