An overview of Cai Rang floating market, a tourist destination in the Mekong Delta (Photo: SGGP) Can Tho (VNA) - The 5th MekongDelta investment forum (MekongInvest 2017) took place in Can Tho city on October25 to call for investment in tourism projects across 13 regional localities.
Thirty-three realty and tourism projects,with total capital amounting to nearly 7.8 trillion VND (343.2 million USD),were introduced at the event.
Speaking at the forum, Nguyen Tri Hieu, aneconomic expert, said local tourism falls short of potential due to incompleteinfrastructure, limited air and waterway travel services, and a lack of otherservices serving tourists’ demand for entertainment and health care.
Hieu said the sector is in need of stronginvestment to grow and noted investors want more support from local authoritiesto access favourable policies and planning information.
Vo Hung Dung, Director of the VietnamChamber of Commerce and Industry (VCCI)’s branch in Can Tho, said the delta isearmarked to accommodate 100,000 rooms by 2030, of which about 30 percent was rankedthree – five stars.
He pointed to the fact that the region nowhas just about 60 three- and five-star hotels that accommodate a total of 8,000rooms, mainly in Phu Quoc island and Can Tho city.
The region is home to only two majorentertainment complexes, one large-scale rest stop and no regional-scaleshopping centre, he added.
Pham The Trieu, deputy head of the regionalTourism Association, suggested local tourism firms form connectivity and boostquality of their workforce, particularly in customer services and foreignlanguage capacity.
As heard at the function, in the past eightyears, Mekong Delta’s tourism grew over an average of 10 percent annually.
In 2016, the region welcomed 28 milliontourists and reeled in 15 trillion VND (660 million USD). Goals have been setfor the figures to hit 34 million tourist arrivals and 25 trillion VND (1.1billion USD) by 2020, which means substantial efforts are required.
The MekongInvest is held annually by the VCCIand the Investment and Trade Promotion Centre in the Mekong Delta.-VNA
VNA
