The central province of Binh Dinh has approved a plan to organize a major summer tourism festival which is slated to kick off at the central square of Quy Nhon City on June 22.

Tourists join a boat tour at Ham Ho Tourist Site in Binh Dinh Province. The central province has approved a plan to organize a major summer tourism festival.

Tran Thi Thu Thuy, deputy head of the tourism office under the provincial Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism, said the festival will have many highlights, including sea and island tourism.

A cultural and sporting event will be held in Hoai Nhon District on June 17-19 to drum up the tourism festival. The biannual event aims to promote traditional values and attractions of the province in particular and Vietnam in general.

The festival willcomprisea Green Tourism Week starting on June 22, a two-day beauty pageant ending on June 29, the inauguration of the big-ticket entertainment and resort complex FLC Quy Nhon on June 29, and international scientific conferences in July.

Performances of Binh Dinh’s traditional martial arts on August 2-4 and competitions every Saturday night until September are part of the tourism festival, which will end with singing shows and fireworks displays on National Day on September 2.

Thuy said the province plans to organize the festival every year to introduce new and popular destinations to domestic and international tourists.

Nguyen Minh Doan,deputy director of the department, said Binh Dinh attracted more than 2.6 million tourists in 2015, a 25% pickupover the previous year.

The department expects major tourism and cultural events will help the province woo more visitors in the coming years.

SGT