An international tourism route linking the central Ha Tinh province of Vietnam with Sakon Nakhon in northeast Thailand was opened for travellers on February 27 in Ha Tinh province.

This is the latest initiative in the bid to promote local tourism and boost the economy in the East-West economic corridor and the Greater Mekong Subregions.

The northeast Thai localities of Sakon Nakhon, Nakhonphannom and Nongkhai are home to many overseas Vietnamese whose demand for returning home to visit and explore investment opportunities is very high.

In addition, the distance from these areas to the sea through Ha Tinh is only half of that to Thailand ’s southern beach resorts such as Phuket.

The route is therefore expected to pave the way for trade and tourism between the two localities. Tourist agencies of both sides can jointly launch tours from Ha Tinh to Laos and Thailand and vice versa.

The trilateral development cooperation in the field will create a bigger tourism market that benefits both local people and tourist companies.

With a coastline of nearly 137 km, Ha Tinh boasts a lot of clean and beautiful seaside resorts such as Xuan Thanh, Xuan Hai and Ky Ninh, with high-quality services.

Additionally, the encouraging transport links, affluent natural resources, rich cultural life and celebrated destinations - such as Huong Tich pagoda and the memorial site of famed poet Nguyen Du - have all enabled the province to develop tourism both at home and in other ASEAN member countries.-VNA