“ Vietnam travel “ - “Cooperation in developing tourism within ASEAN” was the theme of a seminar held by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism (MCST) in the central city of Danang on March 27. The seminar was one of the Vietnamese tourism sector’s initiatives to further boost the regional tourism connectivity and cooperation when Vietnam officially assumes the role as the ASEAN Chair.
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The
event also served as a forum for ASEAN countries to exchange issues of
common concern and seek effective measures to cope with obstacles
facing the regional tourism in order to make ASEAN an attractive
destination on the world tourist map, looking towards the building of a
dynamic and sustainable ASEAN community.
According to Deputy
Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism Tran Chien Thang, ASEAN
countries have many advantages for tourism development cooperation as
they have convenient traffic conditions, share similarities in cultural
identities and boast many natural and cultural heritages.
Boosting
the regional connectivity and cooperation, especially in tourism, is
one of priorities of each country’s tourism sector and is also
reflected in State-level joint commitments, including the ASEAN Tourism
Agreement and the ASEAN Tourism Integration Strategy, he said.
The
Vietnamese tourism sector has made an important contribution to the
national economy with continuously increasing number of international
arrivals, Thang said, adding that since the beginning of the year, more
than 1.35 million foreign tourists visited the country.
Ong Jin
Chwen, Area Director, Chief Representative of the Singapore Tourism
Board in Indochina, said ASEAN countries are well-known for long
coastal lines, beautiful beaches and good climate which are suitable
for developing cruise tourism.
Last year, ASEAN welcomed nearly 63 million visitors with tourists within the bloc accounting for 40% of the arrivals. |
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(Source:
VNA) |
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