Can Tho (VNA) - Stretching for 55 km along the Hau River,Can Tho city boasts favourable conditions to develop river-borne tourism, a typicalproduct of the locality.

Located in the heart of the Mekong Delta, Can Tho is known as a typical“metropolis of river area”. Over the recent past, the city has been investingheavily in its typical products to distinguish itself from other regionallocalities. One of the products defined in this work is river-borne tourismwith famous names like Ninh Kieu wharf, Cai Rang floating market and Phong Dienfloating market.

Its 55-km stretch along the Hau River is a favourable condition fordeveloping river-borne tourism. Famous for not only Cai Rang floating market,Can Tho is also known far and wide for many places like Phong Dien floatingmarket, Ninh Kieu wharf, Can Tho ancient market, southern Truc Lam Zenmonastery, Binh Thuy communal house, Can Tho bridge, Ong pagoda, tomb of top laureateBui Huu Nghia, etc. Along the river are many eco gardens like the My Khanhtourism village, Son islet and Chuoi canal where visitors can call on and enjoymany kinds of fresh fruits. All those create favourable conditions for Can Thoto develop typical products to attract tourists with its uniquecharacteristics.

Deputy Director of the Can Tho Department of Culture, Sports andTourism Nguyen Minh Tuan said the city has been commercialising the rivertourism lines starting from Ninh Kieu wharf to sites of interest and orchards, themost popular are the Ninh Kieu – Cai Rang – Phong Dien route and the Ninh Kieu– Binh Thuy one.

In the evening of December 11, the Victoria Mekong Cruises jointventure inaugurated the Victoria Mekong cruise ship at Cai Cui port in Cai Rangdistrict, Can Tho city. This is one of the first four-star cruises startingfrom Can Tho to bring tourists to Phnom Penh of Cambodia in 3- to 4-nighttrips.

A representative of the company said on board the ship, tourists canjoin classes on gastronomy, enjoy performances of the Khmer and folk music ofthe Mekong Delta. On the land, they can visit famous places like Cai Rangfloating market in Can Tho city and traditional craft villages on Ong Ho islet;have an insight of the convergence of the Vietnamese, Chinese, Khmer and Chamcivilisations in An Giang; and enjoy interesting stories of locals on thehistory of the region.

The selection of Can Tho as the home port for the Victoria Mekongcruise instead of Cai Be in Tien Giang province like many other operators lieswithin the long-term strategy of the Victoria Mekong Cruises of developing CanTho into a river-borne tourism centre, connecting the Mekong Delta withCambodia. Most of the tourists using the ship will be foreigners.

In 2015, Can Tho was honoured by the Mysterious World as one of themost beautiful cities with canals in the world. In November 2018, it wasselected by the Earthworld, a magazine specialised in sharing information onnatural scenic beauties around the globe, as one of the 10 most beautiful citieswith canals in the world. In August 2019, Can Tho was once again included inthe list of the 15 most beautiful cities with canals in the world by the GettyImages, along with Venice of Italy, St. Petersburg of Russia, Amsterdam of theNetherlands, and Birmingham of the UK.

Currently, the accommodation time by tourists in Can Tho is from one totwo days, while the number of those who spend from three days there is verysmall, as a result of the absence of night activities. This requires thetourism authorities of Can Tho to roll out diverse activities to lengthentourists’ stay. That is why Can Tho authorities are prioritising thedevelopment of the two typical tourist products, namely the river-borne tourismand MICE, through the implementation of a project on the building anddeveloping of typical tourism products of Can Tho city for the 2018-2020 period,with a vision to 2030./.