Đăng ký: VietNam News
With its interlaced system of rivers, cannels and orchards green all year round, the Mekong Delta has great potential for eco-tourism development.Advantages The Mekong Delta has the advantage of many river and canal resources, which facilitate travel by water. Along the banks of these rivers are speciality orchards. Moreover, the Southern region is a land rich in cultural traditions, historic relics and generous, friendly and hospitable people.  Photo for illustration (Source: Internet) Many southern locations have become well-known brands for fruit such as Ba Den sugar apple in Tay Ninh Province, Lai Thieu mangosteen in Binh Duong Province, Bien Hoa pomelo, Long Khanh rambutan in Dong Nai Province, Can Gio soursop in Ho Chi Minh City, Ben Luc pineapple in Long An province, orange in Can Tho City, Ngu Hiep durian, Go Cong cherry and Cho Gao dragon fruit. In addition to providing for the domestic market, Vietnam’s fruit exports achieve over USD1 billion annually. Summer is the season of domestic tourism and it is also the season for fruit in the Mekong Delta. Many people are afraid to eat fruit contaminated by chemical substances so they go to orchards to enjoy naturally grown fruit. Extremely interesting orchard tours are available. Harmonious spaces can be enjoyed in the natural environment of fruit tree groves. Wonderful fragrances are created by the mixing of vapours from different trees and plants. A multitude of different fruits can be observed and learned about; selecting seeds, distinguishing species, fruit and plant care, how to pick fruits and enjoy them appropriately. It is interesting because agri-tourists can gain more knowledge, they can simply pick fruit directly from the trees and then enjoy their spoils. Fruits in the Mekong Delta grow all year round and orchards stretch over a great area. Tourists can walk, canoe, ride bicycles or motorcycle, or take a pedicab or wagon. Difficulty However, the biggest difficulty is that there is no orchard development plan associated with ecotourism. It is still fragmented and has no specialized area to provide regular and constant products. Moreover, the transport infrastructure to get to the regions has not seen much investment. In some locations there is even a lack of fresh water to serve to tourists. Moreover, travel agencies wait for orchard owners to provide services and then bring tourists to visit. Orchard owners tend not to have enough resources to invest but they do not dare to require the travel agencies to contribute to investment. Some guides even ask orchard owners to pay a high percentage for them to take tourists to the orchards. Therefore, the owners have to increase their prices, which damages tourist attraction. Lack of professionalism is also a barrier for tourism development. Displaying goods and souvenirs is not handled in a scientific way and packaging is simple. In addition, orchards have not been upgraded regularly so they are degraded or not attractive to return visits by tourists. To solve this problem, it appears to require the cooperation of the government, orchard owners and travel agencies. The government could build policy to reduce tax and for capital support to improve infrastructure. The owners of orchards ensure safe fruits of high quality at a reasonable price. The objective should be that travel agencies will compete with each other to promote and take tourists to visit the orchards. This is a valuable potential for tourism development in the Mekong Delta in particular and in Vietnam in general./. |