Tourists are interested in Koi fish farming model in HCM City. (Photo: sggp.org.vn)




HCM City (VNA) – Ho Chi Minh City’s tourism sector needs to make
sweeping changes in developing high-tech agritourism, which is expected to earn
the city millions of USD, heard a conference held in the southern hub on
October 5.



Nguyen Minh Tri, from the municipal Department of Tourism, said HCM City, endowed
with various natural resources and diverse culture, holds huge potentials for
agritourism development. Eco-tourism, garden tourism, waterway tourism, orchid
gardens and local staples will be attractive to tourists, he said.



Tran Thi Kim Hang from the management board of the city’s high-tech agriculture
zone told participants that the zone welcomed about 12,000 visitors in 2016, up
5,000 from 2014.



However, the lack of professional human resources, accommodation facilities,
entertainment areas and vehicles to transport tourists is a major barrier
hindering the development of agritourism, she said, adding that orientations should
be well mapped out in the time to come.



The tourism sector should pay due attention to training skills for tourism workers
and connecting travel agents with high-tech agriculture zones in provinces and
cities, Hang suggested.



In recent years, agritourism has brought tens of millions, even billions of USD,
to regional countries like Thailand, Japan, the Republic of Korea and China
thanks to their practical policies.



Thailand has encouraged farm model since 1997, the RoK has implemented a policy
to increase farmers’ incomes through agritourism development since 1984 while
rural hostels have been built across Japan since 1995.-VNA