Hot air balloon rehearsal takes place in Tuyen Quang province

A hot air balloon festival rehearsal at Na Tong village stadium in Thuong Lam commune, Tuyen Quang province's Lam Binh district. (Photo: VNA)

Tuyen Quang (VNA) – In preparation for an International Hot Air Balloon Festival slated for late March in the northern province of Tuyen Quang, Ballooning Media Co. Ltd held a rehearsal on February 12 and 13 in the locality.

The rehearsal took place at Nguyen Tat Thanh Square in Tuyen Quang city and Na Tong village stadium in Thuong Lam commune, Lam Binh district. After the test flight, Ballooning Media Co. Ltd will discuss with the People's Committee of Tuyen Quang province, the provincial Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism (DoCST) to reach agreement on the time, location and scale of the festival.

It is expected that about 15 hot air balloons from different countries will participate in the festival.

Nguyen Van Hoa, Deputy Director of the provincial DoCST, said that the organisation of the International Balloon Festival will be a rare opportunity for domestic and foreign tourists to know more about Tuyen Quang. It is also a chance for the province to promote and introduce its natural beauty and people.

Tourism development has been considered  one of the three breakthroughs for Tuyen Quang province as in the 2020-25 period, Hoa said. Accordingly, in addition to developing cultural tourism, community and resort tourism, and adventure tourism, the province has also paid special attention to creating new tourism products such as raft rowing and singing on Na Nua lake at the Tan Trao Special National Historic Site and kayaking on Tuyen Quang hydroelectric reservoir.

The rehearsal at Nguyen Tat Thanh Square in Tuyen Quang city. (Photo: VNA)

Tuyen Quang province strives to welcome over 3 million tourists by 2025 and earn over 4.8 trillion VND (212 million USD) in total tourism revenue. The tourism sector will contribute at least 6 percent to the province's Gross Regional Domestic Product (GRDP) and create jobs for over 25,000 workers.

The sector is projected to serve over 5.5 million tourists, contribute 10 percent to the province's GRDP and employ over 35,000 workers by 2030, he said./.