Strategies were outlined to develop sea, river and island facilities in the Delta area, renowned for its more than 120 cultural and historical sites and biosphere reserve.

Participants also spoke about the need to develop marine tourism in the southwestern region by co-operating with neighbouring Cambodia and Thailand.

Huynh Vinh Ai, deputy minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism, said the tourism industry contributed to socio-economic development and helped ensure national security.

The seminar was organised by the ministry's tourism department, the Southwest Steering Committee, and Kien Giang Province People's Committee.

Other participants included Luu Phuoc Luong, head of the steering committee of the Cuu Long (Mekong) Delta Economic Co-operation (MDEC) Forum; and Ha Van Sieu, head of the Tourism Research and Development Institute.

According to Ai, in recent years, the Cuu Long (Mekong) Delta has made significant achievements in tourism.

For example, in 2009 the number of foreign visitors to the region was 1.2 million, three times higher than in 2000, while local visitors hit 8 million compared to 3.4 million in 2000. This produced a revenue of VND2 trillion (US$105 million) for the tourism industry.

Ai said tourism had helped create stable jobs and raised the income of local residents.

Bui Ngoc Suong, chairman of Kien Giang Province People's Committee, said the region had great potential for development in other fields as well, including trade, services and aquaculture.

However, he said tourism development would remain the key feature of the State and the Party's long-term strategy for socio-economic growth.

Suong said tourism in the Delta was handicapped by small-scale businesses that lacked competitiveness and quality.

Experts at the seminar said poor co-operation among localities was also holding back progress. Many companies operated individually instead of working with each other to take full advantage of the region's potential.

Ha Van Sieu, director of the Tourism Research and Development Institute, said the biggest hindrance to growth was poor infrastructure which led to low quality services, including transport.

Hideki Asami, general director of Nikken Sekkei Civil Engineering Ltd Co, said infrastructure and public transport had to be improved in Ha Tien town and Rach Gia City to ease travel from Cambodia and Thailand to Phu Quoc Island, which lies off the coast of Kien Giang Province.

Bou Chan Serey, deputy director of the Cambodian Ministry of Tourism's Planning Department, urged the region to diversify its range of tourist offerings, improve service quality, promote advertising and expand the market. He emphasised it was also vital to focus on environmental protection.

Hiroyuki Kanzaki, director of the Tokyo-based PADECO, who attended the seminar as a foreign investor, said that a professional survey of the region was needed to discover ways of exploiting attractive tourism sites.

Under a plan to develop tourism, the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism has set a target of 3.9 million foreign visitors to the region by 2020, especially in Can Tho City and Tien Giang and Kien Giang provinces.

The findings of the seminar will be reported to the Mekong Delta Economic Co-operation (MDEC) conference in Rach Gia on June 25.