A boost to tourism development in central region and highlands

PM Nguyen Xuan Phuc (4th from left) attends the conference for tourism development in central region and highlands that takes place in central Thua Thien-Hue province on Feburary 16, 2019. Photo: VGP

The event is expected to gather policy recommendations for 19 provinces in the central region and highlands to promote tourism development in the years to come.

In his opening remark, Chairman of the Thua Thien-Hue People’s Committee Pham Ngoc Tho said the conference reflects the joint effort of the localities to envisage a long-term vision for exploiting tourism potential-one of the region’s biggest strengths.

The area is one of the special tourism hubs on Vietnamese tourism map as it is home to beautiful bays and beaches, 9 national parks and many national wildlife serves, and 14 world’s cultural heritages.

In terms of infrastructure, the area has 12 operational airports including five international ones and 10 seaports including Chan May port, which is a general focal seaport (type 1) of Viet Nam that is capable of accommodating cargo vessels up to 50,000DWT and passenger ships up to 225,282GRT and 362m in length.

Last year, the area welcomed 56 million turns of visitors, including more than 9.5 million foreign arrivals.

However, Tho pointed out that the number of 3-5 star hotels only account for 17% in Viet Nam while tourism connectivity still remains limited.

He vowed to be attentive to all initiatives and to work with leaders of other provinces in order to turn the central region and highlands into a high-quality destination in Asia.

By Thuy Dung