The Tourism and Culture Week 2017 will take place on December 23 to 31 in the Mekong Delta province of Dong Thap.

The week aims to create the conditions necessary for businesses to exchange and cooperate together in promoting the local tourism sector and to preserve and promote traditional handicraft villages and culture among domestic and international visitors.

With the theme “Itinerary Connecting the Phuong Nam (Southern Region) Cultural Heritage”, the week will include activities such as a food space with cooking performances and serving traditional dishes from the Mekong Delta, a Green Agriculture Fair for local green products, an exhibition of handicraft products, including mat weaving and silk weaving, performances of “cai luong” (southern Vietnam folk music), and dragon dances.

Within the framework of the week will be travel conferences and exhibitions introducing tourist attractions, culture and heritage tours, and new tourism products and services.

Other activities include visits to fruit gardens, craft villages, historical relics in Lai Vung district, flower gardens in Sa Dec city, and a “Ghost Market”, the launch of new community and homestay tourist spots in Lap Vo district, and exhibitions on Hoang Sa and Truong Sa islands in the East Sea.

Dong Thap is 165 km from Ho Chi Minh City and shares a 52-km border with Cambodia.

It has a broad network of canals for irrigation and waterway transportation and has about 10,000 ha of forests. Its fauna and flora are multiform, including tortoises, turtles, snakes, fish, shrimp, pythons, storks, birds, rice, lotus, water lilies, and, especially, red-headed cranes. 

The best time for travelling to Dong Thap is from August to September, with lotus gardens blooming in August. Dong Thap is a great place for those who love nature, with gardens, rivers, and national parks.

The most popular destinations are the revered Nguyen Sinh Sac gravesite, the Xeo Quyt Relic, the Gao Giong Ecological Tourist Area, Tram Chim National Park, the Go Thap Archaeological Area, the Sa Dec Flower Village, and Huynh Thuy Le’s Ancient House.

Tram Chim National Park was recognized as a World Ramsar Site in 2012. It is spread over an area of 7,313 ha and has abundant flora and fauna, with over 130 species of vascular plants and 100 species of vertebrates, 40 species of fish, and nearly 200 types of waterfowl. 

An eco-friendly tour has been launched to the national park. Visitors can enjoy a 12km electric car route and a solar-powered boat ride.

Dong Thap welcomed more than 2.4 million visitors in the first nine months of this year, including over 60,000 international tourists, up 51 and 10.5 per cent, respectively, year-on-year, according to the latest data from the provincial Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism.   

VN Economic Times