The Cham Brahman community celebrates  Kate Festival at Po Sah Inu tower in Phan Thiet city (Photo: www.dulichbinhthuan.com.vn)

The Kate Festival, the most important annual celebration of the ethnic Cham Brahman community, is hoped to promote the province’s image and tourism in the post-pandemic time.

The festival reminds the ethnic Brahman community of their ancient gods and delivers wishes for bumper harvests and the growth of all beings. 

According to the provincial Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism, Binh Thuan has welcomed about 1.4 million tourists so far this year, reaching 20 percent of its annual target. It earned 3.73 trillion VND (160 million USD) from tourism, down 50 percent year-on-year.

Last year it welcomed more than 6.4 million tourists, including 775,000 foreigners, up 11.39 percent against 2018.

There are about 153,000 Cham people in Vietnam, of whom over 41,000 live in Binh Thuan province, mainly in Bac Binh, Tuy Phong and Tanh Linh districts.

The province has devised a line-up of preferential policies to support ethnic people. To date, all localities of the province have access to electricity./.

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People on Thursday celebrated the Doan Ngo Festival nationwide by eating fruits and fermented glutinous rice in the early morning, but few know all the traditional rituals of the festival.

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The Xiem Can Pagoda in the Mekong Delta province of Bac Lieu has attracted many visitors with its splendid beauty and great hospitality of the local people.