Official calls for day-and-night operation of Cai Rang Floating Market in Vietnam’s Can Tho

The proposal was raised at a Thursday conference reviewing Can Tho’s cultural, sports, and tourism performance in 2025 and outlining tasks for 2026, organized by the local Department of Culture, Sports, and Tourism. 

Speaking at the event, Diep outlined key orientations for the sector next year, with inland waterway tourism identified as one of the city’s core strengths. 

She called for a comprehensive review and reassessment of river tourism routes, particularly tours from Ninh Kieu Wharf to the Cai Rang floating market. 

The waterway passes under three bridges spanning the Can Tho River, including Quang Trung, Hung Loi, and Cai Rang, whose undersides, she noted, offer spacious areas that could be redesigned and decorated to enhance the appeal of river tours.

“The floating market is currently exploited only during the day, mainly in the morning,” Diep noted.

“We need to move toward operating it both day and night.

“At night, the undersides of the bridges should be illuminated and even decorated with images and artworks showcasing Can Tho and the Mekong Delta.

“Visitors passing through could stop to take photos, which would also serve as a promotional channel for the floating market.”

Diep urged the cultural sector to advise city leaders on concrete plans to develop river tourism in 2026, especially the Ninh Kieu Wharf–Cai Rang Floating Market route and other floating markets, including Nga Nam and Nga Bay.

“Can Tho is a river city. There is still significant untapped potential in river tourism that has not been effectively exploited,” Diep said.

“We need clear roadmaps for what to do in 2026 and 2027 to fully unlock this potential."

Diep also called on the Department of Culture, Sports, and Tourism to advise the city on attracting investment in cultural infrastructure, including theaters and public squares.

She stressed the need to renovate and upgrade existing attractions, including Ninh Kieu Park, to improve the overall appeal of the city’s key tourist sites.

Toward making Can Tho a ‘city of festivals’

Diep further asked the department to propose new, more effective approaches to organizing major festivals and commemorative events in 2026, with greater scale, creativity, and wider impact, in order to attract both domestic and international visitors.

She underlined the importance of upgrading the quality of festivals as part of efforts to position Can Tho as a 'city of festivals,' noting that this vision has been reported by the city’s Party secretary to the prime minister and assigned as a key task for the cultural, sports, and tourism sector.

Regarding the target of welcoming 11.43 million visitors in 2026, Diep said the city had already attracted nearly 11.19 million tourists in 2025.

She suggested setting a more ambitious target of 12 million or more visitors this year to contribute to the city’s economic growth.