Eco-tourism flourishes in Vinh Long

Tourism in recovery

During the hot summer months of 2022, river garden eco-tourism in Vinh Long continues to attract a large number of tourists from the cities as well as other provinces. Most notably, river garden eco-tourism in the 4 islet communes of An Binh, Hoa Ninh, Binh Hoa Phuoc and Dong Phu (Long Ho district) have gradually prospered after recovering from a challenging period due to the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic. 

According to Long Ho district Department of Culture and Information, Long Ho has developed over 19 tourist accommodation establishments in the form of homestays; with 2 establishments meeting ASEAN homestay standards, 6 1-star hotels and 5 standard motels according to regulations, 5 tourist catering businesses (non-staying) and at least 20 attractions sites for orchards and seedlings.

The number of tourists visiting the district's eco-tourism sites in the first 6 months of 2022 has increased significantly, reaching over 85,000 visitors (an increase of 30% over the same period in 2021). These visitors mainly consist of domestic and neighboring localities' visitors (i.e: no international visitors). The total revenue for tourism in the district is estimated at approximately 21 billion VND, which is an increase of more than 43% over the same period last year.

Mr. Mai Hoang Duyen in An Binh commune, Long Ho district, has 25,700m2 of land to grow Thai rambutan, Java rambutan and yellow rice longan. After realizing the rising trend of ecotourism 10 years ago, he discussed with his family to start a business and receive visitors. With ticket prices ranging from 60,000 to 70,000 VND per person, visitors can take pictures, enjoy fruits on the spot and rest in tents, hammocks, etc. Visitors are also provided other free services such as karaoke, canoeing, fishing, frog fishing among many others. The facility also serves local specialty food and drinks at the request of visitors.

Mr. Duyen commented that thanks to the production of safe, high quality, delicious rambutan fruit and longan, most visitors are very satisfied with their trips. Additionally, he also nurtures the rambutan tree to yield off-season fruit and spreads the crop to prolong the fruit-bearing time.

Thanks to his efforts, Duyen Suong tourism facility welcomes at least 400 visitors daily on the weekends during the peak summer months. The facility welcomes around 200 visitors on other days. 

In addition to exploiting the potential values of river garden eco-tourism, tourism facilities in 4 islet communes also capitalize on the values of traditional craft villages such as: green rice, sweets, and so on. Moreover, old houses and structures with beautiful and unique architectural designs are also utilized to develop tourism.

Mr. Thuong, owner of the Nha Dua - Coco Home homestay in Hoa Quy hamlet, Hoa Ninh commune said: "The coconut house is built entirely out of coconut wood with an age of 80 to 100 years old. A total of 4,000 coconut trees were used and the investment cost is over 6 billion VND. The house is designed in the style of an old Southern traditional house. Visitors come here mainly to experience this unique architecture.”

Mr. Thuong also added that his establishment mainly provides accommodation and resort services as well as other entertainment services including Southern traditional singing, cycling, canoeing, fishing, making traditional cakes, eating and drinking on boats moving along the river. His establishment currently welcomes hundreds of visitors daily.

The islet communes has effectively played into the strengths of developing eco-tourism in river gardens, thereby generating momentum for the local service industry to develop, creating a market for local fruit consumption an demployment opportunities for local residents.

Ms. Hai Liem, an employee at Duyen Suong tourism facility: “I have worked ever since the facility opened. I only have to work during the season, especially in the summer, and I would take my children in Saigon to visit the garden. I really love this job, it's hard to find employment in a company at my age."

Linking regions to diversify tourism products

In order to promote Long Ho tourism brand to domestic and foreign tourists, the district has cooperated with the Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism to increase the publication of images and information about tourism on Vinh Long Tourism webpage. In addition, Long Ho district's website has a section dedicated to tourism promotion.

The District People's Committee also directed the district radio station and coordinated with Vinh Long Newspaper and Vinh Long Television to build specialized articles, categories, and video clips reporting on tourism to be published on the information webpage, live radio, broadcast on television stations, and on social networking sites such "YouTube, Facebook, Zalo, etc." regularly. These activities have contributed to providing and promoting useful information as well as the beautiful and attractive images of Long Ho tourism.

Regarding the development orientation of the tourism industry in Long Ho district for the immediate future, Mr. Vo Trung Son, Vice Chairman of the District People's Committee said: With long-standing key tourism products such as homestays, fruit gardens, Southern traditional singing, etc., the tourism industry of Long Ho district is promoting the connection between regions. The province has directed its localities to establish connection with neighboring provinces such as Tien Giang, Ben Tre, and Can Tho to build a tourism experience with a variety of services and products. Visitors who come here usually want to extend their stay in the Mekong Delta and in Vinh Long and Long Ho in particular.

“In the immediate future, we are also interested in promoting and introducing local key products, especially OCOP ones. They would be bonus interesting points for people visiting and staying in Vinh Long", Mr. Son added.

Regarding solutions to develop the province's tourism industry in the near future, Ms. Pham Thi No, Chief of the Office of the Vinh Long Provincial People's Committee said: The province will continue to implement phase 3 of the provincial tourism recovery plan with regards to strict control of Covid-19; Organize the implementation of tasks within the framework of the Mang Thit Contemporary Heritage Project; Coordinate with Ho Chi Minh City to effectively organize the Workshop on Tourism and Trade Investment Promotion.

According to Vinh Long Provincial People's Committee, trade, service and tourism activities in the first 6 months of 2022 have gradually recovered and developed. Total retail sales of consumer goods and services have increased by 14.6%. Total export turnover reached 365 million USD, which is an increase of 10.84%. The total number of tourists visiting the province reached 410,000 people,  reaching 68% of the plan, up by 73%. Total revenue is estimated at 200 billion VND, reaching 83% of the plan, an increase of 18% compared to the previous year.