Hau Giang to turn tourism into top spearhead sector

Figures by Hau Giang Department of Culture, Sports, and Tourism showed that in the first quarter of this year, the province welcomed over 150,000 visitors, including around 8,570 foreign arrivals, generating nearly $2.87 million in total revenue and continuing growth momentum from 2023.

Last year, the province eyed a sharp rise in the number of visitors. It hailed nearly 520,000 visitors, soaring 133 per cent compared to 2022 and equal to 104 per cent of the full-year plan. Foreign visitor numbers jumped 230 per cent and local arrivals numbered almost 495,000, up 130 per cent.

Last year, the province’s tourism sector counted $9.83 million in total revenue, shooting 132 per cent on-year and equal to 110 per cent of the year’s projection.

In light of 2021-2025 plans, industry, agriculture, urban areas, and tourism were set as the strategic breakthroughs to drive socioeconomic development, increase local budget streams, and improve the material and spiritual life of locals.

Simultaneously, Hau Giang’s provincial planning for 2021-2030 identified modern industry, eco-agriculture, smart urban areas, and quality tourism.

For tourism, the planning scheme aims to propel development on a selective basis, choosing products with local distinct strengths for investment and development, turning tourism into a spearhead economic sector, and creating motivations to promote the development of other fields and sectors.

To best avail of local potential, efforts shall gear towards increasingly diversifying local offerings to encompass ecological tours, and tours based on the advantages of agriculture and rural development, linking to safeguarding the natural ecosystem and preserving distinct cultural and historical values.

Growth pillars

Developing quality resorts is a must for Hau Giang to align with the general development orientation of the Mekong Delta region, striving to have in place one provincial-level resort venue along with six natural attractions by 2025.

It will also effectively tap into distinct local tourism offerings for Xa No Canal, which bears unique characteristics of Hau Giang, and tours to the Lung Ngoc Hoang nature reserve and surrounding areas. The target is to turn the Lung Ngoc Hoang nature reserve into a national attraction by 2030.

Along with that, the province is focused on transport infrastructure to beef up tourism activities; reviewing and revising development policies to suit the province’s conditions; and diversifying investment sources into tourism, particularly into building quality hotels, restaurants, and entertainment facilities.

Hau Giang aims to diversify local products in the direction of tailoring specific, mainstream, and complementary product line-ups.

The province shall promote river cultural tourism associated with visiting floating markets, experiencing river culture, organising walking street activities, street festivals, and honouring contemporary art. It will also develop agricultural tourism associated with promoting personalised experiences, sightseeing, and scientific research.

The province shall focus on developing river and garden ecotourism; preserving typical river landscapes along the Hau River; developing the Xa No canal waterway route to explore the natural landscape; and tapping into natural discoveries at the Lung Ngoc Hoang nature reserve.

Community tourism shall be associated with experiencing the indigenous culture of Hau Giang residents and the cultural identity of the Khmer people.

Complementary products shall engage in promoting shopping to craft villages, night markets, walking streets, and service centres as well as key tourist areas, along with propelling business and culinary tourism.

Hau Giang Department of Culture, Sports, and Tourism noted that leveraging diverse natural and cultural resources of each area, Hau Giang’s development would be divided into the four regions. The Chau Thanh inter-district has the strengths to develop ecotourism by tapping the advantages of local gardens, rivers, fruit orchards, to shape up national-level resort venues along the Hau River, while the Vi Thanh to Vi Thuy inter-district is deemed central to managing the tourism activities of Hau Giang. This area is set to develop cultural and events industry tourism, combined with shopping and nightlife entertainment.

Meanwhile, the Long My town inter-district has advantages in developing garden-based ecotourism, cultural and spiritual tourism, and high-tech agricultural tourism; while Nga Bay city to Phung Hiep inter-district is also set a key area for Hau Giang, catering for development of river-based and garden and cultural tourism, along with promoting community and agricultural tourism.

Bountiful natural resources

Part of the Mekong Delta, Hau Giang has rich and diverse resources. The province has an intricate system of rivers and canals, along with enchanting landscapes and ecology, suitable for developing river ecotourism.

Hau Giang is also the land of speciality fruit orchards such as Nam Roi grapefruit, oranges, tangerines, pineapples, and strawberries, as well as vast fields constituting a green and peaceful space, convenient for creating agricultural ecotourism and garden products.

Notably, over the 2,800-hectare Lung Ngoc Hoang nature reserve, a wetland ecosystem deemed as the green lung of the province plays a role in regulating the climate.

The unique value of Lung Ngoc Hoang is the intact ecological landscape of swamps and lush melaleuca forests. In addition, Lung Ngoc Hoang features high biodiversity value, a place to preserve native species, especially rare animals.

Furthermore, Hau Giang entices visitors by its rich and attractive products and cuisine such as dishes made from That Lat fish and Cau Duc pineapple. In particular, Hau Giang’s Cai Tac porridge was named in the top five most renowned Vietnamese porridge specialities by the Vietnam Records Organisation.

In addition, Hau Giang is home to valued cultural and historical relics, auspicious for the development of tours to cherish revolutionary traditions, such as relics of Chuong Thien and Tam Vu victories, and Uncle Ho Temple, among others.

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