Thoi Son Islet, also known as Con Lan, is a famous garden eco-tourism
destination in Dong Thap province that is increasingly attracting a large
number of visitors. Currently, Thoi Son Islet welcomes
approximately 1,000 tourists every day for sightseeing and vacation. Here,
visitors can visit fruit gardens, experience boating on the river, ride
horse-drawn carriages on country roads, enjoy
Mekong delta specialties, and learn about the culture and life of local
people. Thoi Son Islet is on the roadmap to implement a community tourism
project in the form of a value chain associated with local typical products
and the OCOP program.
According to the development plan, each community tourism cluster will
exploit the existing advantages of the locality to build tourism products
with experiences and the identity of the river region. Specifically, in Thoi
Thanh hamlet, 9 households will provide products such as: visiting
grapefruit gardens, rowing boats, camping, staying, organizing outdoor
parties, enjoying local specialties (snail hotpot with fermented rice,
mussel pancakes, Banh Khot...), along with folk experiences such as making
toys from coconut leaves, archery, lucky draw, processing honey and folk
wine.
In addition, 11 households in Thoi Binh hamlet will develop tourism products
with typical Western characteristics such as: visiting and experiencing
grapefruit gardens, coconut gardens, producing grapefruit jam, grapefruit
tea, sticky rice wine, weaving mats, weaving water hyacinth baskets,
listening to traditional music, and resort and accommodation services that
are about to open.
The development of tourism clusters in Thoi Son ward is oriented to closely
link with the development of OCOP products , creating a sustainable
connection between local products and tourism services. At the same time,
through the form of organization according to value chain clusters, each
household does not only provide a single service but will link and support
each other to form a closed tour route, increasing the attraction for
domestic and foreign tourists. Currently, Thoi Son islet has 2 national
bridges, Rach Mieu 1 and Rach Mieu 2 bridges. This is a favorable condition
for the development of the tourism industry.
Director of Long Son Hotel which is investing in a community tourism site in
Thoi Binh Hamlet, Thoi Son Islet, said: "Thoi Binh Hamlet is a new chain of
community tourism sites with many participating households. There are
households doing business in weaving mats, growing mushrooms, visiting
grapefruit gardens, fruit gardens, leaf paste, and coconut products.
Households here make use of what is available in their gardens, for example,
if they have jackfruit, they make ingredients from jackfruit, durian
pancakes, grapefruit, they make grapefruit tree cakes, longan bird's nest
tea, grapefruit tea, mainly making use of the fruits that the garden has."
Thoi Son Islet is one of the four sacred-animal islands: Dragon, Unicorn (
Dong Thap Province ) and Turtle, Phoenix (Vinh Long Province). Among the
four islands known as the "four sacred animals", Lan Islet (Thoi Son) has
the largest area. Over the past 300 years, from a pristine Thoi Son village,
Thoi Son Islet has continuously developed, achieved many encouraging
achievements, and made important contributions to the economic and social
development of the locality. With a total area of about 1,200 hectares and a
dense system of canals, Thoi Son Islet is blessed by nature with beautiful
landscapes and many fruit gardens, making it an ideal destination for
tourists.
Driven by Vietnam's stunning natural landscapes, rich
cultural heritage, and warm hospitality,
Vietnam excursions has seen a
significant increase in international arrivals, particularly following the
implementation of more flexible visa policies.