When talking about Ca Mau’s tourism, it is worth mentioning attractive cultural and eco tours that cannot be found anywhere else. It is this advantage that creates Ca Mau unique features. Ca Mau has been paying attention to developing these tourism products, making enthusiastic contribution to local socio-economic development.
Unique and different
Ca Mau is the Southernmost province of Vietnam. This land is generously blessed with diversified ecological areas. Ca Mau is becoming an appealing destination for both local and international tourists. What is worth mentioning first and foremost is forest-based tourism potential. Mangrove forest, Western Sea protection forest and U Minh Ha mangrove forest which are recognized as world biosphere reserve area have drawn attention of many local and international tourists. U Minh Ha mangrove forest has been well known for a long time and is an attractive and interesting tourist site. Visiting these eco tourism places, tourists are not only entitled to beautiful scenery but also local delicious food.
In addition to U Minh Ha mangrove forest, Dat Mui (Cape Land) attracts the largest number of tourists in Ca Mau. This area is considered as prosperous land since it annually keeps expanding towards the sea. Particularly, Dat Mui has been recognized by UNESCO as world biosphere reserve area and Hon Da Bac, as a national historical relic, by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism. These constitute ideal conditions for Ca Mau to boost its tourism development. In 2003, Dat Mui Nature Reserve was turned into “Cape Ca Mau National Park” with an aim to protecting national and international eco standard samples, developing eco tourism, serving scientific research, preserving bio diversity and contributing to national defence.
Besides developing eco tourism, Ca Mau also pays attention to developing cultural and festival tourism products. Nghinh Ong festival is not for local people only but for tourists as well. “Don ca tai tu” folk music is a unique cultural feature of Ca Mau, in particular and of Southern West provinces, in general. It is by its nature of great interest to those who want to get to know and enjoy and gets more and more attractive when being incorporated into eco tours.
Cooperation for development
Ca Mau possesses a great potential for cultural ecotourism development which is inherently very diverse with various ecotourism types, attracting travelers faraway to this distant land. In 2011, Ca Mau welcomed more than 800,000 visitors including over 20,000 international, which helped churn out total revenue of VND 170 billion. This is the most impressive result in terms of tourism revenue as well as visitors’ volume that the province has achieved so far.
Fully aware of the importance of potential tourism types, Ca Mau has always paid due attention to developing this cutting-edge sector so as to insure its important role in implementing the goals of economic growth, poverty reduction, job generation and living standard improvement. Currently, the province is investing in the construction of internal roads in the eco-tourism area, calling on investors to build and expand the resort and accommodation establishments at the tourist site and promoting the completion of the master plan of tourism development for the whole province, each district and each area. The provincial authorities have created all favorable conditions for enterprises including non-state ones to participate in the investment and exploitation of tourist sites in the province provided that they ensure the compliance with strict regulations on environmental protection as well as the practices and longstanding traditions of local people.
To improve the quality of tourism, Ca Mau will also focus on the development of professional human resources at key tourist areas such as Cape Ca Mau and U Minh Ha National Park ... Simultaneously, it is essential to diversify and improve quality of tourism products, promote the advantages of the local unique tourist products to attract visitors. In order for tourism to develop in the right direction, from now to 2015, the province will also concentrate on development of tourism infrastructure with special focus laid on the work items in Dat Mui, Silver Stone, and National Park.
Thanh Tan
Vietnamese
