Trang An touriste site in Ninh Binh province. (Source: trangandanhthang.vn)Hanoi (VNA) – The Vietnam National Administration of Tourism (VNAT) held a function in China’s Guilin city on November 19 to introduce Vietnam’s tourism potentials .
The event was the first one in a series in order to introduce Vietnamese tourism in China’s north-eastern region and also aims to take advantage of the planned opening of Nha Trang – Guilin straight air route.
Pham Thanh Binh, Vietnamese Consul General in Nanning, said Vietnam and China is two neighbouring countries with cultural similarities. Along with the development of the bilateral relationship, tourism cooperation has gained many significant achievements.
For many years, China has topped the list of countries with the largest number of tourists to Vietnam and Vietnam ranks seventh among Chinese tourists’ favourite destinations with dozens of direct flights from China to Vietnam’s famous tourist destinations.
Binh said Vietnamese and Chinese agencies have actively carried out many measures to encourage people from one country to travel to the other like extending the stay time and simplifying immigration procedures.
VNAT Deputy General Director Nguyen Thi Thanh Huong said in the past years, tourism cooperation between Vietnam and China has developed remarkably. Each year, nearly 2 million Chinese tourists come to Vietnam and around 1.9 million Vietnamese holidaymakers visit China.
Vietnam’s tourism development strategy by 2020 with a vision to 2030 also determines China is a key market, she added.
After Guilin, VNAT will hold similar events in Dalian city of Liaoning province, and Changchun city of Jilin province.-VNA
