Gac (spiny gourd) fruit, which has special health benefits, grows in Thach Thao Garden in Tien Giang province’s My Tho City (Photo: VNA)HCM City (VNS/VNA) - Farmers in theMekong Delta have developed agri-tourism models that have not only increasedtheir incomes but also contributed to sustainable agriculture andrural development in the area.
The Mekong Delta, which is the country’s largestagricultural production area, has great potential to develop ecotourism. It hasbeen listed among the best destinations to visit in 2019 by the UStravel magazine Condé Nast Traveler.
The delta attracts millions of visitors eachyear thanks to its cultural diversity, natural beauty and a large range oftourism products.
According to HCM City’s Department of Tourism,tourist demand to seek hands-on experiences has increased from 20-30 percentcompared to recent years.
In many localities in the delta, organisationsand individuals have begun to pour more investment in agri-tourism models.
The models help to both preserve traditionalculture and increase farmers’ incomes.
Pham Van Hoang, 54, owner of Chin Hong FruitGarden in Phong Dien district’s My Khanh commune in Can Tho city, said he growsstar fruit, mango, rambutan, coconut and guava on 1.8ha.
The garden started opening to serve visitors asan agri-tourism model in August 2016. Tickets are 30,000 VND (1.3 USD) perperson. Visitors can pick fruit to eat while relaxing later in the garden. “Visitorsusually buy more fruits to bring home,” he said.
David Forrest, a French tourist, said he sawfruits that were never available in Europe. “This place was very interesting tovisit. I’m going to visit rice fields to understand how farmers grow rice,” hesaid.
Hoang said that the eco-tourism model had helpedhim increase his income and expand production.
He earns a profit of about 400 million VND (17,245USD) each year, with revenue from tourism accounting for 70 percent of thetotal.
Previously, he sold all the fruit directly totraders at cheaper rates, but now he sells 70 percent of fruits to visitors.
The garden welcomes about 130-150 domestic andforeign visitors daily, and up to 200 visitors on weekends and holidays.
Popular traditional dishes can be prepared tovisitors’ orders with accompanying drinks served in the garden.
Hoang plans to open a homestay service in thenear future to meet demand of visitors.
Cao Van Hoa, deputy director of Tien Giang province’sDepartment of Agriculture and Rural Development, said the most profitable modelwas agri-tourism, which contributes to sustainable agricultural development.
The province’s 77,000ha of fruit trees produceabout 1.5 million tonnes of fruits each year.
Among these, durian trees are one of the keyfruits with more than 12,000ha. Other fruits grown in the area are blue dragon,pineapple, mango, grapefruit, star apple and many others.
Fruit farmers earn an annual profit of about 400million VND (17,245 USD) per ha, with durian farmers earning about 1 billionVND (43,000 USD) per ha per year.
The value of fruit trees accounts for 64 percentof the total value of agricultural production in the province.
Combining agricultural production with tourism,farmers can raise their incomes by two to three times compared to productionand consumption of agricultural products, Hoa said.
“We plan to develop specialty fruits as the province’skey agri-tourism products in the coming years,” he said.
The department is working with the province’sDepartment of Culture, Sports and Tourism to design tours that will includevisits to flower gardens, fruit and vegetable fields cultivated with high-techmethods, new rural areas, historic and cultural relic sites, and traditionalcraft villages.
“Agencies should cooperate more closely to helpthe tourism industry exploit agriculture,” Hoa said.
Tran Anh Tuan, 58, owner of Thach Thao Garden inTien Giang province’s My Tho city, said when he had noticed the growing desireof tourists to explore nature and agricultural products, he switched fromgrowing vegetables, oranges and lemons, which are not economically efficient,to gac (Momordica cochinchinensis) fruit and many kindsof flowers.
Tickets for visitors to his garden are 30,000 VND(1.3 USD) per person. “My garden brings higher income now and I can see thenumber of visitors has been increasing,” he said.
