In the early days of June, Bao Gia Farm Camping (Hau Giang) is always crowded with people, especially on weekends. Visitors to Bao Gia Farm Camping are mainly families and students from all over the provinces and cities. Here, the program "Be a happy farmer" is very popular. Tran Thi Hong Yen (a visitor from the city of Can Tho) said: “On weekends, I usually take my children to Bao Gia Farm Camping. Bao Gia Farm Camping has many interesting activities for children such as harvesting vegetables, planting trees, feeding goats and rabbits... I think these are meaningful activities because they help children love animals and nature, and learn how to protect the environment.” Ms. Nguyen Thi Ngoc Suong, Bao Gia Farm Camping Project Manager, said: “Capturing the trend of agricultural tourism towards sustainability, we have built this project and program for a long time. It was very difficult at first, but after the COVID-19 pandemic, more customers came to us, almost all of them in large groups, such as AMA English Center, Wilmar Agro ...”. Visitors traveling to Bao Gia Farm Camping increase in number because agricultural tourism is becoming a popular trend.

Agricultural tourism is a type of tourist service based on agricultural production activities for entertainment or educational purposes. Visitors can experience the activities of farming and agricultural production, learn about plants and animals, or participate in the process of fruit and vegetable harvesting ... This type of tourism brings many benefits to the Tourism sector, Agriculture and rural communities. The combination of tourism and agriculture can diversify commercial activities, solve the problem of agricultural product consumption, create jobs in rural areas and increase the production value of the agricultural sector. Agricultural tourism also contributes to preserving the local culture, especially maintaining the traditional craft villages as well as habits, customs and traditions of the local people.

In the Mekong Delta, Agricultural tourism is flourishing with various organizations. Mr. Nguyen Trong Minh, co-founder of VietMekong farmstay project (Dong Thap province), said: “VietMekong farmstay is a resort farm in the responsible tourism model. Specifically, tourism products and services are based on agroecosystems. This favorable farm model is increasingly welcomed by tourists because of its orientation to a lifestyle in harmony with nature, preserving the indigenous values of the wetland ecology”. With an area of about 40,000m2, VietMekong farmstay has a unique space in the wetland ecology of Dong Thap Muoi. Visitors here can experience the cultural space of reclaimed agriculture, stay in a stylized stilt house on the water in a natural environment, and enjoy a nostalgic culinary culture...

Meanwhile, in Can Tho city, the agricultural tourism model develops in association with the community, the households doing tourism are inherently farmers. Ms. Le Thi Be Bay, tourism consultant in Son islet, said: “Agricultural tourism and community in Son islet are inseparable. People here have changed from farming to doing tourism. Moreover, we are very conscious of preserving indigenous cultural values and protecting the environment. We always come up with practical activities to preserve and protect the natural environment”. Along with tourism activities, there are many models of environmental protection in Son islet such as Son islet’s people limit the use of plastic bags (2018), Son islet’s people say no to plastic waste (2022), etc. Mr. Ly Van Bon, Deputy Director of Son islet Agricultural Tourism Cooperative, said: “We operate tourism in parallel with protecting the natural environment. In addition to the free-range fish rafts for visitors, I also have my own space to preserve wild fish. I find fish varieties, breed them and release them into the wild”. Currently, there are about 15 species of fish in this area, which are raised in the Hau River in an open environment. Nguyen Van Nam (a tourist from Hanoi) said: “When visiting Son islet, we were told very carefully by our guide about preserving and protecting the environment, such as not to use plastic bag, not to break the young fruit trees, release juvenile fish into the wild. I think these rules are extremely vital and tourists should always adhere to them.”

Agricultural tourism is no longer an unfamiliar term but becomes close to tourists through the experiences of the daily life of local people. This tourism model is developing strongly and attracting more tourists. The activities of agritourism create livelihood opportunities, improve the agricultural product chain, and indirectly create many other benefits. Therefore, this type of tourism is attracting a lot of attention and investment from localities, because it both promotes tourism development and contributes to building environmentally sustainable development value chains.