Building the Nam Cat Tien regional tourism brand

Nam Cat Tien is one of Dong Nai province's tourism brands that has existed for decades, with well-known destinations such as: Cat Tien National Park (NP), Cat Tien Jungle Lodge Resort, Orchard Home Resort… in Nam Cat Tien commune; Ta Lai Community Tourism Village (Ta Lai commune)…

Tourists explore heritage trees at Cat Tien National Park. Photo: Ngoc Lien

In recent years, some destinations in the Nam Cat Tien region have continuously strived to promote the local tourism brand by improving service quality, creating diversity and novelty for products, and winning prestigious domestic and international tourism awards.

The allure of the green forest

Cat Tien NP is considered the focal point of tourism in the Nam Cat Tien area and other neighboring localities. Many years ago, Dong Nai province developed intra-regional and inter-regional tourism tours, all taking Cat Tien NP as a key destination, connecting with other destinations in the Nam Cat Tien area and its surroundings, such as: The tour exploring Suoi Mo Tourist Area (Tan Phu commune) - Phu Dien rice region (Phu Hoa commune) - Cat Tien NP; Ta Lai Community Tourism Village - Cat Tien NP tour…

To become a focal point for tours and contribute to local tourism development, Cat Tien NP always strives to develop tourism in conjunction with environmental protection, creating a unique natural discovery tourism space. Among them, the night animal viewing tour and exploring Bau Sau area in Cat Tien NP are famous tours, attracting domestic and international tourists.

Sharing about the development of green tourism in the park, Director of Cat Tien NP Pham Xuan Thinh said: The destination's unique feature lies in the experiences fully immersed in nature, associated with sustainable values, preserving the environment and natural assets. In addition, Cat Tien NP has also elevated its tourism brand by winning domestic and international tourism awards. For example, in 2023, the Bau Sau area of Cat Tien NP was recognized as one of the Top 7 ecotourism destinations in 2023; in 2024, Cat Tien NP was officially recognized by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) as the 72nd protected area in the world to achieve the IUCN Green List title. Notably, in October 2025, Cat Tien NP was awarded 4 international ecotourism awards 2025 (AEN-IEA 2025) by the Asian Ecotourism Network (AEN) in the categories of: Biodiversity Conservation, Ecotourism Promotion Category, Destination Governance Category, and Community Champion Category.

As an enterprise with many years of experience in operating nature discovery tours in the Nam Cat Tien area, Director of Tri An Adventure Experience Tourism Co., Ltd. (Trang Bom commune) Pham Hoang Quoc Bao said: Cat Tien NP is an indispensable destination for tourism businesses when operating tours in the Nam Cat Tien area. Recently, his company has successfully operated several discovery tours such as: cycling tours, exploring the forest and watching night animals in Cat Tien NP; tours connecting Phu Dien - Ta Lai - Cat Tien NP or Ta Lai - Cat Tien NP tours… Tri An Adventure's tours are highly appreciated by tourists, and many long-time customers even return multiple times to participate in the company's tours operating in the Nam Cat Tien area.

Connecting destinations

Along with Cat Tien NP, neighboring destinations in the Nam Cat Tien area such as: Ta Lai Community Tourism Village, resorts… have made great efforts in building their tourism brand. Especially after the Covid-19 pandemic, these efforts have increased many times to revive a tourism industry that was depleted by the prolonged "freeze" due to the pandemic.

The tourism industry is accelerating the implementation of solutions to promote tourism development in a green, sustainable direction, based on available resources such as: forests, waterfalls, lakes, and the results of new rural construction… Among them, the Nam Cat Tien area is one of the province's important tourism growth poles.

To continue concretizing the resolutions of the Provincial Party Committee and Provincial People's Council, in the coming time, the Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism will continue to develop tourism development plans associated with the sustainable exploitation and preservation of natural values. This will lead to the formation of new tourism models, creating richness and attractiveness for tourists, such as: Dong Nai World Biosphere Reserve, Cat Tien National Park, Tri An Lake, Mo Stream, Mo Waterfall, Ba Ra Mountain; traditional craft villages, ethnic villages, etc.

Member of the Provincial Party Committee, Director of the Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism LE THI NGOC LOAN

One of the most notable efforts in the Nam Cat Tien area is the revival of Ta Lai Community Tourism Village. This is an impressive destination on the domestic and international tourism map with activities that allow visitors to experience the cultural life of the S'tieng and Chau Ma people in Ta Lai commune, Dong Nai province. After 2020, Ta Lai tourism showed signs of decline. Tourism activities were quiet and almost brought no economic value to the local people. However, not wanting the name Ta Lai to fade away, some young people from Ta Lai village were determined to "revive" the tourism village with impressive community-based experiential tourism activities associated with sharing and environmental protection. With these efforts, in May 2025, the Ta Lai Eco Lodge tourism product at Ta Lai Community Tourism Village was awarded the Southeast Asia Responsible Tourism Award 2025 by the Southeast Asia Sustainable Tourism Certification Program (ICRT-SEA).

Most recently, at the end of October 2025, Cat Tien Jungle Lodge Resort in Nam Cat Tien commune was awarded the World’s 10 Best Boutique Hotel Awards 2025 by the International Business Association.

Director of Cat Tien Jungle Lodge Resort Duong Thi Ngoc Phuong said: To achieve this award, Cat Tien Jungle Lodge had to make long-term efforts to preserve nature, develop sustainable tourism, and provide domestic and international tourists with high-class resort experiences in the Nam Cat Tien area, while also meeting many criteria set by the award. Cat Tien Jungle Lodge will continue its goal of developing tourism associated with the preservation of natural values sustainably, joining hands with Dong Nai’s tourism sector in building an image of a green, safe, and friendly destination on the world tourism map.

By Ngoc Lien-Translated by Mai Nga, Thu Ha