Minister Counsellor at the Embassy of Việt Nam in Thailand Hoàng Diễm Hạnh speaks at the conference. — VNA/VNS Photo Đỗ Sinh

BANGKOK — A delegation from Cần Thơ held a business networking conference in Bangkok on August 5 to promote the Mekong Delta city's tourism potential and strengthen cooperation with Thai partners.

The event brought together representatives from the Vietnamese Embassy and the Vietnam Trade Office in Thailand, the Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT), and more than 30 businesses from the two countries.

In her speech, Minister Counsellor at the Embassy of Việt Nam in Thailand Hoàng Diễm Hạnh welcomed Cần Thơ's decision to choose Thailand for its tourism promotion programme, saying it offered an opportunity not only to introduce the city's attractions but also to exchange experience in developing tourism linked to preserving traditional cultural values.

She expressed confidence that stronger links between riverside localities, tourism management agencies and businesses of the two countries will create new opportunities for cooperation, improve tourism products and contribute to the sustainable development of the Mekong region.

Vice Chairwoman of the municipal People's Committee Nguyễn Thị Ngọc Diệp, who headed the Cần Thơ delegation, highlighted Cần Thơ's improving transport infrastructure and its strategic position as a gateway to the Mekong Delta for domestic and international visitors.

Cần Thơ boasts distinctive tourism assets, including the Cái Răng floating market, fruit orchards, traditional craft villages, southwestern cuisine and festivals reflecting southern cultural identity, she said, noting that the city is pursuing high-quality, sustainable and smart tourism development, with priorities including ecotourism, resort tourism, cultural and spiritual tourism, MICE tourism, and digital transformation in tourism promotion and management.

Through the conference, the city hopes to strengthen links with Thai businesses and investors to develop tourism projects in Cần Thơ, contributing to more diverse tourism products in ASEAN while bringing practical benefits to businesses and local communities of both nations, Diệp said.

Attendees of the conference take a group photo. — VNA/VNS Photo Đỗ Sinh

Ratiwan Boonprakhong, Director of the Southeast Asia, South Asia and South Pacific market division at the TAT, said Cần Thơ has strong potential to attract Thai visitors. She suggested that the Vietnamese city further capitalise on its strengths, particularly Mekong agricultural tourism, while identifying target market segments to develop suitable tourism products.

According to Ratiwan, Cần Thơ is well suited to travellers seeking nature-based and slow-paced experiences. She stressed that authentic local experiences, rather than altering the city's cultural identity, will make the destination more attractive.

Community participation, she added, is essential to sustainable tourism development, allowing local people to showcase their lifestyles and products while improving their livelihoods.

The event reflected the municipal authorities' strong commitment to local economic and tourism development, while also providing Vietnamese businesses with an opportunity to learn from Thailand's experience, particularly in developing floating-market tourism, Huỳnh Thanh Tuấn, Director of An Phú Thiên JSC, told the Vietnam News Agency’s correspondents in Bangkok.

Tuấn said he was particularly impressed by the TAT representative's emphasis on putting people at the centre of tourism development. He expressed his desire to learn from Thailand's experience and apply it in the Mekong Delta, particularly in Cần Thơ city, to promote more coordinated and balanced tourism development.

Meanwhile, Nguyễn Văn Minh, Chairman of the Thailand-Vietnamese Business Association in Bangkok and neighbouring areas, said the event inspired plans to organise visits by overseas Vietnamese entrepreneurs to explore investment and business opportunities in Cần Thơ.

He added that restoring the direct Bangkok–Cần Thơ air route, suspended after the COVID-19 pandemic, will help boost tourism to Cần Thơ and neighbouring provinces. — VNA/VNS