International tourists visit Hoi An ancient city in Vietnam's central province of Quang Nam (Photo: VNA)Jakarta (VNA) – Indonesia’s newspaperJakarta Post has recently published an article describing Vietnam as a risingstar in Southeast Asian tourism.
It reported that Vietnam is hosting the 38thASEAN Tourism Forum (ATF) from January 14-18 in Ha Long city of northern QuangNinh province to showcase its impressive achievements in the industry.
Themed “ASEAN – The Power of One”, the five-dayevent has attracted more than 2,000 participants, including tourism ministersfrom ASEAN and East Asia, top leaders of national tourism agencies,international tourism organisations, high-end hotels and resorts, airlines, andclose to 150 journalists and travel writers from Southeast Asia and outside theregion.
A number of events were held as part of theforum, including the Meeting of ASEAN Tourism Ministers on January 17-18 andthe Meeting of ASEAN Tourism Ministers with China, Japan, the Republic ofKorea, and India.
A meeting of leaders of ASEAN national tourismorganisations was held on January 14-16. There are also meetings between ASEANtourism stakeholders and their counterparts from India and Russia.
Another important event is the ASEAN TourismForum on Travel Exchange (Travex) held from January 16-18. According to theVietnam National Administration of Tourism, the event features about 450 boothsand is expected to draw 1,500 people, including buyers, sellers and journalistsfrom ASEAN and other regions.
The ATF affords Vietnam a chance to improve itsrole and stature in regional tourism cooperation and introduce the country’snatural beauty and people to international friends, according to the article.
With its growing economy, including animpressive economic boom in the tourism sector, Vietnam is in the rightposition to host the prestigious regional travel forum.
The article said Vietnam is a stable andpeaceful country, which has been experiencing high economic growth during thelast 10 years. In 2018, the Vietnamese economy was estimated to grow by 7.08percent in spite of global financial turmoil.
In tourism, Vietnam has achieved many milestonesduring the last few years. With its pristine beaches, natural sites andstunning landscapes, Vietnam’s tourism has been growing more than 25 percentannually during the last three years, thanks to infrastructure improvement,more direct flights to many foreign cities, and major reforms.
In 2017, Vietnam was ranked sixth by the UNWorld Tourism Organisation (UNWTO) in terms of global tourism growth.-VNA
VNA
