CanTho (VNA) – Leaders of the Mekong Delta city of Can Tho had a workingsession on June 12 with representatives of the Boston Consulting Group (BCG) todiscuss plans and measures to promote tourism development in the city and inthe whole region.

Under the master plan for tourismdevelopment until 2020 with a vision to 2030, the Mekong Delta isexpected to become one of the seven key tourism regions of Vietnam.

Many provinces and cities in the Mekong Delta have worked out plans and schemesfor tourism development. However, the progress remains slow, while investmentand exploitation are not connected effectively at the regional level.

Accordingto statistics from the Vietnam National Administration of Tourism, the region welcomedover 20 million holiday-makers in 2017.

Eachtourist visiting the Mekong Delta spends about 22 USD per day, 75 percent lessthan the average in the country. Overall, the annual growth of tourism sector inthe region is 9 percent, while those in other tourism regions always reach two-digitlevel.

Christopher Lewis Malone, BCG Managing Director in Vietnam, noted that trafficconnectivity is one of the reasons causing difficulties for the Mekong Delta’stourism sector.

CanTho International Airport is planned for the whole region, but only fourlocalities are connected to the airport. In the field of waterway tourism, NinhKieu wharf of Can Tho only serves about 4,000 visitors per day, while Ha Longport of Quang Ninh province averagely serves 22,000 visitors per day.

More importantly, the Mekong Delta is not a main destination for visitors, butis just a stopover of tourists en route to Ho Chi Minh City – the largesteconomic and cultural hub in the southern region.

The Mekong Delta also faces many negative impacts of climate change. Rising sealevel, saline intrusion, droughts, landslides have been occurring and haveseriously affected the economic development and the life of regional people asthey destroy natural resources and make it difficult to promote tourismpotential.

This fact requires a new vision and comprehensive measures for the region topromote sustainable tourism development, Malone said.

TheBCG selected Can Tho city as its direct partner in the project and hoped thecity would become a diring force in promoting tourism development in the whole region,he added.

At the working session, representatives of the BCG proposed four groups ofmeasures to push tourism development in the Mekong Delta in the coming time,focusing on developing tourism along rivers; sightseeing tours and those to historicalsites, learn about local customs and cuisine and enjoy daily life of locals;and adventure tours with diverse games such as canoeing on rivers, exploringthe regional land with hot air balloons.

Regarding tourism infrastructure, Malone stressed that it is necessary to expandand connect air routes between Can Tho, Phu Quoc, Ca Mau and Co Ong airports toestablish a strategic transport system throughout the region.

Regional provinces and cities should pay attention to building and fine-tuning integratedaviation services such as taking off and landing services, airplane parking,security screening systems, cargo, check-in counters, luggage conveyors, andground services.

Thewhole region must have at least 20 international flights and 10 domesticflights within the next ten years

Chairmanof the municipal People’s Committee Vo Thanh Thong stressed that the project playsan important role in the overall development of the region.

Hehoped many suitable models will be built within the framework of the project tohelp the Mekong Delta become a leading destination in Asia in terms of tourismon rivers.

The city is working with Novaland Group to finance tourism development  projects in the Mekong Delta that areinvested directly in Can Tho, Vinh Long province and other localities in theregion, Thong added.

Theprojects are hoped to create a momentum for sustainable development and createjobs for local residents, contributing to socio-economic development of thelocality and helping it attract more investment, he said.-VNA