Mekong Delta tourism promotion discussed

A seminar was held in Can Tho city on April 26 to discuss ways to promote tourism in the Mekong Delta region, as part of Mekong Expo 2013’s framework.
Participants at the event agreed that the region’s tourism potentials have yet been exploited adequately. Tourism products and service quality remain limited, while infrastructure serving the tourism sector is still poor.
Meanwhile, human resources for the sector have failed to meet the sector’s demand - 4,000 workers are not enough to serve the 10 million plus visitors that travel to the region every year, they said.
They suggested that localities in the region work together to upgrade their tourism infrastructure, while encouraging various economic sectors to invest in the industry.
A long-term master plan for tourism development in each regional locality is also needed, they said.
The localities ought to coordinate with each other in human resources training and tourism promotion, as well as increase their quality services.
The Mekong Delta region will enhance its tourism development in four key groups up until 2020, focusing on promoting all localities’ strengths in diverse tourism products such as beach resorts, festivals, ecotourism and cultural tourism.
Located between Tien and Hau rivers, the 18 million-strong Mekong Delta has abundant potentials for tourism development.
In 2012, the region attracted more than 19.4 million visitors and earned about 4.3 trillion VND from tourism-related activities, an increase of 23.2 percent from the year before.