Undoubtedly, An Giang has the most potential for tourism development in the Mekong Delta. The province is home to many ethnic groups with various unique cultural features. With a diverse, rich culture, An Giang province has many festivals which are organised throughout the year, with the most famous being Ba Chua Xu Temple Festival and Bay Nui Cow Racing Festival.
An Giang province is known for its popular tourist destinations, such as the majestic That Son (Seven Mountain) Range, sacred Ba Chua Xu Temple on scenic Sam Mountain, Hang Pagoda, Thoai Ngoc Hau Tomb, and Tay An Pagoda. The province also has two special national monuments certified by the Prime Minister, namely Oc Eo - Ba The archaeological and architectural relic site in Thoai Son district, and President Ton Duc Thang Memorial Park in Ong Ho Islet in the Hau River. These are favourable conditions for the development of cultural and spiritual tourism, ecological tourism, river tourism, community tourism, sports tourism, and trekking. Besides, with a long borderline shared with Cambodia, the province is a connecting point for Mekong Delta provinces to reach Cambodia, ASEAN countries and other Asian countries. An Giang is also a transit point for inbound and outbound travellers.
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The province has focused on capitalising on these potentials to develop tourism as well as social economy.
To further take advantage of local tourism potential, An Giang province has invested to improve tourism infrastructure. Tourism products have been increasingly completed and diversified. Accommodation establishment system has been developed in both quantity and quality. Tourism personnel training, tourism promotion and regional connectivity are also the top priorities of the province. These efforts have produced positive results for the tourism industry. From 2009 to 2013, tourist arrivals to An Giang province exceeded 26.8 million, representing an average annual growth rate of 5.4 percent. Over 1.9 million tourists were served by travel companies and hotels (increasing 2.7 percent year on year), including more than 257,000 international tourists (rising 1.7 percent year on year). Tourism companies saw a weighted annual growth 2.4 percent in the period. Tourism companies and accommodation establishments are now employing 2,000 people.
However, compared with other Mekong Delta provinces, though tourist arrivals to An Giang province are the highest, the revenue is quite low. This shows that most visitors to the province finish their visits within the day, and do not often buy local products or use other tourism services. Hence, in 2013, the Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism actively advised the Provincial People's Committee on many tourism development plans and projects to improve tourism service quality. It suggested establishing the Steering Committee for Tourism Development, the Tourism Promotion Centre, and An Giang Tourism Association to introduce and popularise the image of An Giang tourism. The department also advised the Provincial People's Committee to issue regulations on orders for selecting standard travel service establishments in the province, applicable to restaurants and shops. By consistently enforcing the above solutions, An Giang will attract more domestic and foreign investors to invest in high-grade tourism projects in order to encourage tourists to stay and spend more in the province.
In the coming time, to enhance competitiveness and professionalism, the An Giang tourism sector will focus on six key tasks and solutions: Strengthening State management; diversifying tourism products with local existing potential and advantages; intensifying tourism promotion and tourism cooperation development; investing in tourism infrastructure development, developing tourism in harmony with other economic sectors, training and developing human resources. Implementing these tasks will be the focus until 2015, with a vision to 2020.
PV
Hoang Ngoc
Vietnamese
