Four Italian nationals last Thursday wrapped up their 24-day Vietnam trip, including a 1,000-kilometer-plus biking tour stretching from the former imperial city of Hue to Vung Tau Province to promote Vietnam’s tourism image to Italian people.

The four Italian tourists pose for a photo during their trip to Vietnam

The 12-day cycling tour by the four Italian tourists, including three 64-year-old retired workers named Garbin Mauro, Cacciatori Vittorio, Mancin Vicenzo and a 54-year-old chief police named Mantovan Mario, started on February 26 and concluded on March 10, taking them to famous travel destinations spanning from central Vietnam to the southern region on the 1,000-km journey.

During their biking trip, they grasped opportunities to showcase the beauty of Vietnam to Italian friends back in their homeland by posting video clips on social media networks. They are expected to carry out numerous activities to convey Vietnam’s tourism image to Italian people.

Garbin Mauro, head of the cycling tour, told the Daily that all of them share the same dream of visiting Vietnam when they were still little kids and only saw the image of a heart-breaking Vietnam seriously hit by the wars through TV screen.

And therefore, they have decided to make a fact-finding trip to the country to witness how Vietnam has changed since the war. The best way for them to gain an insight into the Southeast Asian country’s natural landscapes along the journey and get a touch of daily lives of local people was to use bicycle as a means for their trip, he explained.

The four Italian tourists took a year to prep for the trip and garnered enthusiastic support from the Vietnam-Italia Friendship Association, the Vietnam Union of Friendship Organizations and Vietnam National Administration of Tourism to fulfill their dream of arriving in Vietnam.

SGT