Land for tourism development in Can Gio
Can Gio commune is considered a green, ecological tourism space of Ho Chi Minh City with the advantage of mangrove ecology and many experienced destinations. Along with investment in transport infrastructure, wharves and tourism services, the ability to connect to this area is increasingly favorable, creating conditions for local tourism products to gradually develop in a sustainable direction, associated with nature conservation and community livelihood.
Monkey Island is one of the tourist attractions when coming to Can Gio. There are currently more than 2,000 monkeys living here, belonging to the Can Gio mangrove reserve recognized by UNESCO. The mangrove ecological space, fresh air and natural forest landscape create a special attraction, especially in the context of increasingly improved access infrastructure.
Visiting Monkey Island, Ms. Anh Thy (Phu Lam Ward, Ho Chi Minh City) said that visitors can walk through the forest, with shadeed canopy on both sides, easily seeing and recording the lively moments of the monkeys taking care of their children, brushing their fur or sharing food. According to Ms. Thy, convenient travel helps visitors have more time to fully experience the pristine natural space.
Speaking to Lao Dong Newspaper, Ms. Huynh Phan Phuong Hoang - Deputy General Director of Vietravel commented that Can Gio has great potential to develop eco-tourism associated with sustainable livelihoods for local people, especially after the merger, when the development space and regional linkage opportunities are expanded. The unique mangrove ecosystem is a very suitable foundation for developing eco-tourism, environmental education and community tourism.
"If planned well, tourism can create stable livelihoods for people through activities such as local tour guides, transportation services, cuisine, small-scale accommodation, local product farming and supply, and at the same time, raising awareness of resource conservation" - Ms. Huynh Phan Phuong Hoang shared.
Sharing the same view, Mr. Pham Anh Vu - Deputy General Director of Viet Tourism Company said that Can Gio is a mangrove forest ecosystem reserve located near the center of Ho Chi Minh City, possessing a diverse ecosystem of forests, rivers and seas. The advantages of natural conditions, geographical distance and the completion of connecting infrastructure can help Can Gio develop into a high-quality resort and eco-tourism destination.
From the product and market perspective, Mr. Pham Anh Vu commented that Can Gio is an indispensable destination for eco-tourism, environmental education tours for students and families; community tourism associated with fishing village experiences, seafood cuisine; responsible tourism, green tourism combined with conferences, teambuilding and mangrove planting activities, meeting the increasing social responsibility needs of businesses (CSR). Thereby, the local community has more opportunities to increase income from homestay accommodation services, food and beverage services as well as develop OCOP products and local specialties.
Diversifying products, hoping to make Can Gio a breakthrough
Based on the potential and advantages of Can Gio, tourism businesses in Ho Chi Minh City are proactively exploiting new products, combining ecological experiences and environmental education to promote natural values and create sustainable livelihoods for local communities.
According to Ms. Huynh Phan Phuong Hoang, the company is currently implementing Can Gio tourism products in the direction of ecology, experience and environmental education. The tours are mainly short-term, small-scale programs, associated with mangrove forests, people's lives and local cuisine. The product design process prioritizes the use of local people's services, in order to create direct livelihoods for the community and limit the impact on the environment.
The company aims to enhance tourism value through quality experiences, encourage responsible spending and extend stay. In the long term, the unit hopes that Can Gio will become a typical ecological destination of Ho Chi Minh City, developing sustainably and bringing stable economic value to the local community.
Mr. Pham Anh Vu said that the unit is currently developing products along a number of main lines. In particular, the 1-2 day eco-tours connecting Ho Chi Minh City with the mangrove forest - fishing village - Can Thanh sea are aimed at family visitors, students, students or international visitors to experience during the 4-5 day tour of Ho Chi Minh City.
In addition, businesses will implement green MICE - CSR tours during the day, combining tourism or conference schedules in the center of Ho Chi Minh City with activities in Can Gio such as planting mangrove forests, sightseeing forests, enjoying seafood and organizing teambuilding on the beach. The resort tour segment is also built for family groups of 10-20 people, especially visitors from the Northern provinces.
According to Mr. Pham Anh Vu, if invested and developed in the right direction in the next 5 years, Can Gio tourism can become one of the ecological destinations with clear differences in the region, making its mark as an eco-tourism and green MICE destination of Ho Chi Minh City. At the same time, linking destinations in forest, sea, and island experience products, connecting Can Gio with Vung Tau, Ho Tram, and Con Dao on 4-6-day journeys will contribute to improving the competitiveness of the destination.
"Can Gio planning work needs to ensure that the mangrove ecosystem is not disrupted, in parallel with completing traffic infrastructure and improving service quality according to standards. At that time, Can Gio can properly promote its role as an ecological resort in the tourism development strategy of the new Ho Chi Minh City" - Mr. Pham Anh Vu emphasized.
Towards a sustainable eco-resort tourism model
The Ho Chi Minh City People's Committee has just approved a plan to manage sustainable forests in Can Gio protective forest until 2030. The goal of the plan is to effectively and sustainably use protective forest areas; conserve biodiversity; reasonably use landscape and forest environment; develop eco-tourism, share benefits from forests.
Thereby, contributing to the local socio-economic development associated with national defense, security, preservation and promotion of the value of Can Gio mangrove forest biosphere reserve, enhancing the resilience of forests in the context of increasingly complex climate change.
Ho Chi Minh City implements a project to develop eco-tourism for resorts and entertainment in Can Gio forest in the period of 2025 - 2030, attracting an average of 400,000-500,000 tourists per year, developing sustainable, responsible and high-quality tourism. At the same time, develop forest environmental services according to regulations to gain the economic value of Can Gio mangrove forests, contributing to the green economic growth of Can Gio.
In particular, building Dan Xay eco-tourism destination into a model green eco-tourism destination in Can Gio Ornamental Forest Biosphere Reserve; building a national park to meet the needs of sightseeing, relaxation, and entertainment of the people.
Ho Chi Minh City also ensures harmony between biodiversity conservation and improving livelihoods and quality of life of people participating in forest protection.
