Can Tho tourism position brand destination

OCOP product display point at Cai Rang floating market

Building and developing tourism products associated with destination brands plays an important role in attracting tourists and creating tourism identity in Can Tho city. Over the past time, the city's tourism industry has been constantly building and renewing in order to locate destinations, as well as typical tourism products, contributing to changing the face of Can Tho's smokeless industry.

Locating by indigenous cultural and tourism resources

Can Tho is developing many types of tourism, in which its strengths are MICE tourism (tourism combined with conferences and seminars) and river tourism. In the project of developing specific products for Can Tho city in the period of 2018-2020, with a vision to 2030, it is clearly defined that MICE and river tourism are the main products, in addition to the supporting forms: ecotourism, craft village tourism, agricultural experience tourism, historical-cultural sightseeing tourism. With these orientations, Can Tho is focusing a lot of resources to create a system of diverse tourism products imbued with river culture. In which, efforts to build destination brands through projects.

"Building, exploiting and developing the brand of community tourism in Son Son" is a project presided over by the Department of Science and Technology of the city, orienting to build and develop the collective brand "Alcohol community tourism". Son” in order to optimally exploit the potential advantages of indigenous tourism in the dunes. With this project, Son Son tourism will be branded methodically through branding, improving the quality of community tourism products, towards sustainable development.

Besides Son islet, Cai Rang floating market and Thuan Hung rice paper craft village are also developing projects to position the brand. Specifically, the Project on Conservation and Development of the Cai Rang Floating Market Culture has been available since 2016 with many contents orienting to preserve and promote the floating market culture associated with tourism development. In which, it is also oriented to build Cai Rang floating market to become a destination to attract domestic and international tourists, gradually creating branded products typical for Can Tho tourism. The project is currently being adjusted and supplemented in a new phase. Meanwhile, the craft of making rice paper Thuan Hung (Thot Not) has also been recognized as a national intangible cultural heritage and is being oriented by the locality to build a brand, contributing to preserving local typical products. , gradually turning the craft village into a tourist attraction.

The construction and development of typical local specialties and agricultural products associated with tourism are also being coordinated by the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development and the City's Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism. OCOP products to destinations, tourist areas. Recently, the OCOP - Can Tho City Specialty Product Showcase was launched at Nha Be noodle shop, on Cai Rang floating market. The launch of a display point on the floating market will open up opportunities to connect and promote local specialties to visitors. Thereby also contributing to the preservation and promotion of the cultural value of Cai Rang floating market.

Bringing OCOP products to connect with tourism is one of the orientations of the Rural Tourism Development Program in the construction of new rural areas by 2025 in the city, which defines "promoting tourism development". sustainable tourism on the basis of green growth, associated with rural tourism development, OCOP products and indigenous cultural resource values, strengths of each locality. At the same time, carry out promotional activities, promote tourism, build a network of typical rural tourism destinations and products associated with new rural construction.

On this basis, Can Tho focuses on developing quality, diverse and different tourism products associated with the city's distinctive identity, experiential and high added value in line with the market orientation. and suitable to the needs of each object; building and implementing pilot models of rural tourism development towards green, responsible and sustainable tourism, step by step positioning tourism brands for sustainable development.

Sustainable development associated with diversification of tourism products

The Can Tho Tourism Association and the city's Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism are also working together to develop a set of sustainable tourism criteria. Accordingly, Can Tho has developed 6 sets of criteria and indicators for sustainable tourism applied to 6 small and medium-sized tourism business models: hotel, travel, eco-lodge, tourism community-based, homestay and attractions. At the same time, the locality also orients to build sustainable tourism brands and products with key products: Mekong River tourism, agricultural tourism, craft villages, and Can Tho cuisine. In which focus on river culture, indigenous values...

Can Tho tourism industry also positions a clear brand with the orientation of developing city tourism to become an "ideal - safe - friendly tourist destination", the convergence of "Western River Civilization". By 2030. On this basis, a series of typical product development projects are implemented, such as: "Development of river tourism in Can Tho city", "Development of agricultural tourism in Can Tho city". Poetry for the period 2021-2025, vision to 2030”… Through the projects, the city's tourism is oriented to build typical tourism products, promoting the advantages of river routes and agriculture.

For river tourism, Can Tho currently operates two main routes: Ninh Kieu - Cai Rang - Phong Dien and Ninh Kieu - Binh Thuy. In which mainly use small boats, weaving into rivers and canals. City river tourism is also being expanded to exploit routes along Hau river dunes, routes Ninh Kieu - Thot Not, Binh Thuy - Thot Not, routes connecting Can Tho - An Giang, Can Tho - Vinh Long, Can Tho - Dong Thap, Can Tho - Ho Chi Minh City…; connecting along the Mekong: Can Tho - Cambodia - Laos, Can Tho - Cambodia ... At the same time, the means and products of river tourism are also improved: yachts, canoes, speedboats...

With agricultural tourism, Can Tho will effectively exploit the resource values ​​in agriculture associated with tourism development in the direction of sustainable development, and at the same time improve the competitiveness of products, contributing to the development of sustainable tourism. diversify the system of tourism products and services in Can Tho; building Can Tho agricultural tourism brand; building pilot agricultural tourism models, focusing on developing agricultural tourism in districts: Phong Dien, Cai Rang, Binh Thuy, Thot Not.

Developing a variety of tourism products, in order to promote the potential of resources and indigenous cultural values ​​in a sustainable way is the solution that Can Tho determines to build a city tourism brand. In particular, destination brand positioning is considered as the first step to standardize and form quality products to attract tourists.

* Post, photo: Ai Lam
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Key word: #Can Tho, #Can Tho tourism, #travel brand, #tourism products,