Ho Chi Minh City discusses solutions for developing agricultural tourism

Farmers in Ho Chi Minh City are not only farmers but also "storytellers" about the culture and traditions of their homeland, and agricultural tourism is creating opportunities for tourists to access this value...

Many highlights in agricultural tourism

Ho Chi Minh City has great potential for developing agricultural and rural tourism. Localities in the city focus on promoting green and clean agricultural products associated with tourism, while introducing many tours to a large number of domestic and international tourists. Recently, many international tourists have come to the city, surprised because they did not think that a strongly industrialized city would have green areas like in Can Gio, Cu Chi...

Can Gio develops agricultural tourism with salt making experience service for tourists

The most typical is the community tourism model in Thieng Lieng island hamlet, Thanh An island commune, Can Gio district (implemented since the end of 2022), which has welcomed about 4,500 visitors so far. Visitors experience new activities such as "forest bathing", octopus racing, learning about salt making or enjoying local specialties...

In Thu Duc City, green tourism models have recently been strongly developed, typically Suoi Tien Farm, which offers a unique experience in Saigon. Accordingly, visitors can directly visit, pick, eat and buy fruits in the garden without having to travel too far. In Binh Chanh district, there are models: Huynh Long melon growing, Mai Vang Binh Loi village, Koi fish farming model in earthen ponds... in the tour itinerary "Binh Chanh Untold Stories". The representative of the People's Committee of this district said that the district also has a lot of potential to develop cultural, historical, ecological tours... Binh Chanh district owns 20 resources that can be exploited and served to tourists.

Mr. Le Truong Hien Hoa, Deputy Director of the Ho Chi Minh City Department of Tourism, said that the city's agricultural tourism resources include many quality products such as craft villages, farms, and high-tech agricultural models that meet market demand. The agricultural tourism products that tourists are interested in are experiencing rural life associated with community tourism, eating and staying together, experiencing product making, taking care of crops, and importantly, tourists who want to go to the countryside to relax with peaceful, relaxing nature.

According to the Ho Chi Minh City Farmers' Association, in recent times, agricultural tourism and rural tourism have developed rapidly with many new tourist areas and spots being formed, many destinations and stops with various types of eco-tourism, experiential tourism, agricultural tourism, visiting fruit gardens, craft villages, historical sites, etc., attracting more and more domestic and foreign tourists to visit and experience.

Agricultural tourism in Cu Chi has recently attracted both domestic and foreign tourists.

“However, to develop agricultural tourism effectively, there needs to be coordination between many related units, mainly the agricultural and tourism sectors. Currently, the rural tourism sector in Ho Chi Minh City still has some limitations such as human resources, products, tours, and routes are not diverse... The tourism sector needs support from the agricultural sector to develop this sector," said Mr. Hoa.

To develop agricultural tourism

Statistics show that in 2023, only 14% of tourists coming to Ho Chi Minh City will travel to suburban districts and rural areas. This shows that the value of rural agricultural tourism in the city is still too low compared to its potential.

At the meeting and dialogue with officials and members of the city's farmers' association in 2024, with the theme "The role of farmers in developing agricultural tourism and rural tourism in Ho Chi Minh City", on November 27, making recommendations for the development of agricultural tourism, Mr. Vo Van Thuan, Chairman of the Farmers' Association of Cu Chi district, suggested that the city should soon issue policies to encourage the development of rural tourism, preserve traditional occupations in the district; soon adjust the planning of commercial and service land to facilitate individuals and organizations in building homestays, camps, toilets, etc.

Currently operating a rural tourism model in Hoc Mon district with the idea of ​​promoting the image of 18 betel garden villages in Ba Diem commune, Mr. Phan Van Keo - the model owner said that he is facing many difficulties in the operation process. Currently, although there are regulations allowing the construction of auxiliary works on agricultural land, the permitted area is still too small, not enough to serve tourists. Besides, farmers cannot change the land use purpose of 1 to 3 hectares at a time.

“The city must have a separate tourism development project for farmers in suburban districts. In particular, those working in agricultural tourism are allowed to build semi-permanent auxiliary works on agricultural land with larger areas. If necessary, farmers must commit to building auxiliary works,” Mr. Keo proposed.

Agricultural tourism with tours to experience farming methods of Tuan Ngoc Agricultural Cooperative attracts tourists in Ho Chi Minh City.

From another perspective, the representative of Tuan Ngoc Agricultural Cooperative said that agricultural tourism is not limited to a single cooperative or farm, but often requires the connection between many cooperatives or many farming households to create a large agricultural tourism ecosystem. “Tuan Ngoc Cooperative has not yet been able to connect with other cooperatives in the area. This makes the experiential tourism activities at the cooperative limited in scale and diversity. Therefore, the cooperative needs support to connect as well as support investment for associated units in infrastructure to expand the model as well as promote trade for agricultural products,” said Mr. Lam Ngoc Tuan, representative of Tuan Ngoc Cooperative.

With the desire to contribute to the development of Ho Chi Minh City's tourism industry, associated with the preservation and promotion of cultural values, Mr. Le Minh Dung, Chairman of the Ho Chi Minh City Farmers' Association, proposed that the city focus on building tourism models based on local resources, combined with community benefits. At the same time, upgrade infrastructure, promote training of farmers in communication and management skills so that they can become leaders and inspirers in tourism experiences... These solutions will be important factors to overcome limitations, making rural tourism in Ho Chi Minh City a unique highlight on the Vietnam tourism map.

Emphasizing that urbanization causes certain difficulties for farmers, therefore, it is necessary to find a way for people with agricultural land to be able to produce and live on that land, Mr. Nguyen Ho Hai, Standing Deputy Secretary of the Ho Chi Minh City Party Committee, requested the city to increase sending farmers to study and visit agricultural production models in the country and around the world. "City farmers must be different from farmers in the provinces in taking the lead in applying science and technology in urban agricultural production, in order to create value," said Mr. Hai.

Source: https://thoibaonganhang.vn/tp-ho-chi-minh-ban-giai-phap-phat-trien-du-lich-nong-nghiep-158205.html