Visitors buy fruits from traders at the Cái Răng Floating Market in Cần Thơ City, one of the most attractive destinations in the Cửu Long (Mekong) Delta. — VNA/VNS Photo Thúy Hằng

CẦN THƠ — The Cửu Long (Mekong) Delta city of Cần Thơ is seeking ways to keep tourists coming back to the Cái Răng Floating Market, one of the region's unique and attractive destinations.

According to Sầm Long Giang, deputy director of the city’s Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism, the department is building a project on the preservation and development of the Cái Răng Floating Market in the new period.

Under the project, the market will be restructured to meet practical requirements for sustainable development, while still preserving indigenous cultural values.

The Cái Răng Floating Market first appeared 100 years ago, becoming a destination for agricultural products in the Mekong Delta.

Apart from selling fruits and vegetables from the city, it also offers special agricultural products from neighbouring provinces. The region’s food, specialties and handicraft products are also brought to the market.

The market opens every day from 4am to 9am. It once attracted up to 300 boats, but now there are around 100–200 boats.

In 2016, the Cái Răng Floating Market was recognised as a national intangible cultural heritage.

Trương Văn Vinh, permanent deputy chairman of the city’s Tourism Association, said the floating market and river tourism are signature traits of Cần Thơ. Hence, the city needs to focus on developing more tourism products related to the floating market.

Vinh said the association is studying new tours to connect the floating market to more tourist attractions, offering diverse services to enhance the tourist experience, such as cuisine and art performances from different regions.

Only six kilometres from downtown Cần Thơ, the Cái Răng Floating Market is the most popular destination for tourists.

Travel agencies in the city and neighbouring provinces are currently launching a boat tour to visit the market in the morning, watch the sunrise, have breakfast and coffee, and listen to tài tử music on the river. The tour also connects craft villages near the market.

Trần Mạnh Khang, director of Như Y Travel Company, said local authorities need to revive goods trading and exchange activities at the floating market to preserve its original values.

Khang added that the city should increase investment in infrastructure, such as wharves to maintain commercial connections on the riverbank, and work on policies to support traders in the market to help them upgrade vehicles and boost goods trading.

Deputy Director Giang said the department is assessing the current situation of the Cái Răng Floating Market, collecting opinions from cultural researchers and experts, and travel businesses, and calling on investors to develop tourism in the market and preserve its cultural value. — VNS