Luu Le Phuong, a visitor from Vinh Long province,said she had heard of gac fruit but had never seen the plantbefore. “It’s really beautiful.”
The garden also rents traditional dressesof ao dai and ao ba ba for visitors to wearfor photos taken in front of beautiful flowers.
Besides income from tourism, four times a week,Tuan sells 300-400kg of fruit each time, for 10,000 VND (0.43 USD) per kilo,earning 3-4 million VND (130-170 USD) a week.
Despite the progress, many experts said thatagri-tourism models in the Mekong Delta had developed haphazardly withoutcoordination. Many are small and overlap in function, and not commensurate withthe potential of the region, they said.
Limited connection between destinations andtravel businesses, and a shortage of human resources are other challengesfacing agri-tourism development.
Vo Huong, deputy director of Kien Tri Human ResourceTraining Co., Ltd in Can Tho city, said the most difficult task was traininghuman resources.
“Most of them lack skills and knowledge aboutconducting tourism and being a tourist guide, while tour guides who havegraduated from tourism schools lack experience and knowledge about agriculturalproduction,” she said.
Localities in the delta should work more closelywith tourism schools to improve the quality of staff for agricultural-basedtourism, she said.
Each year, the delta welcomes millions of domestic and foreign visitors, butonly about 10 percent of the total extend their stays.
“New agricultural tourism products should becreated to attract more tourists who will stay longer and spend more money,”said Nguyen Hoang On, deputy head of the Centre for Tourism Development underthe Can Tho city’s Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism.
In recent years, the city has helped farmers andartisans develop fruit gardens and traditional craft villages to enhanceeco-tourism combined with agriculture, he said.
However, the services and products are stillbasic and on a small- to medium-sized scale. Many locals and provinces offersimilar products.
In addition, facilities at many agriculturaltourism sites have not been fully developed.
“Lack of effective policies and strategies hashindered development in agri-tourism,” he said.
Brand promotion and the use of informationtechnologies are also needed. To achieve sustainable development, authoritiesin the Mekong Delta should strive for improved efficiency, On said.
Each locality in the region should improveconnections between farmers, travel agents, local authorities, and agenciesthat represent tourism, agriculture, and trading activities.-VNS/VNA
The Mekong Delta, which is the country’s largestagricultural production area, has great potential to develop ecotourism. It hasbeen listed among the best destinations to visit in 2019 by the UStravel magazine Condé Nast Traveler.
The delta attracts millions of visitors eachyear thanks to its cultural diversity, natural beauty and a large range oftourism products.
According to HCM City’s Department of Tourism,tourist demand to seek hands-on experiences has increased from 20-30 percentcompared to recent years.
In many localities in the delta, organisationsand individuals have begun to pour more investment in agri-tourism models.
The models help to both preserve traditionalculture and increase farmers’ incomes.
Pham Van Hoang, 54, owner of Chin Hong FruitGarden in Phong Dien district’s My Khanh commune in Can Tho city, said he growsstar fruit, mango, rambutan, coconut and guava on 1.8ha.
The garden started opening to serve visitors asan agri-tourism model in August 2016. Tickets are 30,000 VND (1.3 USD) perperson. Visitors can pick fruit to eat while relaxing later in the garden. “Visitorsusually buy more fruits to bring home,” he said.
David Forrest, a French tourist, said he sawfruits that were never available in Europe. “This place was very interesting tovisit. I’m going to visit rice fields to understand how farmers grow rice,” hesaid.
Hoang said that the eco-tourism model had helpedhim increase his income and expand production.
He earns a profit of about 400 million VND (17,245USD) each year, with revenue from tourism accounting for 70 percent of thetotal.
Previously, he sold all the fruit directly totraders at cheaper rates, but now he sells 70 percent of fruits to visitors.
The garden welcomes about 130-150 domestic andforeign visitors daily, and up to 200 visitors on weekends and holidays.
Popular traditional dishes can be prepared tovisitors’ orders with accompanying drinks served in the garden.
Hoang plans to open a homestay service in thenear future to meet demand of visitors.
