Hanoi (VNA) – The Visit Vietnam Year 2024 hosted by the northern mountainous province of Dien Bien will feature cultural, economic, and social events associated with the 70th anniversary of the Dien Bien Phu victory (May 7, 1954 – 2024), according to the Ministry of Culture, Sports, and Tourism.
The events will introduce and promote the beauty, cultural values, and unique tourism products of Vietnam and Dien Bien in particular to visitors.
The opening ceremony and the Ban Flower Festival, highlighting the symbolic flower of the province, will be organised in March in Dien Bien Phu city. They will be broadcast live by the Vietnam Television.
Meanwhile, the closing ceremony is scheduled for the end of December, featuring a stellar art programme and flag handover to the next host locality of the Visit Vietnam Year.
In the framework of the Year, a total of 28 events will be held in Dien Bien, while the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism will chair and coordinate with stakeholders to organise 13 other activities.
Dien Bien has set a target of welcoming 1.3 million tourists and earning a total revenue of 2.2 trillion VND (over 90.6 million USD) from tourism activities in 2024.
Dien Bien is striving to create breakthroughs in tourism development, through improving the quality of tourism services and human resources serving tourism, organising new tours, and investing in infrastructure development, thus creating motivation for its socio-economic development in the coming time.
The National Tourism Year 2024 will also offer a chance to strengthen links in domestic and international tourism development.
As a land with significant historical and cultural value, for the past 69 years, Dien Bien has preserved and promoted the value of the Dien Bien Phu historical site, contributing to making it an attractive tourist destination.
The Dien Bien Phu Campaign lasted from March to May 1954 under the command of General Vo Nguyen Giap. The victory on May 7, 1954, led to the signing of the 1954 Geneva Accords in which France agreed to withdraw forces from its colonies in Indochina.
The former battlefield has become a major tourist attraction in Dien Bien province.
The complex of Dien Bien Phu battlefield features 45 relic sites scattering in Dien Bien Phu city, Dien Bien and Tuan Giao districts.
According to statistics, from 2016 to 2020, Dien Bien welcomed 3 million tourists, earning a total revenue of 4.8 trillion VND.
Dien Bien has achieved unprecedented economic growth, resulting in significant improvement of the cultural and social well-being of its residents.
The locality's Gross Regional Domestic Product (GRDP) expanded by an average 6.8% per year in the 2016-20 period./.