World Coffee Museum is a must-visit destination in Buôn Ma Thuột City in Đắk Lắk Province. — Photo laodong.vn

HCM CITY — HCM City and the Central Highlands province of Đắk Lắk are enhancing connectivity to create new tourism products and attract more visitors.

At a recent meeting between HCM City and Đắk Lắk tourism enterprises in HCM City, Nguyễn Thụy Phương Hiếu, the Deputy Director of Đắk Lắk Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism, said, “Đắk Lắk has huge potential for tourism development.”

Đắk Lắk possesses a variety of traditional regional cultures with 49 ethnic groups. The province has a rich system of natural resources, with 41 recognised monuments, three museums, 225 tourist accommodation establishments, 27 famous tourist attractions and majestic landscapes.

Over the years, the province has issued many policies to attract investment, develop different types of tourism, and cooperate with tourism businesses to survey, build and develop eco-tourism and community-based tourism products. Farming, agriculture, craft villages, and experiential tourism are other attractions. Đắk Lắk tourism industry hopes to connect with many tourism and travel businesses throughout the country to attract a large number of tourists to the province.

At the event, travel agencies introduced new tourism products linking the city and the region, such as tours from HCM City to Lâm Đồng - Đắk Nông - Đắk Lắk, or to Đắk Lắk - Gia Lai - Kon Tum.

These tours will introduce tourists to the region’s significant historic sites, such as the prison of Buôn Ma Thuột City in Đắk Lắk Province, which was a prison during wartime. It was recognised as a national relic in 1980.

The Museum of Đắk Lắk Province is also among the most awaited for destinations in tours. The 9,200sq.m construction was designed based on the traditional house of the Ê Đê people and showcases numerous artefacts reflecting the history and culture of the region.

The tours will also include tourist sites, such as the Kotam Community Resort and the World Coffee Museum, which has numerous artefacts from around the world, including antique coffee containers and cups, and traditional harvest tools of the Central Highlands.

According to travel agencies, the city and Đắk Lắk should co-organise events to promote new tourism products, especially products carrying the cultural identity of the region.

They also urged Đắk Lắk to improve its accommodation and food services, offer training for tourism workers, and raise awareness of community tourism activities.

The agencies called on the province to solicit investment in transportation infrastructure to connect tourism sites and destinations within the province.

Experts said that Đắk Lắk had not fulfilled its tourism potential. Through the conference, they hoped it could connect with leading travel agencies in HCM City to work together to promote the region’s tourism and build more tourism products

Trần Thiên Long, deputy chairman and general secretary of the HCM City Export Processing Zone and Industrial Park Authority Business Association, said companies and enterprises in industrial clusters and parks in the city were very interested in policies that improve the quality of lives of workers. Through the survey programme, representatives of businesses would choose suitable and attractive destinations and tours in Đắk Lắk Province for workers in the near future. — VNS