Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc directed at a recent meeting with the provincial authorities to seek measures to implement key socio-economic projects in the locality.Among the projects, the Ba Chua Xu Spiritual Cultural Tourism – Sam Mountain Cable Car System is expected to turn tourism into a spearhead economy in the province as well as increase local budget collection, job generation, and sustainable gross regional domestic product growth.
An Giang has 82 national and provincial heritages, including Ba Chua Xu Nui Sam Temple in Chau Doc District, Nui Cam (mountain), Tra Su Cajuput Forest in Tinh Bien District, and the Oc Eo Culture relic site in Thoai Son District.
According to Pham The Trieu, Deputy Director of the provincial Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism, multiple new products have been developed to attract tourists to the locality.
The provincial People’s Committee has also approved a program to promote sustainable tourism from 2016-2020, with a focus on applying information technology in advertising tourist products.
The program has focused on improving service quality to enhance competitiveness. Priority has been also given to ensuring sustainable use of natural resources in developing tourism.
In recent year, An Giang has doubled efforts to develop green and sustainable tourism through boosting cooperation in tourism with other Mekong Delta provinces of Ben Tre, Bac Lieu, Ca Mau, Dong Thap, Hau Giang, Kien Giang, Soc Trang, Long An, Tien Giang, Tra Vinh and Vinh Long as well as Can Tho City.
The area has a large tourism resource system. The tourism resources of the Mekong Delta region associated with waterways, gardens, floating markets, are typical of the region. The region also has three biosphere reserves, five national parks, three nature reserves, three species reserves, seven habitat protected areas and one experimental science forest. These are valuable eco-tourism resources of the region as well as in Vietnam.
Aiming to promote the regional tourism potential, the Government has recently approved a master plan for tourism development in the Mekong Delta region until 2020, with a vision towards 2030. Accordingly, in the period 2017 – 2020, the Mekong Delta region’s tourism sector will create common tourist products and improve the quality of tourist services.
The plan aims to develop tourism in line with the region’s potential and advantages, affirm the region’s position in Vietnam’s tourism map and enhance the position and role of tourism in the region’s development, thus improving the lives of locals and promoting the region to the country and the world.
The region hopes to welcome 34 million tourists, including 3.5 million foreigners by 2020 and 52 million arrivals with 6.5 million foreigners by 2030. It also targets total revenue of VND25 trillion (US$1.12 billion) by 2020 and VND111 trillion (US$5 billion) by 2030.
Caption: An Giang has 82 heritages, including Ba Chua Xu Nui Sam Temple.
