Distance From Floating Markets To Tourist Attractions

In terms of accessibility, the Mekong Delta floating markets are located near urban centers (towns, towns, cities), where many roads converge, so visitors can reach the floating markets by many routes. In terms of waterways, the floating markets are located on the main route or at the confluence of many river branches, and therefore, cruise ships can access the floating markets from different locations.

Table 2.5: Distance from floating markets to tourist centers

Floating market

To Ho Chi Minh City (*)	To Can Tho city (*)
Cai Be	108	67
Tra On	178	27
The Tooth	171	7
Phong Dien	188	15
Long Xuyen	187	61
Chau Doc	248	109
Three Thousand	199	34
Five-Way Intersection	228	63
Vinh Thuan	350	185
Ca Mau	290	153
The Water	340	203

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Note: * To city center, unit of measurement is km

Source: Author, 2018

2.2.1.2. Floating market tourism resources

a. Natural tourism resources

The natural element that can attract tourists to the floating market is the river. The common point of the river where the floating market is distributed is that it is quite wide to wide, the water is relatively clear, creating a sense of excitement for tourists during the tour. Tran Duc Thanh and Tran Thi Mai Hoa [54] believe that people are increasingly living separately from nature because they are trying to create a living environment that is more technical, but as an entity of nature, people want to return to nature. The river in the floating market is a part of nature, so it has the ability to attract tourists, especially those living in urban areas and countries with industrialized economies.

industrial development. However, the unevenness in quality is a weakness for the water in the floating markets. Long Xuyen and Chau Doc are the two floating markets with the best water quality. Average is the standard for the water quality in Cai Be, Tra On, Cai Rang, Phong Dien, Ba Ngan, Nga Nam and Vinh Thuan floating markets. Meanwhile, the water in Cai Nuoc and Ca Mau floating markets is the worst in quality. Therefore, it will not be suitable for tourism activities in Ca Mau and Cai Nuoc floating markets based on the attractiveness of the water.

In addition to creating an interesting feeling, rivers also have the ability to attract tourists because of their ecological, cultural and historical significance. Coming to the Mekong Delta, many tourists want to take a boat to see the Tien River, Hau River, Can Tho River, the canals that create the places of Nga Bay, Nga Nam. Taking a tour to Cai Be, Long Xuyen, Chau Doc, Cai Rang, Ba Ngan and Nga Nam floating markets will help tourists satisfy this need.

b. Cultural tourism resources

To exploit floating markets for tourism, it is impossible to separate floating markets from the space around them. However, to highlight the tourism resources of floating markets and distinguish floating market tourism resources from street market tourism resources, we only consider the cultural factors in floating markets. Accordingly, floating markets have the ability to attract tourists thanks to their goods, trading activities, ways of bargaining and the lives of merchants. The more prominent these factors are in a floating market, the more potential it has for tourism exploitation.

- Goods :

Goods are products of labor that can satisfy certain human needs through exchange and sale. On floating markets, people sell many types of goods, but the most popular and largest are agricultural products. In addition, food, drinks, fresh food, necessities, souvenirs, household goods, seedlings, gasoline, ornamental plants, lottery tickets, etc. are also sold in this or that floating market.

The three main agricultural product groups in floating markets are fruits, tubers and vegetables. Cai Rang, Long Xuyen and Nga Nam floating markets are the places with the largest concentration of agricultural products among the floating markets in the region. Besides agricultural products, some types of food (rice, noodles,

