Each province in the Mekong delta is urged to invest more in developing its own tourist product and make it a draw to invite more visitors to the region.

The opinion was raised at a recent meeting of the Mekong delta’s tourism officials in Kien Giang province to seek ways to boost tourism in the area in the second half of the year.

While developing their own products, the localities are called to step up their partnerships to promote images of the region’s distinctive geographical features to tourists inside and outside the country.

According to Pham Phuoc Nhu, Chairman of the Mekong Delta Tourism Association, opinions will be garnered for the naming of typical destinations of the Mekong delta and local coordination will be boosted to spread images of these interesting places within and beyond the country to lure more tourists.

The association was advised to work out specific projects integrating tourism in the region and increasing collaboration with neighbouring localities like Ho Chi Minh City and the central region to shore up the development of the region’s tourism industry.

Director of Kien Giang province’s Culture, Sports and Tourism Department Le Minh Hoang suggested the Mekong delta tourism sector strengthen relationship with its counterparts in the neighbouring countries of Thailand and Cambodia and learn from their experiences in the field.

In the first half of this year, the Mekong delta welcomed nearly 10 million tourist arrivals, an increase of 8.7 percent compared with the same period last year, including 730,000 foreign arrivals, which represented a 18.7 percent rise year on year.

The region earned over 1.52 trillion VND in tourism revenue, a rise of 27.8 percent year on year./.