Ben Tre (VNA) – A delegationof experts from Thailand visited the Mekong Delta province of Ben Tre onSeptember 20 - 21 to prepare for the implementation of a project on sustainablydeveloping coastal communities based on ecotourism and applying the philosophyof sufficiency economy.

The delegation included representativesof the Thai Consulate General in Ho Chi Minh City, the InternationalCooperation Agency at the Thai Ministry of Foreign Affairs, internationalcolleges of Thailand, the Burapha University, and the Thailand Community-basedTourism Institute.

They visited the districts of BinhDai, Ba Tri, Thanh Phu, and Cho Lach to experience tourism activities linkedwith the mangrove forest ecosystem, those typical for the water-connected culturein the Mekong Delta, and the ornamental flower village of Cho Lach. Through thetrip, they assessed the capacity and learned the wishes of local households tohelp with sustainable development of community-based tourism.

Arepresentative of the Thai Consulate General in HCM City said the project inBen Tre will help improve the capacity of both local tourism manpower andpeople engaging in community-based tourism. It will also assist them to improveskills in developing a community-based tourism ecosystem, managingcommunity-based tourism supply and demand, and increasing the value of theproducts and services imbued with local communities’ identities.

NguyenThi Ngoc Dung, Deputy Director of the Ben Tre Department of Culture, Sports andTourism, said the province boasts considerable potential and advantages forcommunity-based tourism development. This type of tourism has been promoted tomeet tourists’ demand, boost economic restructuring, provide jobs for locals,improve people’s life quality, and popularise the province’s images toVietnamese and foreign visitors.

Ben Tre targets that by 2025, tourismwill have become an important economic sector while the province will haveestablished itself as one of the leading ecological and cultural tourismdestinations in the Mekong Delta for international visitors, and also a leadingdestination in this region for short-term holidays of domestic tourists.

By 2025, tourism revenue is expectedto reach 2.3 - 3.2 trillion VND (94.6 - 131.6 million USD) while the sector’sannual growth rate is projected at 22 - 25% and its direct contribution to the province’s grossregional domestic product (GRDP) at at least 6%. 

Meanwhile, tourism is hoped to becomea truly spearhead sector securing sustainable development and boosting thedevelopment of others by 2030. Tourism revenue is targeted at 3.8 - 6 trillionVND, the sector’s annual growth rate at 24 - 25%, and direct contributionto the GRDP 10% by that time./.