bread,...), drinks (iced coffee, soft drinks, iced tea with sugar,...) are sold at Cai Rang, Cai Be, Phong Dien, Long Xuyen, Chau Doc, Nga Nam, Vinh Thuan and Ba Ngan floating markets. To serve the culinary needs of merchants, fresh food (pork, fish, eggs, vegetables,...) is provided at Phong Dien, Ba Ngan and Nga Nam floating markets. To facilitate merchants, many types of necessities (cooking oil, fish sauce, sugar, MSG,...) are sold at Tra On, Phong Dien, Chau Doc and Nga Nam floating markets. Souvenirs are sold at Cai Rang floating market to meet the needs of tourists. In addition to supplying goods to merchants and local residents, household items (dishwashing wire, pots and pans, conical hats,...) are sold at Phong Dien and Chau Doc floating markets, seedlings (eucalyptus, cajuput, fruit trees) are available at Ba Ngan, Nga Nam and Phong Dien floating markets; On Cai Rang, Long Xuyen and Ba Ngan floating markets, people supply petroleum products; ornamental plants are sold on Cai Rang, Cai Be, Long Xuyen, Nga Nam floating markets, etc.; people sell lottery tickets on Phong Dien and Chau Doc floating markets.

Compared to regional goods, goods on floating markets are not typical, however, they serve the needs of tourists for sightseeing, eating and shopping. Among the regional floating markets, Cai Rang, Long Xuyen, Nga Nam, Cai Be, Vinh Thuan are the leading in terms of volume and variety of goods, so they have a lot of potential for tourism exploitation.

- Buying and selling activities :

Trading activities on floating markets in the Mekong Delta are mainly carried out by Kinh people. The means used in trading are boats, sampans and canoes. Going directly to the fields to buy, asking others to buy for them, going to other floating markets to buy, buying from warehouses, and producing goods themselves are ways for traders to have goods to sell wholesale on floating markets. The places for buying and selling are often familiar floating markets because they have friends and familiar faces and demand good sales. Some people sell many types of goods at the same time, but some people only specialize in selling a certain type of goods (depending on capital, buying and selling experience, and access to goods sources). The buyers and sellers on each floating market are relatively stable because of established partnerships. Goods on floating markets are sold in wholesale and retail forms. Depending on

Depending on the type of goods, a number of units of measurement are used in trading (most goods are sold in kilograms; the number of tens and thousands is applied to pineapples and coconuts; bananas are sold by counting bunches; quintals are used for cassava). Prices of agricultural products on floating markets are cheaper than prices of agricultural products on city markets because the cost of transportation by water is cheaper than the cost of transportation by road and goods on floating markets go through fewer intermediaries.

The traders in the floating market are very interested in the first transaction because it affects the convenience or difficulty in their trading activities all day. To deliver goods, the buying and selling boats often stick close to each other, each package, bunch, fruit is brought, tossed, and thrown to the recipient. The average time of a trading trip of the traders is at least one day and at most 10 days. To pray for good luck in buying and selling, and a smooth business, the traders often worship the God of Wealth and the God of the Land.

Trading activities on the Mekong Delta floating markets represent the characteristics of the commercial culture of the river region, and therefore, it has the ability to attract tourists to visit, learn and experience. According to the Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism of An Giang and Tien Giang provinces [48], tourists have many needs during their visit, among which, the need to understand the trading activities of the merchants has urged tourists to come to the floating markets. Learning about this activity themselves or hearing about it is really the expectation of many tourists. Among the floating markets in the region, Cai Rang, Long Xuyen, Nga Nam, Cai Be and Vinh Thuan have the most bustling trading activities, so there is a lot of potential for tourism exploitation.

- How to pack goods:

The way of marking goods on floating markets is only found in the Mekong Delta of Vietnam. Marking goods is the act of hanging the items for sale on a stick (made of bamboo, hard plastic pipe, iron tube) or a string so that the seller can easily see them. The goods to be marked are agricultural products. The bow and both sides of the bow are ideal locations for marking goods. Depending on the level of management of the waterway police, the ability to obstruct traffic and the size of the goods, the way of marking goods is different. Usually, the places where

loose management and little traffic obstruction, heavy goods, the pole is placed horizontally, on the contrary, the pole is placed vertically.

