According to Nguyen Trung Khanh, director of the Vietnam National Administration of Tourism, the function aims to promote the image of the nation, as well as boosting agricultural tourism development based on Vietnamese strengths.

The first conference is expected to attract the participation of about 300 delegates, including officials of the UN Tourism, tourism ministries, tourism agencies of UN Tourism member states, best tourism villages of UN Tourism Network, international organisations, and tourism experts.

The main activities will include an International Conference on Rural Tourism of UN Tourism, the second Best Tourism Villages by UN Tourism Network Annual Meeting, tours around Quang Nam province, an introduction of provincial tourism products, and a space to introduce culture and tourism.

This comes after Ha Van Sieu, vice chairman of the Vietnam National Authority of Tourism (VNAT), had a meeting with UN Tourism on the sideline of the Ceremony of World Tourism Day 2024 in Tbilisi, Georgia, to discuss preparation work of the first UN Tourism Conference. Talks covered topics including logistics, responsibilities of the parties, the agenda of the conference, as well as sideline activities.

UN Tourism is the UN agency responsible for the promotion of responsible, sustainable, and universally accessible tourism.

Its membership includes 160 Member States, six Associate Members, and over 500 Affiliate Members representing the private sector, educational institutions, tourism associations, and local tourism authorities.

Since joining in 1981, the country fully fulfils its financial obligations and actively participates in annual and international events organised by World Tourism Organization in order to promote the image of the country’s destinations.

VOV