An enticing art performance took place in Nha Trang city in the central coastal province of Khanh Hoa on December 31 to welcome the New Year and announce the 2019 National Tourism Year.

Scene at the event (Photo: enternews.vn)

The event lit up the local 2/4 Square, with popular singers like Trong Tan, Uyen Linh, and Ali Hoang Duong, and dancing troupes taking stage.

Le Duc Vinh, Chairman of the provincial People’s Committee and head of the 2019 National Tourism Year organising board, said the annual programme, themed “Nha Trang – Colours of the Sea”, will introduce the province’s sea and island tourism potential and connect coastal areas in tourism development, thus contributing to developing sustainable tourism in Vietnam.

The programme is scheduled to run across the country throughout the year, with 13 national events held by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, and a wide range of culture-tourism events will be held in 14 other cities and provinces, including Hanoi, Quang Ninh, Ho Chi Minh City and Da Nang

Khanh Hoa host 10 major events and 50 related activities, with the opening ceremony held in Nha Trang in May along with a week-long sea festival. Highlights of the programme include the Miss Universe Vietnam 2019 contest, the Symphony of the Sea festival, a film screening week, a seafood festival and the Miss Tourism ASEAN contest.

Various sport events will be held such as the KN Golf Championship, Vibe Marathon Nha Trang, Challenge Vietnam, the Hong Kong – Nha Trang yacht race and a jet ski race.

Khanh Hoa, with a coastline of more than 380 km and hundreds of islands and islets, and a sunny year-long climate, houses 690 lodging facilities with 32,000 rooms. It received 6.3 million tourists, including 2.8 million foreigners, in 2018. The figures were 15 percent and 36 percent higher than those recorded in 2017, respectively. This year, the province aims to serve more than 7 million visitors, including some 3 million foreigners.

Nha Trang has 180 kilometres of coastline with beautiful landscapes of Van Phong, Nha Trang and Cam Ranh bays and many islands. It has huge potential for tourism development.-VNA