Kien Giang's "Hidden Paradise"

Tourists disembark at the pier to visit Dong Ho Lagoon.

Impressions of the "Ten Scenic Spots of Ha Tien"

Ha Tien city is located nearly 90km from Rach Gia city - the provincial capital of Kien Giang - with a coastline bordering the Gulf of Thailand and a border with the Kingdom of Cambodia. In the 18th century, Ha Tien was a bustling and important port city on the Asian trade route through the Gulf of Thailand.

For centuries, this area has been famous for the "Ten Scenic Spots of Ha Tien," including: Dong Ho Lagoon, Binh San Mountain, Sac Tu Tam Bao Pagoda, Giang Thanh River, Da Dung Mountain, Mui Nai Mountain... Among the attractions in Ha Tien, Tien Hai island commune and Dong Ho Lagoon are particularly noteworthy.

Tien Hai Island Commune (or Hai Tac Archipelago) consists of 16 islands, located about 28km from the center of Ha Tien city, with a total natural area of ​​283 hectares and a population of 485 households and 1,944 people. It possesses great potential for tourism development, exploitation, and aquaculture, with many beautiful beaches, clear blue water, fine white sand, pristine natural landscapes, and fresh air. The main occupation of the island's inhabitants is fishing and aquaculture, with some households engaged in tourism services. Therefore, it is one of the most promising community tourism destinations, favored by tourists for its unspoiled scenery and experiences of fishing village life, as well as the enjoyment of local seafood specialties.

Dong Ho Lagoon is located in Ward V (Dong Ho Commune), bordering Vietnam and Cambodia. This is a characteristic mangrove area of ​​the Mekong Delta, covering 1,384 hectares. It possesses exceptional ecological value, high biodiversity, and is an ideal habitat for many animal species, along with 25 species of mangrove trees that play a role in expanding the land, nurturing tidal animals, and protecting sea dikes and the environment. Therefore, it has the potential for sustainable community-based ecotourism development.

Working together to develop community tourism.

With its diverse and unique tourism potential, Ha Tien has been identified as one of the three areas in the "golden triangle" of tourism development in Kien Giang province (along with Rach Gia city and Phu Quoc island). Accordingly, Kien Giang province has developed a project for the development of community-based ecotourism in Tien Hai commune for the period 2014-2020 and a project for the development of community-based ecotourism in Dong Ho lagoon for the period 2015-2020 to exploit the potential and develop sustainable community tourism in these two locations.

According to Bui Quoc Thai, Director of the Kien Giang Provincial Department of Tourism, right from the time the project was issued, the Tien Hai commune and Dong Ho ward authorities established a Management Board, with the head being a leader of the commune or ward, and members being officials and civil servants from various departments and agencies. Local people participate in the role of both tourism workers and managers of tourism activities.

Thanks to effective public awareness campaigns about the importance of tourism development, the Dong Ho Lagoon ecotourism development project has attracted 30 households to participate in aquaculture models, guide tourists in experiential activities, and provide traditional folk music performances and local cuisine . At the Tien Hai community tourism site, 17 households have registered to participate, including 11 households providing food and accommodation, and 6 households guiding tourists in experiencing island tours, recreational fishing, and visiting cage fish farming models.

In addition, the project also supports households in borrowing capital to invest in and improve the quality of accommodation services, with each household receiving 30 million VND; 12 households invested in boats to take tourists to visit Dong Ho Lagoon and the heron garden, explore the mangrove forest, and experience the traditional weaving techniques of the local people. Tien Hai commune has 6 households that invested in boats to take tourists to visit the islands, see the model of cage fish farming, and enjoy recreational fishing. Infrastructure and transportation systems in these areas have also been invested in, such as building 23.5 km2 of concrete roads around the islands along with 2 piers, expanding 2 reservoirs for domestic water supply with a capacity of over 50,000 m3, and constructing the Dong Ho Lagoon tourist pier with a total cost of 1.56 billion VND.

In addition to investing in infrastructure and technical facilities, the Kien Giang Department of Tourism also focuses on improving the quality of human resources by organizing 9 training courses for local people and management officials on community tourism. As a result, the number of tourists visiting during the implementation of the two projects reached 277,219, thereby increasing income for local people and contributing to poverty reduction. The poverty rate in the two localities has decreased compared to before the projects were implemented; in Dong Ho Lagoon, it decreased from 243 households to 32 households, and in Tien Hai commune, it decreased from 24 households to 5 households. Thanks to the effectiveness of these models, Kien Giang will replicate them in many other areas of the province in the future.

Source: https://hanoimoi.vn/ha-tien-thien-duong-bi-an-cua-kien-giang-636018.html