A conference on promoting tourism in southeastern Vietnam was held in Tay Ninh province on November 26.

Delegates discussed tourism development plans closely linked to the preservation of unique cultural heritage in the region.

Last year, the region received more than 18 million domestic tourists and 3.6 million foreign visitors, earning over VND31,500 billion and accounting for 28 percent of the country's total tourism revenue.

However, there is a huge gap between the two main tourism centres, Ho Chi Minh City and Ba Ria-Vung Tau province, and other provinces in the region such as Tay Ninh, Binh Phuoc, Binh Duong and Dong Nai.

The tourism industry in these provinces has developed erratically and they have not taken action to find their own niche in the market. Services are limited and they are not very competitive. In addition, investment in improving infrastructure, preserving cultural attractions, and upgrading tourism resources does not match the region's potential.

Despite being a convenient gateway to Cambodia and other ASEAN countries, tourism in Tay Ninh is still quite basic.

To boost tourism in the region, the participants and the Vietnam travel company agreed that these provinces should cooperate with each other to seek out and develop effective, sustainable long-term strategies to create an attractive environment for investment in tourism.

They should also concentrate on upgrading infrastructure, promoting trademarks and developing human resources for tourism.

A number of national tourism destinations in the region, such as Ba Den Mountain, Cat Tien National Park, and the Con Dao islands, also need to be developed.

In addition, the southeastern provinces should offer new routes for tourists that link with other cities and provinces in Vietnam as well as to Cambodia, Thailand, Laos and Myanmar.