A series of activities, including a photography exhibition, a performance of traditional musical instruments, an ao dai (traditional long dress) fashion show, and culinary introduction events, impressed visitors at a programme to promote Vietnam’s tourism in Paris, France, on March 12. 

At the signing ceremony of the MoU between he Ho Chi Minh City Tourism Promotion Centre and the Vietravel Tourism and Marketing JSC’s French office (Source: congthuong.vn)

Speaking at the event, Deputy General Director of the Vietnam National Administration of Tourism Ha Van Sieu stressed that 2018 was a successful year for Vietnam’s tourism sector. 

Vietnam was honoured by the World Travel Awards as the leading tourist destination in Asia and best golf tourism destination in Asia, and hailed for its wide variety of tourism products and services, he said.

Vietnam is also known as a safe and attractive destination with many tourist attractions and friendly, hospitable people, Sieu stressed.

Destinations like Ha Long Bay, Da Nang, Hue, Hoi An, Nha Trang, Phu Quoc, and Ho Chi Minh City have attracted many tourists around the world, he said.

The country is also a popular venue for many major international events. Recently, Vietnam was very proud to be selected as host of the second DPRK-US summit. The capital city of Hanoi will also notably be hosting and organising Formula 1 racing in 2020. 

The number of international tourists to Vietnam has sharply surged in recent years. Last year, Vietnam served 15.5 million foreign visitors, nearly double compared to those of 2015, with 13 percent coming from European countries. 

According to President of the Paris Convention and Visitors Bureau Pierre Schapira, with 15 weekly direct flights connecting Paris with Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City, France is a potential tourism market of Vietnam and a gateway for other European travelers to visit Vietnam. 

In 2018, nearly 300,000 French tourists visited Vietnam and about 100,000 Vietnamese holidaymakers visited France. 

Pierre believed that the bilateral cooperation in tourism between Vietnam and France will be promoted in the coming time. 

At the event, a memorandum of understanding on cooperation was signed between the Ho Chi Minh City Tourism Promotion Centre and the Vietravel Tourism and Marketing JSC’s French office, marking an important step for HCM City’s tourism sector to have a representative office in the European market. 

The centre’s director, Le Truong Hien Hoa, said that the Vietravel office in France will serve as a provider of information and publications to introduce and promote destinations, tours, and tourism products to European visitors, towards attracting more foreign arrivals to Vietnam. 

Participants at the event were introduced to opportunities to participate in the 15th International Travel Expo-Ho Chi Minh City (ITE HCMC 2019) which is slated for September 5-7.–VNA