Opening an "international gateway" for Can Tho Airport.

At a meeting with the People's Committee of Can Tho City on May 14, 2026, the Vietnam Airports Corporation (ACV) proposed cooperating with Can Tho to open five international routes from Can Tho International Airport to South Korea, Malaysia, Thailand, Japan, and China. This proposal can be seen as a signal answering a question that many people in Can Tho and the Mekong Delta region have been pondering for years: When will the "gateway to the sky" of the Western region truly open to the world? Because Can Tho International Airport has a designed capacity of 3-5 million passengers per year, but in recent years there have been no regular international flights. This is also a "development bottleneck" for Can Tho City and the entire Mekong Delta region in terms of global connectivity.

Looking at some neighboring countries, many localities have successfully attracted international tourists by knowing how to turn airports into drivers of regional development. Chiang Mai International Airport in Chiang Mai province, northern Thailand, covers more than 256 hectares and handled approximately 9.5 million passengers in 2024, including over 2.5 million international visitors. Mactan-Cebu International Airport in Cebu province, Visayas region, Philippines, covers approximately 797 hectares and welcomed about 11.6 million passengers in 2025, including over 3.5 million international visitors. Jeju International Airport, an island airport in South Korea, is expected to receive over 2.8 million international visitors out of 29.8 million arriving in 2025. Meanwhile, Can Tho International Airport, which is roughly the same size as Mactan-Cebu Airport and larger than Chiang Mai and Jeju airports, is projected to handle only over 1.11 million domestic passengers in 2025, with no international arrivals via direct flights. Why is that?

Looking at the success of Chiang Mai, Mactan-Cebu, and Jeju airports in attracting international tourists, we can see that: Chiang Mai province focused on building its image as the "cultural and resort capital of Northern Thailand" and successfully marketed "Northern Thai culture" as an international product. Cebu province rose to prominence through a strategy of integrating tourism, aviation, and investment promotion as a unified whole, thereby transforming itself into the gateway to the islands of Central Philippines. Jeju combined the advantages of island tourism, resorts, visa-free access, shopping, events, and high-end services to create a steady stream of visitors. The common thread in the success of these airports is that they didn't start with the question "where to open a flight route?" but rather with answering the question "how to get international tourists to come here." The flight route is merely the final result of economic , tourism, and cultural attraction. This is precisely what Can Tho City is lacking and needs to overcome soon if it wants Can Tho International Airport to truly be the "international gateway" of the Mekong Delta region.

For many years, tourism products in Can Tho and many other localities in the Mekong Delta have mainly focused on short-term experiences: floating markets, orchards, craft villages, cuisine, traditional music and singing, and some festivals. These values ​​are rich in cultural identity but not enough to encourage international tourists to stay longer and spend more. The lack of large-scale eco-tourism and resort complexes, a vibrant night economy, international convention centers, large-scale cultural and sporting events, and multi-experience tours has prevented the Mekong Delta from establishing itself as a "global destination brand."

To develop international flight routes for Can Tho International Airport, the first step is to shift the development mindset from "an airport for a locality" to "an international gateway for the entire Mekong Delta region." To achieve this, Can Tho must play a central role in organizing and distributing international tourist flows for the entire region. International tourists landing in Can Tho should not only visit the city but also have a comprehensive "regional experience map": Khmer cultural tourism, spiritual and ecological mountain tourism in An Giang, traditional folk music in Bac Lieu, eco-tourism in the southernmost part of Vietnam's forests and seas in Ca Mau, and beach and island resorts in Phu Quoc... When tourism products are connected and extended into 3-5 day experiences between Can Tho and other localities in the region, the aviation market will have the foundation to establish sustainable international flight routes.

Another crucial issue is the risk-sharing mechanism with airlines. Simply urging airlines to open routes based on market expectations is insufficient. Many localities around the world have established aviation promotion funds, providing media support and reducing operating fees in the initial stages to nurture new routes. Can Tho could study this model through a public-private partnership, mobilizing tourism, hotel, logistics businesses, and other localities in the region to participate. This is because when international routes are opened, the benefits extend beyond the airline, spreading to the entire service economy of Can Tho and the surrounding region.

In particular, local culture should be considered the "soft fuel" for international flights. Without a distinctive cultural identity, an airport is merely a transit point. If regional linkages in tourism and cultural development are effectively implemented, and the heritage economy is exploited and promoted to transform Cai Rang floating market, traditional folk music, riverine civilization, Western Vietnam cuisine, orchard ecosystems, festival culture, and distinctive folk art of the region into "unique experiential brands," then Can Tho Airport will not have to worry about a lack of international visitors.

Ultimately, developing international flight routes for Can Tho Airport is not just a problem for the aviation industry or a single locality. It's a problem whose correct solution must stem from regional thinking, international thinking, market thinking, and a proper vision of regional linkages in aviation development, the attractiveness of local culture, and the aspirations of the Mekong Delta region. When the "Western gateway" is expanded, international flights landing in Can Tho will not only bring international tourists but also new development opportunities for the Mekong Delta region.

NGUYEN HUNG

Source: https://baocantho.com.vn/mo-cong-troi-quoc-te-cho-san-bay-can-tho-a205170.html