Photo: VNA

In the first six months of 2012, 13 provinces and cities in the Mekong River Delta greeted nearly 11 million tourist arrivals, including nearly 1 million foreign tourists, a 13.18 percent increase, said the Mekong Delta Tourism Association (MDTA).

Turnover for the tourism sector in the region posted more than VND2.2 trillion, a year-on-year 25.2 percent increase.

Tourism destinations in the region saw rapid growth in both quantity and quality, meeting the demand of traveling of tourists. Although the number of tourists to the region only increased by 2.29 percent in the first six months but turnover saw a more than 25 percent rise. This showed an improvement in the quality of tourism service in the region.

Some provinces seeing sharp increases in turnover and number of tourists were Can Tho, Bac Lieu, Ben Tre, Soc Trang and Tra Vinh.

The Mekong Delta Tourism Association coordinated with travel agencies in Ho Chi Minh City, Hua and Hanoi to survey destinations in Can Tho City, An Giang, Kien Giang, Ca Mau and Bac Lieu Provinces in order to build a specific tour, namely “one destination – five localities”./.