The local uniqueness should be considered as one of keys to sustainable tourism development, experts said at a conference on sustainable tourism held in the Mekong Delta province of Ben Tre on April 11.

According to Prof. Dr. Jean-Marie Breton from Les Antilles University, France, the tourism sector is not developing sustainably if the local characteristics are lost during the process.

Discovering the local uniqueness needs an extensive research into every corner of life, Jean-Marie said.

The professor also suggested that Ben Tre should introduce tourism products that are typical of the province while conducting surveys to find out tourists’ tastes and requirements to improve products and services accordingly.

Dr.Joost C.L. van Buuren Wageningen from Holland said that it is necessary to make stakeholders in the tourism sector understand their tasks and responsibilities on sustainable tourism.

The income from tourism should be distributed reasonably to encourage people and enterprises to develop tourism sector.

The conference aims to seek solutions to develop Ben Tre’s hospitality industry sustainably with the goal of attracting the participation of local community and increasing the community’s income, and exploiting and preserving local natural resources and culture.

Ben Tre’s tourism sector posts an annual growth of 23 percent over recent years. The province plans to draw 1 million visitors and a revenue of 700 billion VND (32.4 million USD).-VNA