Director recognises Ha Long Bay’s potential

The Director of New7Wonders Foundation, Jean-Paul De La Fuente, has called on Vietnam to launch a national campaign to promote Ha Long Bay’s image and attempt to gain the title of a New7Wonders attraction. Jean-Paul made the statement in an interview with The Thao & Van Hoa (Sports & Culture) newspaper after concluding a working session with the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism on October 4. He said the publicity campaign was necessary in the final rounds of the competition to increase public awareness of the election, which should involve the Government. Brazil’s President took part in voting for its key natural attraction as it was part of the national pride and honour, said the chief of the world body evaluating new world wonders. He said he understood that at this point, all Vietnamese considered Ha Long bay as the biggest wonder of the nation, which he said needs massive promotion and election campaigns to promote its image. Jean-Paul advised Vietnam to avoid routines in campaigning while creating special initiatives to attract public attention, especially the young generation, to vote. He said pictures of the site were not convincing enough as his body had received numerous beautiful pictures from 28 candidates around the world. These pictures should be accompanied with strong messages, he emphasised. Colourful figures should be invited to pose in the scene and take part in voting and messages on Ha Long Bay should be conveyed to international tourists, Paul advised. The voting in the final round will be expanded to telephone calls and messaging, in addition to the internet.  He said he expected the Vietnamese people would bring their national spirit, which he saw with his own eyes in the Thang Long-Hanoi millennium anniversary, to the Ha Long Bay campaign. The competition will not be decided by a group of people but by a majority in the world, Jean-Paul emphasised./.