Tourists visit a mango orchard in Đồng Tháp Province’s Cao Lãnh City. – VNA/VNS Photo Nhựt An

ĐỒNG THÁP – The Cửu Long (Mekong) Delta province of Đồng Tháp is boosting the development of agricultural tourism to exploit its potential and improve income for farmers.

The province has many rivers and canals, vast rice fields and fruit orchards, and these are favourable conditions for developing agricultural tourism.

Lê Quang Biểu, deputy director of the province's Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism, said the province has many well-known agricultural products, friendly farmers, historic and cultural values and special southern foods, and these are advantages for developing community-based and agricultural tourism.

It has 72 tourism destinations which are attached to agriculture and craft villages, he said.

In 2016-22, the province’s agricultural tourism received more than 4.3 million tourists and earned total revenue of VNĐ519 billion (US$22 million).

During the period, the city of Sa Đéc received 3.6 million tourists, including 150,000 foreigners.

The city’s Sa Đéc Flower village is one of most famous agricultural tourism destinations in the province and has 1,968 households growing a total of 313ha of flowers and ornamental plants.

The village’s products are sold in the delta, HCM City and central region, and are exported to Cambodia.

The province, which has the largest lotus growing area in the delta, has developed tourism services in lotus fields, mostly in Tháp Mười District, in recent years.

Visiting lotus fields, tourists can row a boat to watch lotus, fish and enjoy lotus-related foods.

In 2016, five households in Tháp Mười District began offering tourism services in their lotus fields and the model has been expanded by many lotus growing farmers.

The district’s lotus fields receive more than 10,000 visitors a month, according to the department.

Lai Vung District, which is well-known for specialty pink mandarin orchards, has attracted a large number of visitors during the harvest season before Tết (the Lunar New Year) between December and February.

The district has planted the fruit for nearly 100 years and now has about 250ha of trees. Pink mandarin orchards look beautiful in the harvest season.

The province has developed tourism services in mango, dragon fruit and other fruit orchards.

Trần Phú Hậu in Cao Lãnh District’s Mỹ Xương Commune said his family’s mango orchard has officially received tourists since 2022 and agricultural and community-based tourism has become a trend.

Many tourists are interested in the model of green agricultural tourism in Mỹ Xương tourism village in the commune, he said.

“Visiting the village, tourists can experience the life of a farmer and eat delicious fruits and other agricultural products,” he said.

To develop agricultural tourism, the province has taken various measures, including implementing advertising activities and festivals.

In April 28 - May 1, the province organised its Mango Festival 2023 with many activities, attracting about 150,000 visitors.

Đồng Tháp is the delta’s largest mango producing province and has more than 14,000ha of mango. – VNS