Ha Tien City, Kien Luong District, and U Minh Thuong District, all under Kien Giang Province in southern Vietnam, currently find it hard to woo visitors as they have a few special and outstanding tourism products although they are home to many stunning landscapes.

Du To Tuan, director of a branch of local travel company Vietravel in Rach Gia City, Kien Giang Province, on Sunday said the branch would introduce many tours to Ha Tien, Kien Luong, and U Minh Thuong during this summer holiday.

However, the two districts have few special tourism products, so the branch’s previous customers have chosen other destinations.

“Forests in U Minh Thuong are beautiful but [the district] has no tourism products. Visitors can only go fishing and visit forests," Tuan said.

“Ha Tien City is a popular tourist attraction but it should develop tourism products at night, such as allowing tourists to explore ancient houses and spiritual tourist sites or arranging boats on Dong Ho Lagoon so that they can enjoy the moonlight, listen to music, and relish delicious dishes."

Ha Tien has welcomed 1.1 million tourist arrivals since early this year, while Kien Luong has served 124,000 visitors during the period, below three percent of the total travelers to Kien Giang, according to the provincial Department of Tourism.

Kien Luong, Ha Tien, and U Minh Thuong have advantages in sea, forests, and culture, said Bui Quoc Thai, director of the Department of Tourism.

However, the three localities have shown many shortcomings in tourism development.

In particular, their tourism products are not diversified, while they have failed to attract investment in tourism.

Their traffic infrastructure, electricity and water supply, and waste treatment in some areas have yet to meet the demands of tourists. 

The promotion and connection of tours are not effective; as a result, such tours are not attractive to tourists, Thai noted.

The three localities should set aside land banks for the development of essential infrastructure and tourism projects, Thai advised. 

They should also improve waste treatment, preserve historical and cultural relic sites, enhance cooperation, and increase the quality of tourism products and services.

Kien Giang has started developing infrastructure at the Mo So Mountain historical relic site in Kien Luong District and Hoa Mai Lake in U Minh Thuong District with a total investment of more than VND80 billion (US$3.4 million).

The project will meet the demand of visitors and serve the research of national historical relic sites and landscapes.

It will also help the province consume agro-forestry-fishery products, contributing to the provincial socio-economic development, Thai emphasized.

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