Cao Van Hoa, deputy director of Tien Giang province’sDepartment of Agriculture and Rural Development, said the most profitable modelwas agri-tourism, which contributes to sustainable agricultural development.
The province’s 77,000ha of fruit trees produceabout 1.5 million tonnes of fruits each year.
Among these, durian trees are one of the keyfruits with more than 12,000ha. Other fruits grown in the area are blue dragon,pineapple, mango, grapefruit, star apple and many others.
Fruit farmers earn an annual profit of about 400million VND (17,245 USD) per ha, with durian farmers earning about 1 billionVND (43,000 USD) per ha per year.
The value of fruit trees accounts for 64 percentof the total value of agricultural production in the province.
Combining agricultural production with tourism,farmers can raise their incomes by two to three times compared to productionand consumption of agricultural products, Hoa said.
“We plan to develop specialty fruits as the province’skey agri-tourism products in the coming years,” he said.
The department is working with the province’sDepartment of Culture, Sports and Tourism to design tours that will includevisits to flower gardens, fruit and vegetable fields cultivated with high-techmethods, new rural areas, historic and cultural relic sites, and traditionalcraft villages.
“Agencies should cooperate more closely to helpthe tourism industry exploit agriculture,” Hoa said.
Tran Anh Tuan, 58, owner of Thach Thao Garden inTien Giang province’s My Tho city, said when he had noticed the growing desireof tourists to explore nature and agricultural products, he switched fromgrowing vegetables, oranges and lemons, which are not economically efficient,to gac (Momordica cochinchinensis) fruit and many kindsof flowers.
Tickets for visitors to his garden are 30,000 VND(1.3 USD) per person. “My garden brings higher income now and I can see thenumber of visitors has been increasing,” he said.
Luu Le Phuong, a visitor from Vinh Long province,said she had heard of gac fruit but had never seen the plantbefore. “It’s really beautiful.”
The garden also rents traditional dressesof ao dai and ao ba ba for visitors to wearfor photos taken in front of beautiful flowers.
Besides income from tourism, four times a week,Tuan sells 300-400kg of fruit each time, for 10,000 VND (0.43 USD) per kilo,earning 3-4 million VND (130-170 USD) a week.
Despite the progress, many experts said thatagri-tourism models in the Mekong Delta had developed haphazardly withoutcoordination. Many are small and overlap in function, and not commensurate withthe potential of the region, they said.
Limited connection between destinations andtravel businesses, and a shortage of human resources are other challengesfacing agri-tourism development.
Vo Huong, deputy director of Kien Tri Human ResourceTraining Co., Ltd in Can Tho city, said the most difficult task was traininghuman resources.
“Most of them lack skills and knowledge aboutconducting tourism and being a tourist guide, while tour guides who havegraduated from tourism schools lack experience and knowledge about agriculturalproduction,” she said.
Localities in the delta should work more closelywith tourism schools to improve the quality of staff for agricultural-basedtourism, she said.
Each year, the delta welcomes millions of domestic and foreign visitors, butonly about 10 percent of the total extend their stays.
“New agricultural tourism products should becreated to attract more tourists who will stay longer and spend more money,”said Nguyen Hoang On, deputy head of the Centre for Tourism Development underthe Can Tho city’s Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism.
In recent years, the city has helped farmers andartisans develop fruit gardens and traditional craft villages to enhanceeco-tourism combined with agriculture, he said.
However, the services and products are stillbasic and on a small- to medium-sized scale. Many locals and provinces offersimilar products.
In addition, facilities at many agriculturaltourism sites have not been fully developed.
“Lack of effective policies and strategies hashindered development in agri-tourism,” he said.
Brand promotion and the use of informationtechnologies are also needed. To achieve sustainable development, authoritiesin the Mekong Delta should strive for improved efficiency, On said.
Each locality in the region should improveconnections between farmers, travel agents, local authorities, and agenciesthat represent tourism, agriculture, and trading activities.-VNS/VNA
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