To date, there are several explanations for the origin of the practice of cheating. Nham Hung

[20] believes that, from the folk saying “bèo hình, bèo hiệu” (shape), the merchants came up with the way to “bèo hàng”. Meanwhile, Thiên Lý (2009; cited in [39]) asserts that the invention of the way to “bèo hàng” originated from the habit of hanging agricultural products on bamboo sticks for sale in many rural families. We believe that the way to “bèo hàng” may have been inherited from the way farmers “bèo birds”. The form (hanging many objects on a stick) and the effect (notifying) are highly similar, however, depending on the purpose, the way to “bèo” has the effect of inviting (customers) or repelling (birds).

The way of showing off goods has been around for a long time, closely related to the owners of the floating market and aimed at meeting the competitive needs of buyers and sellers on the river in the conditions of vast rivers and large cargo boats. Showing off goods is a folk way of marketing goods but is no less unique because it demonstrates the ability to cope with the river environment and the commercial competition experience of the merchants in the Mekong Delta. Moreover, many types of goods with different sizes, shapes and colors are shown on a stick or rope, creating a beautiful and impressive image. Many tourists, especially international visitors, often show interest in the way of showing off goods in the floating market. Nham Hung [20] believes that the way of showing off goods decorates the whole scene of the floating market with lines, colors, etc., creating a beauty on the river, making everyone who comes to the floating market praise it; Domestic and foreign tourists who come to visit are amazed and immediately record this strange image. Except for Cai Nuoc floating market, the remaining floating markets all have their own way of selling goods, however, Cai Rang, Long Xuyen, Nga Nam, Cai Be, Vinh Thuan and Chau Doc floating markets are truly the most attractive in terms of the way of selling goods.

- The life of merchants:

Merchants are people who travel, trade and live on the river in floating markets. They come to the merchant profession for many reasons but ultimately for the purpose of making a living. Before becoming merchants, their livelihood was production.

agricultural production, trading, labor,... The number of people on each boat ranges from 1 to 6 and the average is 2.83. The members are mainly family and relative.

Their cooking equipment is mostly gas stoves because it is suitable for life on boats (lack of electricity and frequent travel). Merchants use many water sources for cooking, drinking, bathing, washing and washing food. Bottled water, river water, well water, and tap water are used for cooking and drinking; river water, well water, and tap water are used for bathing, washing and washing food. Therefore, in the merchant world, there is a common saying: "There is no more joyful way than trading, going down to the sea to get rice from the market and water from the river". To get information and entertainment, merchants mainly use televisions, radios and mobile phones.

Traveling on the river is sometimes dangerous, to overcome this problem spiritually, they worship Ba Cau and Buddha Nam Hai. Health and longevity are very important to them, and therefore, the gods (Quan Thanh De Quan, Me Sanh Me Do) are worshiped on the boat to pray for their protection. Some merchants worship their ancestors, Duc Huynh Giao Chu on the boat because beliefs and religion are an important part of their spiritual life. To satisfy different needs, on some boats, merchants grow ornamental plants, raise dogs and chickens.

The life of the merchants on the floating markets in the Mekong Delta contains unique cultural values, typical of the people's activities of utilizing and adapting to the river environment. Therefore, it is one of the factors that attract tourists to the floating markets. Smith [119] believes that many tourists have been and are very interested in the traditions and lifestyles of the local people. Nelson and Shock

[108] also affirmed that many tourists are attracted by the way of life and work of the local residents. Floating markets with a large number of boats participating in trading (Cai Rang, Long Xuyen, Nga Nam) will have many advantages in exploiting tourism because they show the richer life of the merchants.

2.2.1.3. Infrastructure serving the exploitation of floating market tourism

Floating markets in the Mekong Delta are located near the center of cities, towns and townships, so they take advantage of a relatively synchronous infrastructure network for their development. Among the elements that make up the infrastructure, the system

Roads, piers/tourist ports/ferries, commercial networks, communication systems, water supply systems, and power grids have a great influence on the ability to exploit floating markets for tourism. Regarding the road system, tourists can access the floating market by many routes (Table 2.6). In general, national and provincial highways passing through the floating market are paved and have lanes wide enough for the circulation of passenger vehicles with different load capacities.

