Promoting linkages to develop tourism in the Mekong Delta into practice

The conference to evaluate destinations and propose the development of tourism programs linking Ho Chi Minh City and 13 provinces and cities in the Mekong Delta took place on October 22 in Bac Lieu city.

Signing of a memorandum of understanding on cooperation between tourism service providers and travel agencies in Ho Chi Minh City and provinces and cities in the Mekong Delta. (Source: VNA)

Attending the conference were leaders of the Departments of Tourism, Culture, Sports and Tourism of 13 provinces and cities in the Mekong Delta region, Ho Chi Minh City, the Mekong Delta Tourism Association and many domestic travel companies.

Sharing at the conference, Ms. Tran Thi Lan Phuong, Director of the Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism of Bac Lieu province, said: In 2019, in Bac Lieu, the leaders of the People's Committee of Ho Chi Minh City and 13 provinces and cities in the Mekong Delta signed an agreement on cooperation in tourism development, thereby creating a premise for effectively exploiting many potentials and advantages for tourism development with regional and inter-regional linkages. The tourism industry of Ho Chi Minh City and 13 provinces and cities in the Mekong Delta have gradually concretized many practical and extensive cooperation programs and plans based on 5 main pillars, which are cooperation in exchanging experiences in State management of tourism; promotion and development of tourism products; cooperation in training and fostering tourism human resources; cooperation in promoting and calling for investment in tourism.

The Director of the Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism of Bac Lieu province assessed: After nearly 4 years of implementing the linkage, the initial steps have promoted efficiency, creating a spread to the community and tourism businesses, creating a new "impetus" for the development of inter-regional tourism Ho Chi Minh City - Mekong Delta with many new "colors". Up to now, the linkage activities have built 80 tour programs from Ho Chi Minh City to 13 provinces and cities in the Mekong Delta region.

The assessment report on the attractiveness and factors attracting tourists, along with proposals for developing tourism products linking Ho Chi Minh City and 13 provinces and cities in the Mekong Delta presented by the Ho Chi Minh City Department of Tourism at the conference acknowledged: The linkage program between Ho Chi Minh City and 13 provinces and cities in the Mekong Delta has been effectively implemented, but has not yet met the set needs, nor has it effectively exploited the tourism resources of the Mekong Delta. Specifically, the development of products is mainly based on space, so it overlaps, is not specific, and lacks depth; the quality of services at destinations is still weak, not synchronous to meet the development requirements of the region; the tourism value chain has not been shaped to link the value chain in building tourism products; policies have not been developed to resonate between localities in the linkage; some localities in the linkage have not been proactive in coordinating the planning of value chains for linkage...

It is estimated that domestic tourists in the Mekong Delta in the coming time will still come from Hanoi, Da Nang, the Central Highlands, Ho Chi Minh City and the Southeast; along with that, the international tourist market mainly comes from Northeast Asia, Western Europe and countries such as the US, Australia, New Zealand, Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, Indonesia, Cambodia... Ho Chi Minh City Department of Tourism suggests: Ho Chi Minh City and 13 provinces and cities in the Mekong Delta need to pay attention to better implementing the linkage orientation to develop tourism products linked by space, international cooperation links, regional links, tourism cluster links, links by content, product development links, market links, promotion links and links between tourism businesses.

Speaking at the conference, delegates unanimously assessed that: Despite its rich potential, tourism in the Mekong Delta has not yet developed commensurately, lacking highly distinctive tourist centers and destinations of international quality, tourism products are not diverse and are often assessed as similar among provinces in the region. From there, solutions were proposed to promote the development of tourism in the Mekong Delta in the coming time.

Mr. Le Thanh Phong, Permanent Vice President of the Mekong Delta Tourism Association, pointed out that the biggest "bottleneck" in the tourism connection between Ho Chi Minh City and the provinces and cities of the Mekong Delta is the traffic infrastructure. Therefore, local tourism management agencies need to do a good job of advising the Provincial Party Committee and Provincial People's Committee to promptly overcome this shortcoming, creating conditions for travel businesses to access destinations and attract strategic investors. In addition, choosing strong products for investment to create products with unique characteristics of each locality.

From the perspective of a tourism business, Mr. Cao Van Tung, Director of the Domestic Tourism Center, Ben Thanh Tourism Joint Stock Company, assessed that in the past 10 years, tourism in the Mekong Delta has developed very strongly. To exploit more effectively the potential and strengths of tourism in the Mekong Delta in the coming time, Mr. Tung said that it is necessary to pay attention to creating unique products on the basis of existing products. Pay attention to investing in developing transport infrastructure to meet the travel needs of tourists. Along with researching and developing new tourism products, the tourism industry needs to focus on communication and promotion, so that tourists know and come to them.

Concluding the conference, Ms. Bui Thi Ngoc Hieu, Deputy Director of the Ho Chi Minh City Department of Tourism, said: The tourism program linking Ho Chi Minh City and 13 provinces and cities in the Mekong Delta in connecting transportation, trade, culture, tourism, etc. has come into practice, bringing about practical results, contributing to the recovery of tourism activities and economic growth of the Mekong Delta in particular and the whole country in general. This is the basis for promoting tourism development of each locality, gradually building and developing regional tourism brands, creating widespread, comprehensive connections in many fields between Ho Chi Minh City and 13 provinces and cities in the Mekong Delta towards rapid and sustainable development.

At the conference, a memorandum of understanding was signed between tourism service providers and travel agencies in Ho Chi Minh City and provinces and cities in the Mekong Delta.

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