A ceremony has been held in south-central Khanh Hoa province to begin its hosting of National Tourism Year 2019.

Nha Trang Bay, one of the major site in Khanh Hoa. Photo: Nhatrangtoday.vn

With the theme “Nha Trang - Color of the Sea”, the National Tourism Year 2019 will feature hundreds of cultural, sports, and tourism events.

Organized annually, this most important program for Vietnam’s tourism sector aims to introduce the province’s sea and island tourism potential and connect coastal areas in tourism development, thus contributing to developing sustainable tourism in the country.

During the year, 13 national events will be jointly organized by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism and other ministries and agencies as well as authorities in Hanoi, Quang Ninh, Ho Chi Minh City, and Da Nang.

Khanh Hoa will host ten major events and 50 related activities, with an opening ceremony to be held in its capital Nha Trang in May together with a week-long sea festival. Other highlights of the program will include Miss Universe Vietnam 2019, the Symphony of the Sea festival, a film week, a seafood festival, Miss Tourism ASEAN, and a conference on central coastal development.

Various sport events will be held, such as the KN Golf Championship, Vibe Marathon Nha Trang, International Challenge Vietnam Triathlon 2019, the Hong Kong - Nha Trang yacht race, and a jet ski race.

At the launch ceremony, the tourist phone number *2258 was also introduced, which will operate 24/7 to offer support and advise tourists.

With a coastline of more than 380 km and hundreds of islands and islets and a sunny climate all year, Khanh Hoa has 690 lodging facilities with 32,000 rooms. It welcomed 6.3 million tourists in 2018, including 2.8 million foreigners, up 15 per cent and 36 per cent against 2017, respectively. The province aims to welcome more than 7 million visitors, including some 3 million foreigners, this year.

Nha Trang has 180 km of coastline with beautiful landscapes including Van Phong, Nha Trang and Cam Ranh Bays and many islands. It is known for its beautiful beaches with fine clean sand and water, mild temperature, and excellent scuba diving, and is a popular destination for domestic and international tourists, including affluent travelers. Nha Trang Bay is widely considered among the world’s most beautiful. The city hosted the Miss Universe 2008 Pageant and Miss World 2010.

VN Economic Times