Muong Dinh Homestay in Chau Thanh A district, Hau Giang province, is a popular destination for foreign tourists

How is tourism positioned in the recently approved Hau Giang Provincial Planning for the 2021 - 2030 period, with a vision to 2050?

Located in the center of the southwest subregion of the Hau River, Hau Giang can connect continuous tourist routes in the Mekong Delta and beyond with national tourist routes. Moreover, the province lies adjacent to Can Tho, not too far from Can Tho International Airport, very convenient to attract domestic and foreign tourists.

As a land of cultural confluence of three ethnic groups of Kinh, Hoa and Khmer, Hau Giang is rich in beliefs, customs and practices. Besides, the province is home to 17 historical and cultural relics (one special relic, eight national relics and eight provincial relics), which are suitable for developing cultural and historical tourism. Furthermore, the locality has a rich and diverse cuisine cooked from local agricultural products like sliced fish, pineapple tubers, pineapple wines and custard apples.

In recent years, the infrastructure system has been constructed and upgraded, especially transportation infrastructure, to enable tourism development. Besides, more than 10 years of new rural area development has given a facelift to countryside outlook, with hamlets and communes having spacious, clean and beautiful landscape. Agriculture, industry, and services have developed comprehensively. Cultural lifestyle, environment and rural security have been guaranteed. People's income, material and spiritual lives have been improved. These are the driving forces to promote rural economic development and create momentum for tourism development.

Implementing Resolution 04-NQ/TU dated November 26, 2021 of the Provincial Party Committee on industrial, agricultural, urban and tourism development in Hau Giang province in 2021 - 2025 and the following years, tourism is one of four main pillars in socioeconomic development along with the tourism component of Hau Giang Provincial Planning for the 2021 - 2030 period, with a vision to 2050, recently approved by the Prime Minister in Decision 1588/QD-TTg dated December 8, 2023. Accordingly, Hau Giang tourism is positioned for development with the main tourism products being ecotourism, agritourism, spiritual tourism, community tourism and cultural tourism. The province will focus on successfully building two key tourism products of regional and national class in the 2021 - 2025 period: Boat journey on Xa No Canal to Cau Duc pineapple village and ecotourism in Lung Ngoc Hoang Nature Reserve, Phung Hiep district. The goal is to welcome 700,000 visitors (including 28,000 international visitors) and earn total tourism revenue of over VND300 billion by 2025 and successfully build six tourist destinations in Vi Thanh City, Nga Bay City, Vi Thuy district, Chau Thanh A district, Chau Thanh district, Phung Hiep district. By 2030, Lung Ngoc Hoang Nature Reserve will be added to the list of potential locations for national tourism development.

Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh at a survey trip of the Lung Ngoc Hoang Nature Reserve

After two years of executing Resolution 04-NQ/TU of the Executive Board of the Provincial People’s Committee, what improvements has Hau Giang tourism sector made?

After more than two years of implementing the “4-pillars” resolution, with the close support and direction of the Provincial Party Committee, the Provincial People’s Council and the Provincial People’s Committee, the participation of all levels and sectors has enabled the tourism industry to develop in accordance with the province’s actual socioeconomic conditions. Tourism communication, dissemination and education have been strengthened to enhance the awareness of Party committees, officials, sectors, levels and the entire society about tourism position and role in socioeconomic development.

Then, tourism prosperity and recovery has shown the increase in visitor arrivals to the province and total tourism revenue in the last two years. Specifically, in 2022, visitor arrivals reached 390,000 (including 11,000 international visitors) and tourism revenue was VND178 billion. In 2023, visitor arrivals totaled 519,000 (including 25,320 international visitors) and tourism revenue was VND236 billion.

Basic technical facilities for tourism ensure customer service, with 113 accommodation establishments, two dining locations, one shopping point for tourists, one restaurant boat and over 30 tourist attractions like Muong Dinh Homestay (a well-recognized tourist destination), Chuong Thien Victory Monument, Tu Sang Bamboo Garden, Spring Ecotourism Area, Ngoc Dao goat dairy farm, Bao Gia Farm Camping, Kittyd And Minnied Amusement Park, Nga Bay River Garden Ecological Area and fruit gardens in Nga Bay City.

The province has also continuously successfully organized events like Vietcombank Mekong Delta Hau Giang International Marathon, Folk Cake Contest, Digital Transformation and Innovative Startup Week - Mekong Delta 2023, NASA Week, Ao Ba Ba Costume Festival, Vietnam International Rice Festival - Hau Giang 2023. Especially, “dishes from Cau Duc pineapple” and “dishes from bronze featherback fish” of Hau Giang province were honored to receive the Asian Record certificate awarded by the Asian Records Organization. The above events have helped create an extremely positive effect on promoting and introducing the image of Hau Giang land and people.

To further operate tourist boats on Xa No Canal, a typical product for tourists, the Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism started running the Xa No tourist boat from December 7, 2023. In addition to building products, the department has coordinated with Can Tho City to survey and connect tourist destinations in the two provinces (Hau Giang and Can Tho), with inland waterway tourism - restaurant cruise ships taken as the nucleus to connect tourist attractions along the canal route.

How do you assess the cooperation and companionship of the Culture, Sports and Tourism sector with local businesses over the past two decades?

The Culture, Sports and Tourism sector has constantly cooperated with businesses, investors and people to provide tourism services. Thus, the technical infrastructure system for tourism has gradually been completed, with many service facilities and new tourist attractions put into operation to provide a fresh look for Hau Giang tourism today.

With the motto "Businesses come, Hau Giang is delighted", the province issued a resolution on tourism development investment support policies in Hau Giang province in 2020 - 2024. Accordingly, the sector has regularly coordinated with relevant sectors and localities to remove difficulties to ease organizations and individuals to access policies; cooperated with relevant departments and agencies to promptly clear difficulties for investors in implementing tourism, restaurant and hotel projects; and regularly supported and advised on investment procedures and conditions related to tourism business.

Tourism cannot develop without the companionship of tourism businesses, investors and workers. So, in the coming time, the Culture, Sports and Tourism sector of Ha Giang province will continue to research and advise on implementing tourism development support policies more effectively; coordinate with relevant bodies and localities to grasp difficulties and obstacles for workable solutions to support and facilitate businesses to invest in the tourism sector in Hau Giang province.

Thank you very much!