Promoting river tourism in the Mekong Delta

22/04/2024 840 0
The potential for river tourism in the Mekong Delta is huge, but synchronous connection is needed to attract tourists

This is the opinion shared by many experts, managers and businesses at the seminar "Story of rivers and regional connections" organized by VietNamNet Newspaper. The discussion is one of the activities of the journey to explore the Mekong River through Tien Giang and Ben Tre on the ship La Marguerite, from April 19 to 21.

So much potential.

Mr. Dang Bao Hieu, Chairman of Focus Travel Company, investor of the La Marguerite ship, said that the Mekong River is one of the 5 most popular river destinations in the world. For many years, the company's cruise ships have taken domestic and international tourists to explore the Mekong River with a tour of about 8 days and 7 nights from My Tho (Tien Giang) to Siem Reap (Cambodia). However, on this journey, there ships were in the Cambodian more than in Vietnam.

"I feel very sad when the ship ran for nearly 5 days in Cambodia, while it only runs for about 3 days in Vietnam. The reason is many destinations in the Mekong Delta have not been exploited even though these places are full of valuable stories and documents. for tourism. Cai Rang floating market (Can Tho), Cai Be floating market (Tien Giang) or brick kiln in Vinh Long, if they can stop production and switch to tourism products, it will be extremely attractive" - Mr. Hieu speak.

Another sad reality, according to Mr. Nguyen Kim Toan, Director of Saigon WaterBus, is that beautiful cruise ships like La Marguerite or river experiences in many places are mainly international visitors, while Vietnamese visitors are very few. Meanwhile, developing river tourism will promote other economic sectors.

According to new data published at the Tourism Development Linkage Forum in Ho Chi Minh City and 13 provinces and cities in the Mekong Delta in 2024, the number of international visitors to this area in 2023 is not many.

The whole region welcomed just over 2.1 million international visitors in the context of more open visa policies, electronic visa issuance is also applied... This shows that tourism in the Mekong Delta, including tourism on the river has not been developed as expected.

Mr. Doan Huu Duc, Chairman of the Digital Economy and Technology Committee, American Chamber of Commerce and Industry in Vietnam (Amcham), said that when mentioning the Mekong Delta, he refers to seafood and fruits from gardens and rever area.

However, the regional linkages of this area are still weak as craft villages are disappearing, even "dying", and the local indigenous economy is also affected. Therefore, to promote tourism, it is necessary to invest in cultural heritage and craft villages, promoting the economy and maintaining local heritage.

Exploring the Mekong on board La Marguerite

Connection for worthy investment

Experts and businesses all agree that the potential for tourism in the Mekong Delta, especially river tourism, is huge, but there is a lack of connection not only in time but also in space. Visitors to any province in this area will see the same thing, every wharf is similar.

Mr. Nguyen Tran Huu Thang, General Secretary of Thu Duc Yacht Club, said that at this time there are many advantages to develop river tourism, awakening the river potential of Mekong Delta.

According to experts, what needs to be done now is to develop tourism closely linked with conservation and promotion of heritage values and unique indigenous cultural identity. In addition, the state and localities need to have mechanisms and policies to attract investment, encourage tourism startups, and create favorable tourism business conditions to accelerate the growth rate of tourists coming to the area. In addition, it is necessary to invest in tourism products associated with the cultural depth and stories of this land.

To make river tourism in the Mekong Delta being more attractive, Mr. Tran Quang Duy, Director of Penguin Tourism Company, commented that there is a need for more river experience activities associated with the lives of indigenous people. At each traditional craft village, visitors can experience making cakes, bundling brooms, making mats...

"Instead of just making it for fun, guests can have a deeper experience such as wrapping their own cakes, cooking the cakes and enjoying the cakes done by themselves. The Mekong Delta is famous for its communal houses and ancient houses with unique architecture that can also be exploited deeply to increase new products and experiences for tourists" - Mr. Duy said.

Ms. Nguyen Thi Ngoc Dung, Deputy Director of the Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism of Ben Tre province, agreed with the opinions that developing riverside tourism will contribute to promoting local economic development. According to Ms. Dung, not only Ben Tre but also other provinces and cities in the Mekong Delta want to attract more investors to join hands. Because, currently there are many handicraft villages, coconut cake making villages... ready to welcome guests.

"If there are investors and adequate investment in developing seaport and wharf infrastructure, these places will attract more tourists. Then, not only craft villages come back to life, but tourism products will also come back to life." more attractive, touching the emotions of tourists. From there, local people also have benefit" - Ms. Ngoc Dung said.

Respect the harmony.

According to tourism expert Truong Hoang Phuong, in the investment story to build tourism products for the Mekong Delta, it is necessary to pay attention to the harmony of the nature and human, not to neglect tourism development for the sake of tourism development. elements of indigenous culture and nature.

"Definitely do not introduce exotic values, because this will erode or disappear the whole culture. For example, Phong Dien floating market used to be very famous, but after planning Phong Dien town, this market was no longer exists. " - Mr. Phuong said.

Article and photos: THAI PHUONG​​​​​​​

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