Delta to fire up tourism industry

The plan, which extends to 2020, will aid in the country's economic transformation and help reduce hunger and poverty, according to the ministry.

The main goals are to diversify tourism products and fully exploit the country's tourism potential.

The plan calls for linking provinces and cities in the region and for additional investment in tourism projects that meet international standards.

Under the plan, the Mekong Delta region would focus on the overseas Vietnamese community and Southeast Asian tourism market, especially Cambodia, while maintaining its current markets in Northeast Asia, Western Europe and North America.

The area aims to attract more domestic tourists as well, particularly from Ho Chi Minh City, Hanoi, and the southeastern region.

According to the plan, the delta region hopes to welcome 2.7 million foreign visitors and 5.3 million domestic tourists by 2015.

By 2020, the region expects to receive 3.9 million foreign tourists and 6.5 million local visitors. By 2015, there will be 37,150 hotel rooms and a total of 50,000 by 2020.

The plan aims to employ 154,700 people in the Mekong Delta tourism sector by 2015 and 236,600 by 2020.

The Mekong Delta region would focus on developing rural tourism (orchard and river tours combined with home-stays), cultural tourism (exploration of ethnic cultures), eco-tourism (tours of ecological systems in the area), and high-quality spa therapy tours (including Kien Giang province's Phu Quoc Island and Ha Tien town).

In recent years, the Mekong Delta has attained significant achievements in tourism, according to Huynh Vinh Ai, Deputy Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism.

For example, in 2009 the number of foreign visitors to the region reached 1.2 million, three times higher than in 2000, while there were 8 million local tourists compared to 3.4 million in 2000, resulting in revenue of VND 2 trillion for the tourism industry.

Tourism in the Mekong Delta has also created stable jobs and raised the income of local residents, according to Deputy Minister Ai.

According to the recently approved plan, the Mekong Delta region would concentrate investment in hotels, high-quality resorts and recreational sites that meet international standards.

It also aims to preserve and enhance the environment, develop festivals to diversify tourism products, train more tourism staff, and conduct research on applying technology in the tourism industry.

The Mekong Delta can be reached by air, land, river or sea. The region has airports in Can Tho City, Phu Quoc Island , Rach Gia town and Ca Mau province.

Under the ministry's plan, two additional international airports will be built.