Can Tho: Linking to promote local tourism development

Linkage is considered one of the keys to promoting tourism development in localities, both diversifying tourism products and connecting and expanding the tourist market. In the context of many changes in development space, localities also strengthen tourism linkage activities. In the integration process, Can Tho City promotes tourism linkage with many diverse and focused forms.

Links in tourism promotion

Promotion is a regular activity that the local tourism industry carries out to connect and expand the tourist market every year. Accordingly, activities of displaying and introducing tourism products and services of businesses are shared and connected.

Promoting tourism before the merger of Can Tho, Hau Giang and Soc Trang cities in Hue in May.

Since the beginning of the year, Can Tho City has organized many tourism promotion activities, including creating useful connections for businesses and localities in the regional tourism cluster. Notable are the promotion activities in Hue of Can Tho City and Hau Giang and Soc Trang provinces before the merger; and the display and introduction of tourism products in a new space when Can Tho City merges.

Ms. Dao Thi Thanh Thuy, Deputy Director of the Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism (DOCST) of Can Tho City, said: “Last May, we had a tourism promotion event in Hue. This was a premise for us to grasp and evaluate the tourism potential of the locality as well as the interest of the Central market in the West. In July, we had a showcase of new products of the localities when they merged into Can Tho City. Here, tourism businesses had the opportunity to meet, connect and share to join together to build new products for the city's tourism.”

The above activities took place before and after the merger of Can Tho City, with the participation of all three localities, showing the proactiveness of the city's tourism industry in adapting to the new situation. Accordingly, promotional activities are also more innovative and dynamic, transferring more initiative to local tourism businesses.

Specifically, B2B activities (business-to-business meetings) are combined in promotional activities, creating conditions for businesses to meet, exchange, share and introduce products together, thereby promoting effective cooperation.

Ms. Ngo Nguyen Hong Loan, Director of Ngo Phuong Dong Tourism Company (Can Tho), commented: “The B2B activity in the conference to promote and advertise Can Tho city’s tourism in Hue is an innovation, creating conditions for our tourism businesses to connect and share many products and services together, conveying new points in Hue, the Central region to the Mekong Delta and vice versa”.

Sharing the same view, Ms. Nguyen Kim Thuy, Chairwoman of the Board of Directors of Ky Nhu Cooperative (formerly Hau Giang), said: "This is the first time I have participated in a conference to promote and advertise tourism, including practical activities for our businesses to introduce themselves, exchange and connect with each other."

Mr. Ha Van Sieu, Deputy Director of the Vietnam National Administration of Tourism, said: “The participation and unity of Can Tho City in promoting and advertising in Hue shows the proactiveness of local tourism activities. Many opportunities have opened up, mobilizing more concentrated resources, creating a combined strength and diverse and effective destination promotion communication. Thereby, gradually promoting market connections and destination linkage chains between the two regions of the Mekong Delta and the North Central Coast, in which Can Tho and Hue play a central role.”

Thus, the synergy in tourism promotion activities not only creates a combined strength but also maximizes resources, while at the same time renewing and diversifying promotion methods and approaching the market more effectively in a new context and open space.

Links in tourism product development

Ms. Dao Thi Thanh Thuy, Deputy Director of the Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism of Can Tho City, shared: “Can Tho City currently has an open space in terms of scale, area, infrastructure... which are advantages and conditions for tourism development. Can Tho City currently has many diverse tourist areas, destinations, accommodations, and craft villages, accordingly, tourism products will have more highlights. We are reviewing and synthesizing tourism products of localities, on that basis, seeing what the highlights are to prepare for the work of building new products, promoting the value of tourism resources of each locality, creating unique linked products to attract tourists”.

Mr. Tran Thanh Thai, Director of Mekong Smile Tourism Trading Joint Stock Company (Can Tho City), said: “In the new space, Can Tho City has a lot of tourism potential. Surveying and rebuilding tourism products is a must, especially for travel agencies like us. However, the process of building and bringing products to tourists often requires time for research and evaluation. When merged, Can Tho now stands out with its ecological, cultural, and marine resources, so building products will be easier and there will be more experiences for tourists to explore. However, to create a new product system, it requires the cooperation of many parties: local authorities, the tourism business community, and people working in tourism.”

Mr. Tran Thanh Thai gave a specific example of the process of building the tourism product of the Death Anniversary tour on Con Son. With this product, his company surveyed and connected with many households doing tourism on Con Son for more than 6 months, gradually perfecting and bringing the tour to the market. This product was formed based on market analysis, the trend of "death anniversary on the island" from social networks combined with exploiting the value of indigenous cultural resources, and at the same time based on the feedback of tourists. Thus, the product has its own color and is accessible to tourists.

“Similar to Cu Lao Dung or Lung Ngoc Hoang, we also see the potential to build unique tourism products, but currently access to these destinations is limited in terms of infrastructure and destination management. Therefore, we also need support mechanisms from the government. Building tourism products must be based on community connections to be effective,” added Mr. Tran Thanh Thai.

Ms. Cao Thi Ngoc Lan, Permanent Vice President of the Vietnam Tourism Association, said: “The tourism space of localities in the Mekong Delta has changed when there were changes in administrative boundaries. Therefore, localities need to review and complete the tourism planning system compatible with the development space of new provinces and cities, thereby shaping tourist routes and destinations imbued with the cultural identity of the region. Focus on developing typical tourism products of new provinces and cities, in which priority is given to green, ecological and community tourism; focus on building a common action program, promoting regional linkages”.

Ms. Dao Thi Thanh Thuy, Deputy Director of the Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism of Can Tho City, informed that the city's tourism industry is consulting and developing a tourism program for 2025-2026, focusing on perfecting tourism products and destinations, and proposing policies to support tourism development and attract visitors. Currently, the Can Tho tourism industry has mobilized and cooperated with tourism businesses to develop and launch 150 stimulus packages, and at the same time, developed a plan to survey new products, aiming to build a series of day and night products in a new tourism space.

Linking is always one of the solutions chosen by many localities to promote tourism development. Not only helping to diversify the product system, linking is also the premise to open up many opportunities to connect markets and mechanisms to promote regional economic development through tourism.

According to Can Tho newspaper

Source: https://bvhttdl.gov.vn/can-tho-lien-ket-thuc-day-phat-trien-du-lich-dia-phuong-20250723145407583.htm