Major events of Vietnam tourism 2006 reviewed

The 4^th APEC Tourism Ministerial Meeting

 In the framework of APEC Vietnam Year 2006, the 4^th APEC Tourism Ministerial Meeting was held in the ancient town of Hoi An, Quang Nam from October 15-17 under the theme “Promoting APEC Tourism Co-operation for Common Prosperity.”

During the three working days, APEC Tourism Ministers focused o­n APEC Tourism performance, assessed the efficiency of projects under the four main objectives of the APEC Tourism Charter carried out by Tourism Working Group, discussed issues relating to the APEC tourism industry, including security for tourists, tourism development policies, and measures to ensure sustainable tourism development and travel facilitation across the region, strengthened tourism exchange and preserved cultural characteristics for sustainable tourism development.

At the conclusion of the last working day, Hoi An Declaration o­n Promoting APEC Tourism Co-operation for Common Prosperity was adopted, in which APEC Ministers agreed to speed up tourism co-operation, strengthen co-operation in human resources development, service standardisation, application of tourism satellite accounts, and co-ordination between public and private sectors in tourism development and information exchange.

Vietnam’s initiatives to further promote APEC tourism co-operation and common prosperity were also promoted in the Hoi An Declaration, including the organisation of APEC Tourism Festivals, APEC Investment and Tourism Forum and establishment of direct air routes to the world cultural heritages situated in APEC countries.

Visit Quang Nam Year

The tourism campaign of Visit Quang Nam Year 2006 was launched in the central province of Quang Nam, which is home to the two world heritage sites of Hoi An and My Son, including series of activities organised during the year to welcome the success of the APEC Vietnam Year.

With the theme of “Cultural Heritages, Traditional Festival, Traditional Vocational Villages and Eco-Tourism,” the tourism campaign has successfully showcased the hospitality, beauty, special cultural features of the central province of Quang Nam, making very good impressions o­n visitors, APEC delegates and international friends.

Throughout the year, Quang Nam has promoted many village festivities, traditional festivals and folk arts performances at Kim Bong Carpentry village, Thanh Ha Pottery village, Tra Que Vegetable village, Phuoc Kieu Copper village, Ma Chau Silk village, and Ban Thach Sedge mat village.

On the summer days, the province focused o­n coastal festivals, traditional yachting performance, fashion shows “Beach and summer,” “Hoi An Traditional Costumes,” food festivals and sand model creation. Many meetings, seminars, workshops and supporting activities have also been organised during the year.

Hue Festival

Consisting of hundreds of memorable and unique activities, the Hue Festival 2006, organised from June 3-11 in the ancient capital of Hue, was a great combination of unique culture values, tradition features and unforgettable memories.

Following the three previous festivals, the Hue Festival 2006 successfully promoted peace, friendliness and cultural exchange.

Visitors were overwhelmed by so many professional, modern and traditional performances by Vietnamese artists and foreign artists from France, China, the United Kingdom, Russia, Australia, Indonesia, the Republic of Korea and Japan. Especially, the Space of Gongs Culture of the Central Highlands was introduced in the festival.

Remarkably, the Nam Giao festival, which recalled a special royal ceremony in the 19^th century, also took place.

Mekong Delta Tourism Festival

The festival was organised for the second time in Chau Doc town and Long Xuyen city, An Giang province from February 23-26 with a view to promoting the rich potentials of the Mekong Delta.

The programme included a trade and tourism fair, a rural food festival, a tour guide competition and a seminar o­n developing tourism in Mekong River region. In addition, a special art and cultural festival was also organised, drawing the participation of art troupes from the Kinh (Vietnamese), Hoa (Chinese), Cham, and Khmer communities in the delta.

A fashion show was launched, featuring Tan Chau silk, a well-known traditional handicraft indigenous to An Giang province.

“APEC and Vietnamese cultural heritages”

This is the name of an exhibition hosted by the Ministry of Culture and Information, the Vietnam National Administration of Tourism and other relevant bodies to welcome the APEC Economic Leaders’ Meeting. It was organised in Van Ho Exhibition Centre, Hanoi from November 14-23.

The exhibition displayed more than 100 large-sized photos of the life, culture, land, peoples, and beautiful landscapes from APEC member economies. Meanwhile, an overview o­n Vietnamese history was presented through objects and typical images of the country, classified as “Vietnamese antiques,” “Vietnamese ceramics,” “Vietnamese fashion,” “Hanoi’s quintessence,” “Royal Hue city’s cultural imprints,” “Beauty of Saigon-Ho Chi Minh City.”

The tourism administration takes this occasion to introduce its key tourist routes including the central region’s Cultural Heritage Road, and cultural and historical relics in Hanoi and the former revolutionary base of Thai Nguyen.

Southern Fruit Festival

The Southern Fruit Festival was organised in the Suoi Tien Recreational Park from May 27 to June 4, showcasing the diversity and abundance of southern fruits. Many supporting activities took place during the festival, including presentations of large-scale fruits and fruit-eating competitions.