Ca Mau province should tap its potential for responsible, eco and community-based tourism in order to help the local sector develop sustainably, Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc said on December 10.

Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc (middle) at the opening ceremony 

Addressing the opening ceremony of a culture-tourism week in Ngoc Hien district, Ca Mau province, on December 10, the leader asked the Mekong Delta province to focus on preserving and promoting the values of its ecosystem, and utilize the advantages of its World Biosphere Reserve for tourism development and scientific research.

He also applauded the achievements Ca Mau’s Party Committee, authorities and people have recorded over the years.

The locality welcomed more than 1.24 million holidaymakers in 2018, up 16 percent against the previous year, and earned over 2.2 trillion VND (95 million USD) from the sector.

The number of tourists to the province is expected to reach nearly 1.7 million this year, he said.

The leader said that restructuring the economy and spurring tourism and service development are sustainable steps towards adapting to climate change in the Mekong Delta.

Nguyen Tien Hai, chairman of the provincial People’s Committee, said the programme creates an opportunity for investors and businesses to exchange experience and propose breakthroughs to help Ca Mau’s tourism sector to connect with other localities nationwide and in the Mekong Delta region, while bringing Vietnam and other regional countries closer together.

During the event, Ca Mau will showcase typical products of the submerged ecosystem, he said.

On the occasion, Ca Mau held a ceremony to inaugurate a 149 billion VND flag tower that imitates the one in Hanoi and was a gift from the capital’s Party, authorities and people.