Local culture is the main material

For over a month now, Chau Doc houseboat village has been popular with tourists for its new look. Over 160 houseboats raising fish stretching over 1km are covered in bright colors like red, yellow, orange, green, blue, and purple... lighting up a stretch of the river, like a rainbow. It is known that this is a project implemented by the An Giang Province Trade and Investment Promotion Center to create a new highlight for the local tourism product. Chau Doc houseboat village was originally formed in the 1960s, with many houseboats on the river raising fish and also being a destination on the cultural exploration route of An Giang's rivers. Mr. Nguyen Huu Nghia, owner of a houseboat in Chau Doc houseboat village, said: "I have been combining tourism for over a decade. Tourists come here to visit the fish breeds raised on the boats and I introduce the process of raising fish on the river and life on the rivers. However, the number of tourists in recent years has decreased, and income from tourism has not been much. So when the locality encouraged people to color the boats, I also participated, hoping to promote the houseboat village so that tourists know more and Chau Doc houseboat village will develop more in tourism."

Mr. Le Trung Hieu, Director of the An Giang Province Trade and Investment Promotion Center, said: "After coloring the houseboat village, the number of visitors coming to visit has increased compared to before. The houseboat owners also combine additional tourism services for tourists to have more experiences about the river culture here." The coloring of the houseboat village is currently in the first phase of the project, and in the near future the project will socialize the LED lights according to the color of each boat to attract night tourists to experience the evening, gradually developing the nighttime economy in this area.

Not far from Chau Doc houseboat village is Chau Phong Cham Village (Tan Chau Town, An Giang). The exploration route of Chau Doc houseboat village and Chau Phong Cham Village is a familiar route that is often exploited by travel agencies. The section of journey takes only a few dozens of minutes and tourists can combine learning about river culture, Cham people's community culture in An Giang. In the Cham village, tourists can see traditional weaving, admire Islamic mosques, enjoy local snacks, and buy handicraft products... Mr. Mohamad, owner of the traditional weaving establishment Chau Phong Cham Village (Phum Soai hamlet, Chau Phong commune, Tan Chau town) said: "In each region, traditional fabrics have their characteristics. Here we make handicraft products. We introduce to tourists the processes of making traditional fabrics of the Cham people. My family has been in the traditional weaving industry for generations, but when doing tourism, people have only known about it for over 8 years. Through tourism, I can also introduce the distinctive cultural traits of the Cham people, especially traditional products." According to Mr. Mohamad, in addition to the two traditional products of “xa rong” (cloths) and “khan ran” (scarves), the establishment also produces new items such as handbags, backpacks, hats,... Ms. Rofiah (Chau Phong commune, Tan Chau town) said: "The Cham people have many traditional cakes, so when doing tourism I want to introduce tourists to the unique Cham cuisine, such as Ha co-am and Namparang cakes."

In Can Tho City, Son Islet (Binh Thuy district) is a typical tourist site in exploiting the value of local culture to build distinctive tourism products, while regularly introducing new products, as culture can be exploited in many aspects. Mr. Ly Van Bon, owner of the Bay Bon fish boat, Deputy Director of Son Islet Agriculture Cooperative, said: "Here, we do community-based tourism based on the realities of labor production, skills, creativity, and expertise of each participating household. For example, I raise fish so I have a fish boat visiting and introduction model to introduce tourists to the characteristics of fish species in the Hau River and Mekong River. And Ms. Bay Muon who has the skill of making cakes makes local cakes... Each household has a product that brings tourists diverse experiences about the culture of rivers and fields. Therefore, when coming to Son Islet, tourists have diverse experiences from visiting fish boats, watching flying fish, and frog circus... to visiting fruit gardens and harvesting seasonal fruits; then making local cakes and sticky rice... Son Islet Tourism also often has new programs according to the peak tourism seasons to attract tourists.

Building characteristic tourism products

Mr. Le Trung Hieu, Director of the Trade and Investment Promotion Center of An Giang province, said: "On average, An Giang welcomes 6-9 million tourists per year, however, the accommodation and spending indices for tourism are quite low. This is a common issue in tourism in the Mekong Delta provinces and cities. The causes have been identified as many issues, such as similar tourism products, and limited infrastructure... Therefore, we are having some orientations, and plans, specifically about tourism products. In the plan from 2025 to 2030, An Giang is oriented to make Chau Doc a festival city to create new, distinctive products for this area”. Sharing the idea of building tourism products for the Mekong Delta region, Mr. Tran Trong Kien, Chairman and CEO of Thien Minh Group, said: "We are one of the pioneering units investing in the Mekong Delta, especially in An Giang and Can Tho. The Mekong Delta is a diverse destination in terms of culture, people, and historical stories over a hundred years. Therefore, tourism developers must know how to tell stories to tourists to enhance the value of the destination. Building tourism products should be based on the culture of the locality".

Tourists experience at the Bay Bon fish raft, Son Islet.

In fact, in recent years, provinces and cities in the Mekong Delta have constantly sought and researched to build distinctive products to avoid duplication. Mr. Le Trung Hieu, Director of the Trade and Investment Promotion Center of An Giang province, said: "In the past 3 years, tourism in the Mekong Delta has truly prospered, especially since the cooperation in developing tourism between Ho Chi Minh City and the 13 provinces and cities in the Mekong Delta. The localities have had some orientations to build specific products, in addition to promoting cooperation in tourism development". In agreement, Mr. Nguyen Minh Tuan, Director of the Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism of Can Tho City, said: "Can Tho's tourism has a strategic product orientation and calls for investors. We have plans and projects on developing river tourism, high-end resorts...to gradually improve the value of products to increase tourists' length of stay and spending. In addition, localities also promote cooperation in joint development. For example, Can Tho and An Giang have had cooperation in tourism development for a long time in many aspects". Specifically, Can Tho and An Giang are linked in the sustainable tourism triangle linkage between Can Tho - An Giang - Kien Giang since 2014, or the tourism development triangle linkage between An Giang - Can Tho - Bac Lieu (2019). In addition, the two provinces and cities are also in the Western Mekong Delta tourism cooperation cluster. These linkages all focus on developing tourism products; promotion, advertising, and tourism development investment; training and developing human resources for tourism...

Tourism products are a decisive factor in tourism development in each locality. Therefore, building tourism products based on local culture will create community spirit and sustainability, while distinguishing features to attract tourists.