Ben Tre province to develop tourism into a spearheaded economic sector

Ben Tre Province is covered with rivers, notably the Tien River, Co Chien River, Ham Luong River and its land adjacent to the sea. The province also has beautiful scenery and a favorable environment. Ben Tre has been focusing on developing tourism, gradually making it the key economic sector of the province by 2030.

A unique destination

In recent times, Ben Tre’s tourism has made remarkable progress, achieving important results. Tourism products, service quality and professionalism have been gradually improved and initially set up the brand Coconut Land’s river ecotourism.

Tourism development has contributed to promoting economic restructuring and local exports, creating many jobs, improving people’s living standards, promoting the image of the locality and the people of Ben Tre.

In Ben Tre, tourism has a great potential for development, especially tourism associated with the agricultural economy, tourism associated with the community, tourism associated with advantages from rivers, etc.

Before the COVID-19 pandemic, tourism activities in Ben Tre province achieved very encouraging results. There were more than 1.3 million tourists, an increase of nearly 22%, in which international visitors increased by 24%. The revenue from tourism reached over 1,000 billion VND.

In the new normalcy, tourism businesses in Ben Tre have soon shifted to safe adaptation to the post-COVID-19 pandemic, and have successfully restarted tourism activities.

The numbers are impressive, with over 74.000 arrivals in the province during the opening of the summer vacation (April 30 and May 1), an increase of 85% compared to the same period in 2021.

Total revenue from tourism on this occasion is estimated at over 80 billion VND, the average room capacity of tourist accommodation establishments reached 60-90%.

In fact, the development of Ben Tre’s tourism is thanks to the synergy of all levels, sectors and people in creating a friendly and hospitable Coconut Land. In addition, it is the important contribution of the business community inside and outside the province, domestically and internationally.

They have poured investments into the construction and development of many tourist spots, zones and establishments, as well as meeting the needs of tourists.

In addition, Ben Tre’s natural and geographical advantages of its unique three green isles is a “hidden treasure” for the tourism sector to capitalize on, in order to stimulate the curiosity and exploration of visitors.

The authorities and the people of the Coconut Land are gradually becoming aware of the importance of the spearhead of tourism development, which has created jobs, increased income for a majority of people and is an important source of revenue for the locality.

With its advantages and potentials, in the past, Ben Tre tourism has had a prosperous development. Many new tourist areas and attractions have been constructed, a number of accommodation and food establishments have been put into operation. The vast selection of destinations also offers various types of tourism, such as eco-tourism, experience tourism, agricultural tourism or visiting orchards, craft villages, historical sites, etc.

The province is attracting more and more both domestic and foreign tourists. Plenty of businesses have invested in and developed their establishments to suit the needs of tourists, such as Con Phung, Lan Vuong 2, Phu An Khang, Green Village, Be Village, Que Dua Eco-Culinary Village, Ha Thao, Rooster Mekong, etc.

In addition, a number of infrastructure projects have been gradually completed and put into operation, effectively meeting diverse needs, such as: Ben Tre Riverside Resort; Forever Green Resort; Mekong Resort; Hoan Cau Complex Building, etc.

Tourism not only proved itself as an industry with great growth, but also is an important contributor to the province’s economy. It also makes a great contribution to promoting the image of Ben Tre, serving as a channel for introducing local products to foreign countries.

In order to develop tourism into a spearheaded economic sector by 2030, Ben Tre has issued an Action Program with the goal of diversifying tourism in the Coconut Land, based on its nature and people. In which, the plan focuses on eco-tourism models along rivers, canals, ornamental flower gardens, cultural and historical relics, tourism on islands and beaches.

Furthermore, Ben Tre continues to maintain and develop links and cooperation in tourism with neighboring localities such as Tien Giang, Vinh Long and Tra Vinh. Each district and city of the province will develop their own peculiar tourism products, with the program “one commune, one product”, to meet the increasing demands of tourists.

In particular, coastal areas such as Binh Dai, Thanh Phu, Ba Tri will develop tourism with its own unique characteristics.

Reboot, recover and breakthrough

Implement many solutions to restore and develop tourism post-Covid-19, Ben Tre is focusing on implementing approved tourism development projects and plans to recover and make breakthroughs such as: Project No. 02-DA/TU of the Provincial Party Committee on tourism development in Ben Tre province to 2030; Action Program No. 22-CTr/TU of the Provincial Party Committee, and Plan No. 4573/KH-UBND of the Provincial People’s Committee on developing tourism into a spearhead economic sector; Implementation plan of the tourism development project to 2030; the Project of Cho Lach Cultural Tourism Village; the project of organizing the weekend markets; ....

In parallel with these tasks, through unique tourism products, the province focuses on introducing Ben Tre as a safe, friendly and quality destination. It mobilizes travel businesses to diversify its product types of tourism, concentrating on creating unique products with the Coconut Land’s characteristics; to strengthen linkages and cooperation in the development of tourism products, tours and travel routes within the province, within the region, between regions and across regions.

On the other hand, Ben Tre also focuses on developing different types of tourism, associated with preserving and promoting traditional cultural values, historical and cultural relics, and local traditional festivals to attract tourists. Also, the province continues to do the management of tourism services effectively.

The most important thing is that Ben Tre’s tourism sector has defined a clear goal: to build Ben Tre tourism brand on the basis of developing regional, local and business tourism brands, and tourism product brands; ensure consistency in building and developing tourism brands; enhancing the role of the community in building a civilized and friendly tourism community.

With these achievements and the right directions, tourism in the Coconut Land - Ben Tre will become more and more flourished, creating a distinctive feature that only the homeland of “Dong Khoi heroes” has, contributing to changing the face of the land of revolutionary tradition.