The route, called “Two countries – Six destinations”, covers Kunming city and Honghe county of China’s Yunnan province, along with Lao Cai province, Hanoi, Hai Phong city, and Quang Ninh province of Vietnam.

Introducing Honghe, Zhao Ruijun, Secretary of the Communist Party of China Committee of the county, said the launch of the route is part of the tourism and cultural cooperation between China and Vietnam, and that it will provide a good stepping stone for the two countries to bolster cross-border tourism ties on a larger scale.

Hanoi, Lao Cai, Quang Ninh, and Hai Phong view China as the leading source of international tourists. Meanwhile, Chinese travellers also prefer Vietnamese destinations, including the four localities in the new route and others with rich cultural identities. The Southeast Asian nation is also an ideal destination for the Chinese who love MICE (meetings, incentives, conferences and exhibitions), culinary, and golf tourism, he noted.

Director of the Hanoi Tourism Department Dang Huong Giang described the launch of the route as an encouraging sign for both countries’ tourism sectors and localities, calling on travel firms of Vietnam and China to actively share information and make the best preparations in terms of infrastructure, products, and manpower so as to serve tourists early.

Tourism officials of the four Vietnamese localities agreed to coordinate with Yunnan province to hold tourism promotion activities. They also pledged to assist the two sides’ businesses to effectively tap into the route as well as others./.VNA