As many as 10.3 million tourists visited six northern central coastal provinces from Thanh Hoa to Thua Thien Hue in 2012 – an increase of 12 percent from last year.

The figure was released at the closing ceremony of the 2012 National Tourism Year for Northern Central Coastal Area - Hue on December 15.

Addressing the ceremony held in Hue city, Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism Hoang Tuan Anh said the programme created a breakthrough in regional tourism development, contributing to the success of national tourism sector.

The region earned over 6.6 trillion VND from tourism, a year-on-year increase of 15 percent.

The minister suggested localities continue increasing cooperation to create and promote competitive inter-regional tourism products, and publicise the National Tourism Year results and cooperative opportunities to domestic and foreign investors.

The 2013 National Tourism Year, themed “The Red River Civilisation”, will be hosted by the port city of Hai Phong.-VNA