A gala celebrating the ASEAN Tourism Forum 2019 (ATF 2019) will be held on January 18 at the Ha Long FLC Resort, Ha Long city, the northeastern province of Quang Ninh.

Scene at the press conference, where the date and venue of the gala celebrating the ASEAN Tourism Forum 2019 are relesed

The event is expected to draw 1,900 domestic and foreign delegates, said Pham Ngoc Thuy, Director of the provincial Tourism Department.

According to Thuy, Quang Ninh has worked to complete preparations for the gala, including infrastructure, stage and art performance programmes, urban decoration, security and health, along with training for local officials and volunteers participating in the event. 

The gala aims to celebrate the success of the ATF 2018 which is taking place in Ha Long city from January 14 – 18. It will combine with the closing ceremony of the National Tourism Year 2018 - Ha Long - Quang Ninh, themed “Ha Long – Heritage, Wonder – Friendly Destination”.

In 2018, Quang Ninh welcomed 12.2 million tourists for the first time, up 24 percent year on year. Of the visitors, 5.2 million was foreigners, up 22.1 percent. The revenue from tourism was estimated at 23.6 trillion VND (1.01 billion USD), up 28.1 percent year on year. - VNA