Mekong Delta tourism shows Signs of Recovery but Challenges Remain

In 2022, the Mekong Delta will welcome over 37.5 million visitors, including 526,000 international visitors. Total revenue from tourism reached over 32 trillion VND.

Mr. Le Thanh Phong, Standing Vice Chairman of the Mekong Delta Tourism Association, said: “Tourism in the Mekong Delta has had a good recovery, if compared with 2019 - the year tourism reached a high level of the Mekong Delta, in terms of quantity. Both customers and revenue reached over 80% of that year's index. It is noteworthy that this result was recorded only after 9 months of recovery in 2022, because we have just opened to tourism from March 2022. This result shows the effective cooperation of many regional localities in promoting tourism linkage.” In 2022, the Mekong Delta Tourism Association coordinated with other agencies in the Mekong Delta region, Ho Chi Minh City, and the Northern localities in tourism promotion, human resource training, and new tourism product development.

Mekong Delta localities are ready for the new normal state to promote cooperation and association in tourism. They focus on promoting their strengths in natural and cultural conditions to develop eco-tourism, community-based tourism, and cultural tourism. As a result, there are many new tourism products, tourism cooperation programs, and events such as Lotus Festival of Dong Thap; Southern Folk Cake Festival in Can Tho; Cultural, Sports and Tourism Festival of the Khmer people in Soc Trang; Coconut Festival in Ben Tre, etc. The Mekong Delta authorities also do surveys and build new tours such as Can Tho - Hau Giang (river tourism), Bac Lieu - Ca Mau (river tourism), Tra Vinh (green tourism), etc.

Although there have been many positive changes in regional tourism activities, Mekong Delta localities still have many difficulties and challenges in tourism development. Mr. Truong Van Vinh, Director of IDO Trading, Travel Services and Events Co., Ltd in Can Tho, said: “The tourism sector has not fully recovered post-COVID-19 pandemic due to many policy and market difficulties as well as the change in tourism trends. Moreover, the fluctuations in petroleum, currency, and politics in the globe are also significantly affecting the tourism industry. There are some bottlenecks in accessing international markets; we, therefore, predict that the tourism sector in 2023 will have a long road to full recovery. Through the survey, we found that 50% of tourists have no plans to revisit the Mekong Delta region in 2023. Besides, 30% of tourists want to cut travel costs. They only travel for a short period and with a tight budget. Therefore, we must have solutions to adapt to the current situation.”

Many travel businesses also said that the Mekong Delta tourism sector faces challenges in terms of personnel, low-quality tourism services, monotonous tourism products, a lack of investment in quality infrastructure, etc. These are obstacles to the development of tourism in the region.

Regional connectivity solution is the top priority

Under the threats to the development of Mekong Delta tourism, Mr. Dao Si Tuan, Deputy Director of the Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism of An Giang province, Head of the cluster of cooperation and association for tourism development in the Mekong Delta, proposed: “It is necessary to strengthen tourism promotion and tourism linkage between provinces and cities. In particular, we should focus on encouraging the participation of tourism businesses. Moreover, localities should have built typical products and events and worked together on tourism promotion.” Accordingly, seven Mekong Delta localities (An Giang, Can Tho, Kien Giang, Hau Giang, Soc Trang, Bac Lieu, Ca Mau) also discussed and agreed to focus on six main contents to promote tourism in 2023, which are tourism cooperation between Ho Chi Minh City and 13 provinces and cities in the Mekong Delta; information and experience exchange in tourism management; tourism product development; tourism promotion; human resource training; cooperation on building new tours; identifying the role of tourism businesses in building products and connecting customer markets.

Sharing the same view, Mr. Nguyen Hoang On, Director of the Tourism Development Center of Can Tho City, said: “Over the past time, the coordination and cooperation between provinces and cities in the region have achieved certain effectiveness in promoting and building tourism products. If we want to develop tourism, we have to work together. First, localities need to focus on their typical products. Specifically, in Can Tho, we have the Southern Folk Cake Festival and the Can Tho Culture and Tourism Festival in Hanoi. These events help us target a key market as there are a large number of visitors from the Northern region to Can Tho. Therefore, you should also target the appropriate market when promoting tourism. On the other hand, when you have a product, you should form a common product chain and create a highlight.”

The Mekong Delta Tourism Association survey team visited some tourist destinations in Tra Vinh. Photo: Kieu Mai

Mr. Truong Van Vinh, Director of IDO Trading, Travel Services and Events Co., Ltd in Can Tho, said: “To temporarily solve difficulties for tourism businesses and create new momentum for tourism in the Mekong Delta, I think that localities in the cluster of cooperation and association for tourism development in the Mekong Delta should increase the use of each other's services. With this approach, we will support each other in terms of destinations, transportation services, accommodation, and food services... and reduce costs to build a chain of common products and services, bearing our characteristics. On the other hand, we should focus on tourism promotion by selecting target markets. Localities should survey the market again because there have been many changes compared to before, especially international markets.”

In 2023, the Mekong Delta Tourism Association also set out a number of key tasks such as promoting tourism linkage and cooperation between localities; expanding the market to the Northeast, Northwest, and Central Highlands,...; implementing a project on training human resources in the tourism sector; encouraging localities to improve quality in tourism services and develop new tourism products; focusing on specific types of tourism like green tourism, sustainable tourism, river tourism, ecotourism, cultural tourism, community-based tourism. Mr. Le Thanh Phong, Standing Vice Chairman of the Mekong Delta Tourism Association, stressed: “Tourism products are a decisive factor; therefore, each locality must pay attention to developing and renovating typical tourism products to create a highlight and attraction for each place. Thanks to that, we can build unique tours, forming a tourism brand in the Mekong Delta."

Mr. Tran Viet Phuong, Chairman of the Mekong Delta Tourism Association, said: “Last year, the tourism sector in the Mekong Delta showed some positive signs, but we should not be passive and negligent, because the current situation is grim and the market is changing constantly. Mekong Delta tourism must both maintain the regional identity and adapt to the innovations. Therefore, the tourism industry of 13 provinces and cities in the Mekong Delta must work together towards green and sustainable tourism. They should also promote the local cultural identity and take the initiative in digital transformation, strengthening tourism linkage enhance tourism promotion in key markets. Moreover, the Mekong Delta Tourism Association will constantly coordinate with localities and propose solutions on mechanisms and policies to support tourism development, upgrade regional tourism infrastructure, and improve the quality of human resources.”