Dong Nai province’s farmers expand eco-tourism services

Dong Nai (VNS/VNA) - Fruit growers who offer tourism services in their orchards in Dong Nai province are diversifying their products to attract tourists and increase incomes.

The southeastern region’s largest fruit producing province has more than 70,000ha of orchards and is well known for fruits such as durian, grapefruit, orange, mandarin, and custard apple.

Major fruit growing districts like Tan Phu, Vinh Cuu, Cam My, Xuan Loc, and Long Thanh and Long Khanh city have expanded orchard tourism services in recent years.

Besides traditional specialty fruits like small-seed durian and mangosteen, farmers grow new ones such as Musang King durian to serve tourists.

In Vinh Cuu district’s Tan Binh commune, Tan Trieu riverine island is well known for ‘buoi duong la cam’, a local speciality grapefruit, and many orchard owners here offer tourism services.

They also make various products from the fruit such as wine, jam, essential oil, grapefruit milk tea, and salads to serve tourists.

Lam Phi Hung, owner of Sau Hung Ecological Orchard in Long Khanh city, was the first farmer to use a QR code in Binh Loc commune.

Tourists can scan the code to check information about him, the types of fruits he grows and their yields, and the location of the orchard.

Binh Loc commune, the largest fruit growing area in Long Khanh city, grows many speciality fruits including durian, rambutan and mangosteen.

Farming households in the commune have linked up to develop tourism and adopt VietGAP and other quality standards.

Long Khanh city now has more than 100 households who join hands to offer tourism services in their orchards.

The city receives tens of thousands of tourists visiting its orchards every day.

Dong Nai has identified tourism as one of its key sectors and having huge potential for developing eco-tourism related to orchards, forests, waterfalls, rivers, and lakes.

It received 2.2 million tourists last year, including 75,000 foreigners, almost double the number in 2021, according to its Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism.

It hopes to welcome 2.7 million visitors this year, including 80,000 foreigners, and earn revenues of 1.7 trillion VND (72 million USD), 40% higher than last year.

Under the national programme for building new-style rural areas, the province has invested in infrastructure in rural areas, especially roads, creating favourable conditions for orchard owners to offer tourism services.

The province has organised trips for farmers to other provinces to see for themselves how agricultural tourism models work.

Farmers in the province are increasingly using advanced techniques, good agricultural practices (GAP) and organic farming standards to improve their tourism services.

Truong Phat Agricultural Service Cooperative in Nhon Trach district’s Long Tan commune grows organic lotus and offers tourism services.

Nguyen Thi Bich Le, its director, said tourists could watch how lotus is grown and harvested and products are made from it.

“Tourism services help the co-operative create added value for lotus and promote its organic lotus products.”

Many orchard owners plan to increase co-operation among themselves to diversify tourism products.

According to Van Thanh Doan, owner of a flower garden in Xuan Loc district’s Xuan Bac commune, its highlight is the diverse variety of flowers, but he also grows fruits and offers a variety of foods to meet tourists’ requirements.

“Our long-term target is to expand the linkages between local orchards to develop closed tourism service chains from visiting orchards, offering food and providing other speciality tourism products,” he said.

The province also has many craft villages that make well-known products such as fine art furniture, pottery, dried banana, and grapefruit wine.

But the linkages between orchards, craft villages and tourism destinations are tenuous, according to the province People’s Committee.

Most craft villages produce and sell what they make and do not research to find out what the market and tourists want.

Most tourists visit the province for just one day and spend an average of 500,000 VND (21 USD), the People’s Committee said.

If the province could keep tourists overnight, their spending would double or triple, it added./.