Tra Vinh builds Khmer cultural, tourism village

• "Piazza Italia 2018" festival attracts thousands of visitors
• Party, State leader attends solidarity festival in Dak Lak province
• Van Phuc silk village kicks off handicraft festival

Of the figure, VND8 billion was sourced from the local budget, while the remainder came from the private sector. 

Lying in Luong Hoa commune’s Ward 8, in Tra Vinh’s province’s Chau Thanh district, the village boasts Ba Om pond, Ang pagoda, Khmer ethnic cultural museum, Tra Vinh Pali Khmer school, Khmer cultural village, Lo Gach pagoda, Oc Eo relic site, a parking area, and a night market. 

Duong Hoang Sum, Director of the provincial Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism, said Tra Vinh is home to over 300,000 Khmer ethnic residents, accounting for nearly 32% of the local population. 

The province boasts 142 Khmer Theravada Buddhist temples, as well as the Ok Om BoK, Sene Dolta and Chol Chnam Thmay festivals. In particular, the Ok Om Bo festival has been recognised as a national intangible cultural heritage by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism. 

Ahead of this year’s Ok Om Bo festival (November 22), Tra Vinh will inaugurate a mural road, the first component in the project to serve tourists. With 29 paintings by five artists, the road will demonstrate cultural, social and religious life of the Khmer ethnic people. 

Dum said the provincial tourism sector served over 652,000 visitors last year, up over 23% from 2016, including 15,780 foreigners. The total revenue surpassed VND210 billion, or VND53 billion higher than in 2016. 

Tra Vinh set the target of turning tourism into an important economy by 2025 and a spearhead economy by 2030.