The southern coastal province of Ba Ria-Vung Tau received 650,000visitors from Feb. 9 to 17 (the last day of the lunar year of 2012 tothe eighth day of the 2013 lunar year), an increase of around 10 percentover the same period last year.
Many of the touristscame from Russia, Northern Europe, the Republic of Korea andJapan, according to the Ba Ria-Vung Tau Department for Culture, Sportsand Tourism.
During the 9-day festival, all resorts,hotels and motels in the province were full, especially in Vung TauCity, which was the destination for around 450,000 guests.
On Feb. 17, the province held an arts performance to herald thebeginning of the Ba Ria-Vung Tau culture-tourism festival 2013, themed“Green aspiration.”
Participants to the performance were famous singers and music bands in Vietnam and the province’s song and dance troupe.
This year, Ba Ria-Vung Tau will host a series of culture, sportsand tourist events such as the 5th International Kite Festival, and anarts performance programme to celebrate the recognition of Con Dao, theformer US prison, as a special national historical relic. Therewill be also an international seaport festival and a series ofactivities celebrating the 40 th anniversary of Vietnam-Japandiplomatic ties. -VNA