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Mar 29, 2018 / 17:16

Vietnam International Travel Mart 2018 kicks off

Tourism is expected to be an economic spearhead in the coming time to forge links between people from different countries and increase their solidarity, friendship and mutual understanding.

This was announced by Deputy PM Vu Duc Dam, Head of the State Steering Committee on Tourism at Vietnam International Travel Mart (VITM) 2018 officially opened in Hanoi on March 29.
 
Deputy PM Vu Duc Dam.
Deputy PM Vu Duc Dam.
Tourism potential in Vietnam remains extremely huge and the Southeast Asian country hopes to join hands with other economies in the region and around the world to further promote tourism in the future, according to Deputy PM Vu Duc Dam.
The success of the tourism sector in Vietnam and other countries over the past time was attributed to open-door policies, Dam added.
Besides enterprises, people in each country have more deeply engaged in tourism development, serving as tourism ambassadors introducing the beauty of their land, people and culture to international friends, he added.
He called on people of Vietnam and other countries to coordinate to boost sustainable tourism development, contributing to developing a peaceful, stable and cooperative environment.
The VITM 2018 was held by the Vietnam Tourism Association under the theme “Online tourism – Vietnam moves towards Industry 4.0”, drawing over 670 travel businesses, hotels, tourism services and promotion centres from 21 countries and territories.

 
Vietnam International Travel Mart 2018 kicks off.
Vietnam International Travel Mart 2018 kicks off.
Forty-five out of the 63 cities and provinces across Vietnam are participating in the fair. The event features a forum on online tourism, a symposium on preservation and development of Vietnamese traditional food, and a seminar on start-up in tourism. At the fair, travel agencies and airlines launched a number of promotion programmes to increase the number of domestic and international tourists.
The VITM 2017 with titled “Hanoi—Destination for Vietnamese Tourism” drew the participation of 652 businesses and tourism agencies from 43 cities and provinces across Vietnam and nearly 30 countries and territories around the world. The event was estimated to attract some 60,000 person-times of visitors with over 3,000 enterprises operating in the tourism sector. The VITM 2017 contributed roughly VND220 billion (US$9.5 million) to the national tourism promotion programme, which is projected to go up in this year’s event.
Vietnam has welcomed 12.9 million international tourists during 2017, up 29.1% against 2016, according to the latest figures from the General Statistics Office.
In general, tourism activities in 2017 showed impressive results. The tourism industry has adopted many policies and measures to attract tourists, with promotions and the introduction of Vietnam in key markets such as Australia, Japan, Europe, and the ASEAN, as well as providing visa exemptions for five Western European countries. The country also increased participation at international tourism fairs and invited a great number of foreign tourism delegations.
Vietnamese tourism will take drastic and synchronous measures in 2018 to reach the target of receiving 15-17 million international tourists, the Government said at a recent online meeting with cities and provinces nationwide.