Eco-tourism, especially in the form of tours that offer visitors the chance to stay overnight in local resident's homes, has been attracting more and more foreign tourists to the Mekong Delta province of Vinh Long.

According to figures from the Vinh Long Department of Trade and Tourism, the province received 250,000 visitors in 2005, including 85,000 foreign tourists, 30,000 of whi chose a homestay.
Located between the Tien  and Hau rivers, the fertile soil of Vinh Long nourishes thousands of orchards. The fruit gardens and numerous islets in these rivers have created favourable conditions for the development of eco-tourism.
Vinh Long Trade and Tourism Department deputy director Nguyen Khac Nhu said that visiting the region, tourists would have opportunities to enjoy Khmer pagodas, traditional craft villages, orchards producing fruits like oversized pomelos and floating markets.
Nhu said visitors could also observe centuries-old activities of the rural South, such as processing rice paper, traditional cooking and craft making.
Ly Hoang Canh, an experienced tour operator in Vinh Long, said that many foreign tourists enjoyed watching local residents engage in their daily activities.
Some of the visitors' other favourite pursuits include working in the rice fields, netting fish, picking fruit, swimming in rivers, riding bicycles and simply resting in hammocks

(Source: VNA)