HANOI: The southernmost province of Ca Mau is developing community ecotourism as a key tourism product to attract visitors and promote the industry.

Tran Hieu Hung, director of Ca Mau’s Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism, says community ecotourism offers interesting experiences for tourists to explore the province’s diverse nature and culture.

He adds that the province will attract investors with ecotourism products, offering visitors an opportunity to escape from crowded urban areas and enjoy fresh air and rustic cuisine to refresh themselves.

With untouched landscapes and rich biodiversity, Ca Mau has a lot of potential and advantages for the development of sustainable ecotourism.

Over 100 km away from Ca Mau town, Cape Ca Mau National Park, located between Ngic Hien and Nam Can districts, has a system of rivers and canals interspersed with mangrove swamps and vast melaleuca forests.

The 41,000-hectare park was recognized as a Unesco World Biosphere Reserve in 2009. It is also a Ramsar site, the fifth in Vietnam and the second in the Mekong Delta.

The Ministry of Construction recently assessed a master plan to develop the park into a national tourism site by 2030.

The site will have a total area of ​​20,100 ha and will consist of functional areas such as a nature reserve, a cultural space and an entertainment area with malls, resorts and restaurants.

The province emphasizes that sustainable development is its top priority to protect the environment, the natural landscape and the lives of local people.

Under the project, the park will become the largest ecotourism center in the province and one of the most visited destinations in the Mekong Delta by 2025.

It aims to receive more than 1 million visitors, including 6,000 foreigners by 2025, and 2 million visitors, including 22,000 international visitors by 2030.

Hung says the park brings not only economic benefits but also a clean environment to the province, as well as creating favorable conditions for ecotourism, sightseeing, relaxation and scientific research.

Nguyen Duc Trung, deputy director of the Ca Mau Tourism Promotion Center, says that in order to develop sustainable and environmentally friendly community-based ecotourism, local governments, tourism businesses, including homestays, should focus on unique products and experiences that highlights the beauty of the landscape and its cultural features.

Ca Mau introduces diversified tourism products, such as a tour that crosses Cape Ca Mau National Park to explore the biodiversity of mangrove swamps and the lives of local residents.

The U Minh Ha National Park tour also offers interesting activities for tourists such as a trip through the melaleuca forests, fishing and gac keo ong (literally, luring bees to build hives on tilted wooden poles), a craft uniquely recognized as national. intangible cultural heritage in 2020.

Located about 25 km from Cà Mau city, the 8,000 ha national park in U Minh and Tran Van Thoi districts has various varieties of flora and fauna typical of a seasonal wetland.

Le Van Que from northern Nam Dinh province, who visited Ca Mau Cape for the first time, says he was impressed by the mangrove swamps and the land’s charming scenery.

The 79-year-old man took a photo at the national coordinate marker at GPS number 0001 – the southernmost point on the mainland of Vietnam, and took a speedboat across the mangrove swamps to admire the land and nature.

Tran Van Huong, a homestead owner in Dat Mui Commune of Ngoc Hien District, says: “The community ecotourism development model associated with forest protection has brought many benefits to my family and neighboring households.”

“Visitors’ favorite activities in Ca Mau are exploring the mangrove swamps, catching fish, clams and prawns and enjoying local dishes such as fermented seafood and wild vegetable hot pot and sweet and sour gray catfish soup,” he says .

Huong says he hopes local authorities will invest in waterway and road transport infrastructure to create convenience for tourists and provide skills training and share knowledge and experiences with local tourism workers.

Director of tourism department Hùng says: “The province has issued priority policies for tourism development to attract investors in infrastructure and tourist areas and destinations and to promote the images of Ca Mau for domestic and international tourists.”

New destinations

According to the province’s master plan for tourism development by 2030, Ca Mau will focus on developing and calling for investment in the ecotourism areas of Thi Tuong Lagoon in the three districts of Cai Nuoc, Tran Van Thoi and Phu Tan, Trem River in U Minh District . , and Khoai Islands in Ngoc Hien District.

Thi Tuong Lagoon, 27 km from Ca Mau town, is the largest natural lagoon in the Mekong Delta.

It has a total water area of ​​over 700 ha and is home to various types of fish, coconuts, shrimps and crabs.

The lagoon is also known for its beautiful nature, where visitors can enjoy a peaceful environment and experience the daily activities of the locals.

Visitors should not miss the Xeo Duoc Party Provincial Committee Base when visiting the lagoon.

The site was the headquarters of the Ca Mau Rural Revolutionary Campaign between 1960 and 1975 against the Saigon regime and was recognized as a Provincial Historic Relic Site in 2007.

Meanwhile, the Trem River ecotourism area has a total area of ​​110 ha, with forest ecosystems of over 300 species of plants and animals.

Surrounded by green forests, mountains and beautiful beaches, the Khoai Islands are an attractive destination for visitors to Ca Mau.

It is also known for its extremely rich flora, with over 1,400 species, ranging from century-old trees to fruit trees.

“The province and tourism enterprises have done their best to promote community ecotourism,” says Director Hung.

“The province expects to have support from tourism experts and investors to develop new tourism activities, hosts and tourist areas to attract more visitors.”

According to the department, Ca Mau has 34 community and host tourism areas, including two provincial sites.

The province aims to receive more than 2.35 million visitors in 2024 and have a total tourism income of VNĐ3.48 trillion ($137 million).

The number of arrivals in the first ten months of this year was over 1.7 million.

Total tourism revenue reached over VNĐ2.55 trillion (US$100.4 million), up 6.16% from the same period last year. – Vietnam News/ANN