An aerial view of Tan Lập Village, a tourist destination in Long An Province. Photo aptpo.org

HÀ NỘI — The southern province of Long An will be admitted as the 130th member of the Tourism Promotion Organisation for Asia Pacific Cities (TPO), based in South Korea, in October.

The announcement was made at the 35th executive committee meeting of the organisation held in Busan, South Korea, earlier this year.

The participation of Long An in TPO is expected to promote local tourist destinations among international friends and cooperation in tourism among TPO member cities.

TPO was established in 2002 with the blessing of the 5th Asian-Pacific City Summit. The organisation was created to be an inter-city network to promote the exchanges and development of the tourism industry among major cities in the Asia-Pacific region. It also aims to encourage its members to work together to support the tourism industry.

Beginning with the membership of 25 cities from 13 countries in 2002, the organisation now has 130 member cities from 50 countries and 50 tourism institutes working on tourism, supporting the development of local tourism products and sharing tourism information among its members.

Other Vietnamese localities that are also TPO members include Bắc Ninh, Đa Lạt, Đa Nẵng, Ha Noi, Hải Phòng, HCM City and Vũng Tau.

Long An Province is the gateway from HCM City to the western provinces where the land stretches along the two rivers of Vam Cỏ Đong and Vam Cỏ Tay.

The province plays a bridging role between two important economic regions in the south due to its significant strategic position for trade and tourism.

Some of the popular tourist destinations in Long An Province include the ancient house with hundreds of pillars located in Long Hựu Đong Commune, Tan Lập Floating Village, Đồng Thap Mười eco-tourism area and Lang Sen Wetland Reserve.

Lang Sen Wetland Reserve was recognised as the seventh Ramsar site in Viet Nam and 2,227th of the world in 2015.

Established in 2004, the site, located in the south of Long An, still preserves the original ecosystem of the Đồng Thap Mười Wetlands in Viet Nam's Mekong Delta, similar to Tram Chim National Park in the southern Đồng Thap Province.

Spreading over 4,800ha, it is home to more than 150 kinds of plants and 140 kinds of birds, many of which are mentioned in the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species, such as the red-crowned crane, oriental darter and glossy ibis.

According to Long An Province’s Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism, due to the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, the number of tourists who visited the province in 2020 was estimated at 800,000, down by 57 per cent in compared with 2019, of which there were only 1,500 international visitors, a 94 per cent decrease.

In an effort to boost local tourism and reach the goal of attracting 920,000 tourists this year, Long An Province authorities have implemented various measures like investing in promotions, training human resources in tourism and improving tourism co-operation with other provinces. VNS

Long An Province plays a bridging role between two important economic regions in the south by locating in an important strategic position for trade and tourism. Photo http://aptpo.org