Table 2.6: Routes tourists can take to reach the floating market

Visitors can reach the floating market by road.

Floating market
National Highway 1A, Provincial Roads 875 and 864, District Road 74	Cai Be
National Highway 54, Provincial Road 904, Tra On town road system	Tra On
National Highway 1A, 91, 91B, 61C, inner city roads of Can Tho city	The Tooth
National Highway 1A, 91, 91B, 61C, Can Tho city's inner-city road system, Nguyen Van Cu extended road, provincial roads 923, 926, 932	Phong Dien
National Highway 91, 80, 54, Provincial Road 943, 944, Long Xuyen city inner-city road system	Long Xuyen
National Highway 91, Provincial Roads 953, 956, 957, Chau Doc city's inner-city road system	Chau Doc
National Highway 1A, Phung Hiep Highway, Cai Con flood-proof residential route	Three Thousand
Phung Hiep Highway, National Highway 61B, Nga Nam urban road	Five-Way Intersection
Highway 63	Vinh Thuan
National Highway 1A, Phung Hiep Highway, National Highway 63, Ca Mau city's inner-city road system	Ca Mau
National Highway 1A, Cai Nuoc town road system	The Water

Source: Author, 2019

Wharves/ports specialized for exploiting floating market tourism in the Mekong Delta are Cai Be tourist wharf, Ninh Kieu tourist port, Cai Rang floating market tourist wharf. In addition to wharves and ports specialized for exploiting floating market tourism, the Mekong Delta also has a number of ferry piers that serve both the travel needs of merchants and local people and the floating market sightseeing activities of tourists (Tra On floating market ferry piers, Long Xuyen, Chau Doc, Nga Nam). Floating market tourist wharfs and ports have met the sightseeing needs of tourists.

Environmental sanitation is not yet guaranteed. The ferry terminals take advantage of the space of the embankment/ferry terminal, so they can only meet the sightseeing needs of individual visitors and visitors traveling in small groups; the standards of aesthetics, environmental sanitation, and convenience in travel are not really suitable for tourism exploitation activities. Each floating market has a market on the shore. This commercial network not only meets the needs of eating and shopping, but is also a place where tourists can visit and learn about the life, activities, business culture of the people and local products. Other infrastructure components such as the communication system, water supply system, and electricity grid basically meet the needs of exploiting floating markets for tourism.

2.2.1.4. Combination with other types of tourism

Floating markets are one of the types of tourism in the Mekong Delta, so they cannot exist separately from other types of tourism. The types of tourism that have been and are being exploited in combination with floating market tourism include visiting fruit gardens, visiting craft villages, enjoying traditional music, going by boat on rivers and canals, visiting ancient houses, visiting ethnic villages, visiting churches/communal houses/pagodas/zen monasteries/memorial sites/cathedrals, visiting stork gardens, watching monkeys/pig races/dog races, etc. These types of tourism are distributed in the vicinity of floating markets and contribute significantly to improving the ability to exploit tourism in many floating markets.

* Visit the fruit garden:

Fresh and cool air, beautiful landscapes; opportunities to pick and enjoy fruits; lifestyle, activities and production experience of the people are factors that attract tourists to the orchards. On the mainland or on islands/islands near the floating market (Cai Be, Cai Rang, Phong Dien, Long Xuyen, Ba Ngan) there are lush tropical orchards likened to "paradise gardens" which are suitable settings for tourists who want to immerse themselves in the natural environment and explore the unique cultural features of the people of the orchard.

* Visiting craft villages:

The craftsmanship, new farming/production processes/techniques, unique products, opportunities to participate in production/enjoy specialties, and the ability to buy products are factors that attract tourists to craft villages. Beekeeping for honey, flower growing

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