The event saw the attendance of Deputy Minister of Culture, Sport and Tourism Huynh Vinh Ai, Vice Chairwoman of the Hanoi People’s Council Phung Thi Hong Ha together with leaders of Ministries, sectors, representatives of foreign embassies in Viet Nam, international organizations, provinces, cities and tourism enterprises across the country.Under the theme “Hanoi – Destination for Vietnamese Tourism”, this year’s event draws the participation of 652 enterprises from 43 cities and provinces across Viet Nam and nearly 30 countries and territories around the world.
Delegates cut the ribbon to kick off the Vietnam International Travel Mart 2017
|
Delivering the opening speech at the ceremony, Deputy Minister of Culture, Sport and Tourism Huynh Vinh Ai said that Viet Nam’s tourism industry has recorded impressive development over the past years and received special care from the Party and State.
2016 was a year of unprecedented growth for the Vietnam’s tourism sector, marked by a record number of international arrivals. The country received over 10 million international arrivals and serve more than 62 million domestic travelers, with the total revenue of VND400 trillion (US$18 billion), representing year-on-year increase of 18.6 percent.
In the first quarter of this year, the country welcomed over 3,2 million foreign visitors, up 29 percent from the same period of last year. The number of local tourists is estimated at 22.2 million. Tourism revenues rose 20.83 percent year-on-year to as much as VND 131,900 billion.
He stressed that in the current trend of competition and globalization, promotion work plays an important role in maintaining and expanding tourism markets. Organizing the VITM will contribute to affirming Hanoi’s tourism trademark – a tourist center of the country, the leading destination in the region
Addressing the ceremony, Vice Chairwoman of the Hanoi People’s Council Phung Thi Hong Ha said that the tourism sector of Hanoi has recorded impressive development over the past years. In the first three months of this year, Hanoi received over 6.2 million arrivals, up 7 percent over the same period last year. Thanks to the high number of visitors, tourism revenue is estimated at VND18,366 billion, up 10 percent year-on-year. TripAdvisor listed Hanoi among the world's top 10 best destinations in 2015 and 2016.
One of the highlights of the event is the International Street Food Festival held for the first time, drawing the participation of dozens of internationally renowned chefs from Thailand, Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, the Philippines, Laos, Cambodia, Myanmar, Japan, Korea, India, Pakistan and Taiwan.
Additionally, there will be more than 45,000 low-cost air tickets and package tours at reasonable prices offered by travel companies and airlines at the fair. During the travel mart, as many as 20 conferences, workshops, and meetings on tourism products and services in different localities, new regulations and policies on Vietnam's tourism industry, and preservation activities will also be organized.
This year’s event is estimated to attract some 60,000 person-times of visitors with over 3,000 enterprises, operating in tourism sector. In addition to the traditional markets such as Japan, the Republic of Korea, Western Europe and ASEAN, this year’s VITM also features the participation of enterprises of the United States Travel Association (USTA), which will meet and ink cooperative deals with the VITA.
