Mr. Le Thanh Phong, Vice President of the Mekong Delta Tourism Association informs that the Western Bloc comprising 7 provinces, cities namely An Giang, Can Tho, Kien Giang, Hau Giang, Soc Trang, Bac Lieu and Ca Mau was formed 13 years ago. It is the regional bloc that is experiencing strong development both in quantity and in turnover. In specific, the bloc accounts for more than 2/3 of the number of visitors and turnover in the region. The tourist products of the Western Bloc are also rich and diversified with many experiences to live such as rivers, islands, MICE tourism...

During the first six months of 2022, the Western Bloc receives more than 16 million visitors, an increase of 57.3% compared to last year; the turnover amounts to 12,500 million VND, i.e. 54% increase compared to last year. During the restoration of tourist activities, the provinces, cities of the Western Bloc are concentrating on the creation of numerous tourist products, the organization of events, celebrations and festivals as well as on tourism propaganda and promotion, on training human resources… to attract visitors. The connection between the provinces, cities of the bloc in the tourism sector becomes closer and deploys its effectiveness through effective cooperation in the organization of joint quality activities and the creation of local products. However, tourism in the Western Bloc is facing many difficulties and not achieving the expected results.

Mr. Nguyen Minh Tuan, Vice-Director of the Department of Culture, Sport and Tourism of Can Tho city, formulates the problem: “The total number of visitors to the Western Bloc in the first six months amounts to 4.4 million, Kien Giang leads with 15 million and Can Tho ranks second with 1.2 million. The occupancy rate of accommodation in localities remains very low. Even in Can Tho this figure does not exceed 2 days. International visitors mainly return to Phu Quoc from Kien Giang. The challenge facing the Western Bloc is therefore to extend the length of stay of visitors and increase their spending by offering them relevant products and services from each locality”. In her opinion, Mrs. Tran Thi Lan Phuong, Director of the Department of Culture, Sport and Tourism of Bac Lieu said: “Each locality must have its typical products and services which are not repeated in order to be able to create circuits rich in experiences. Precisely, in Bac Lieu, we are moving towards the combination of tourism with traditional agriculture and high technologies and towards the creation of new lines, especially that of “Alluvial Routes” in collaboration with Ho Chi Minh City. However, to better create these products in an effective way, it will require the participation of tourism operators”. Mr. Nguyen Huu Ngoc, Vice-Director of the An Giang Trade and Investment Promotion Center, agrees: “Our province is also moving towards products based on local potential. We offer seasonal tours, the particularity of the West is that each locality has its typical features due to each season and we will have to exploit these experiences. I also think that for tourism products to be attractive, the activities must be linked to the tour operators because they are the ones who study and understand the markets, the sources of visitors organize the circuits”.

As a tour operator, Mrs. Le Dinh Minh Thy, Director of Vietravel Can Tho, tells us: “Mekong Delta tourism has been developing lately in all aspects, yet, in reality, visitors spend too little and their length of stay is too short. We are therefore moving towards the creation of products offering more immersive experiences. On this basis, Vietravel collaborates with certain localities for the development of the product creation strategy. In the immediate future, we are cooperating with Can Tho and then with other localities in the region”. Mrs. Nguyen Thi Ly, Director of the Department of Culture, Sport and Tourism of Hau Giang, also says: “Each locality has its own potentialities. The importance is to exploit them and make a difference. Our tourism products are similar due to ecological and geographical particularities. That is why, we are moving firmly in a new direction by taking gastronomy as assets with our two typical products, Cau Duc pineapple and Featherback bronze fish mince (scientific name: Notopterus notopterus) and creating records. As a result, we will create more typical Hau Giang tours and products.”

Western Bloc tourism is recovering fairly quickly for the local market. According to tour operators, tourism in the Western Bloc will remain attractive even after the summer holidays because green tourism, ecotourism which is the asset of the provinces, cities in the west, has become a trend. The tourism of each locality also changes its mentality, proactively invests in the creation of new products.