Vietnam tourism 'reaches' the most sparsely populated province in South Africa

Deputy Director General of the General Department of Tourism Ha Van Sieu recently had a meeting and worked with a delegation from Northern Cape province (South Africa) on tourism cooperation between the two sides.

The MeerKAT telescope was launched in July 2018, making South Africa an important global destination for radio astronomy.

South African Radio Astronomy Observatory

According to the General Department of Tourism, this is the first time the Northern Cape delegation has come to Vietnam to officially discuss tourism cooperation. Mr. Riaan Warie, Department of Tourism and Economic Development of the Northern Cape province, said that the Northern Cape is the largest and most sparsely populated province in South Africa. It attracts tourists thanks to its spectacular landscape, clear blue skies, history of diamond mining, nature reserves with many species of wildlife, art centers, Big Hole Museum, vineyards and especially the advanced SALT telescope. The province is eager to cooperate to attract Vietnamese tourists.

Expressing his joy at welcoming the delegation from far away to Vietnam, Deputy Director General Ha Van Sieu said that both sides are proud of their national history and great leaders such as Ho Chi Minh and Nelson Mandela. Vietnam has 3,200 km of coastline with many large and small islands, 54 ethnic groups with rich cultural identities. The Vietnamese people are very peace-loving, friendly and hospitable.

Vietnam tourism has grown rapidly, reaching 18 million international visitors by 2019, mostly from nearby markets such as China, Japan, Korea and even distant markets such as South Africa. Popular destinations include Da Nang, Hanoi, Hue, Hoi An, and Ho Chi Minh City.

"Some Vietnamese travel companies have also brought Vietnamese tourists to South Africa. In the future, if there is a direct flight connecting Vietnam and South Africa, it will contribute to promoting tourist exchange between the two sides," Mr. Ha Van Sieu emphasized.

The Deputy Director General of the Vietnam National Administration of Tourism also suggested that the two sides regularly exchange information, hoping that South Africa would support Vietnam in destination introduction programs, famtrip delegation exchanges, and cultural exchanges. In return, the leader of the Vietnam National Administration of Tourism also invited the Northern Cape province to consider participating in the international tourism fairs VITM Hanoi and ITE HCM in Vietnam.

Deputy Director General of the Vietnam National Administration of Tourism Ha Van Sieu (right) presents gifts to representatives of the Northern Cape delegation.

The Northern Cape delegation agreed with Vietnam’s proposals and informed that an art troupe would come to perform in Vietnam in September this year. The two sides will continue to discuss specific contents and tourism cooperation plans to enhance the exchange of Vietnamese and South African tourists in the coming time.

Since reopening tourism after the pandemic, Vietnam has been striving to find new markets to quickly restore international tourism and accelerate the reception of foreign visitors. According to the General Department of Tourism (Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism), in April, there were over 984,000 international visitors to Vietnam, the highest since the beginning of the year and an increase of 9.9% compared to the previous month. The number of domestic tourists is estimated at 10.5 million.

In the past 4 months, Vietnam tourism welcomed nearly 3.7 million international visitors and served 38 million domestic visitors. Total revenue from tourists is estimated at 196,600 billion VND.

Source link: https://thanhnien.vn/du-lich-viet-nam-vuon-toi-tinh-thua-dan-nhat-nam-phi-185230502105100912.htm