National Tourism Year 2015 to spotlight world heritage

As scheduled, the launching week will commence on April 1 with a series of cultural and tourism activities.

The opening ceremony, which will be live broadcast on national and local television channels, will introduce a number of UNESCO-recognised cultural heritages, popular tourism destinations of Vietnam, while highlighting the country's key cultural events and world heritage sites in localities.

The strongpoints and potentials of tourism in Vietnam and Thanh Hoa in particular will be promoted to visitors at the event, aiming to encourage all people from the locality to work together to preserve and uphold the value of world heritage sties and foster sustainable tourism development.

At the conclusion of the promotional week, the programme will continue to run throughout the year across the province. It has also attracted the participation of 15 cities and provinces that are home to world heritage sites, such as Hanoi capital and Phu Tho and Quang Ninh provinces.

Outstanding events include a marine tourist festival scheduled for late April, an international stone sculpture camp in May, a cuisine festival in June and cultural and art festivals.

The National Tourism Year in 2015 is a great opportunity for Thanh Hoa to popularise tangible and intangible cultural values and promote the beautiful landscapes of Vietnam and its own province.

Vietnam is home to 22 world heritages recognised by the UNESCO, including two natural heritage sites (Ha Long Bay and Phong Nha-Ke Bang National Park); five cultural heritages (the Central Sector of the Imperial Citadel of Thang Long, the Citadel of the Ho Dynasty, the Complex of Hue Monuments, Hoi An Ancient Town, My Son Sanctuary), and one mixed heritage (Trang An Landscape Complex). Thanh Hoa is located among mountainous-midlands, lowlands, and coastal terrains which are said to be favourable for developing tourism. It strives to make the tourism industry as its forefront in socio-economic development.

The province aims to welcome around 120,000 foreign tourist arrivals and over 5 million domestic visitors in the year and earn US$105 million in revenues from tourism activities.

 (Source: VNA)