Vietnam attracts West European tourists

Western Europe has been considered as a major market of Vietnam's tourism for a long time. Following numerous activities designed to popularize the image of Vietnam's tourism in West European countries, the Vietnam National Administration of Tourism (VNAT) recently organized a series of events aiming to attract more tourists from Germany, France and Belgium. As a result, the number of international tourists to Vietnam increased greatly this September and the last months. After the 26 percent increase this autumn compared with last year, tourism is expected to continue to grow in the later months of 2010, especially from West European countries. In Germany, a road-show presenting Vietnam’s tourism was organized in Berlin to celebrate the 35th anniversary of diplomatic relations between the two countries. This event attracted the attention of nearly 100 representatives of tourism companies, media organizations of Germany and a large number of international tourists, Berlin residents and Vietnamese living in Germany. Vietnamese travel companies and hotels have organized many events to present their products and the image of Vietnam's tourism to foreign tourists. Tourism companies of Vietnam and Germany have had meetings to exchange information and establish partner relations. Some German travel companies have signed contracts with Vietnamese travel companies and hotels to send tourists to Vietnam in the fourth quarter of 2010. The tours to Vietnam have left deep impressions in the minds of German tourists and visitors from other countries. A road-show presenting Vietnam's tourism was organized in Brussels, Belgium, by VNAT in association with the Vietnamese Embassy in Belgium. This was the first Vietnamese tourism event of its kind to take place in Belgium, so it attracted special attention of many travel companies such as Thomas Cook and Tui Travel, and Belgian companies. The road-show presented information about Vietnam's tourism and the products of Vietnamese tourism companies. Many principle contracts were signed to promote the exchange of tourists between travel companies of Vietnam and Belgium during the event. In the Republic of France, on the occasion of the 80th founding anniversary of L'Humanite (Humanity) Newspaper, an organ of the French Communist Party, Vietnam held a 150sq.mn exhibition to present the French with images of Vietnamese culture and tourism opportunities. With the assistance of the Vietnamese Association in France and other concerned organizations, the exhibition was a success. It not only provided visitors with diverse information about Vietnamese tourism products but also presented many of the literary and artistic works of Vietnamese authors and French people who love and take photos of Vietnam. At the exhibition site, a nice, modern stage was arranged for Vietnamese artists to perform presentations of traditional Vietnamese dances and musical instruments. The performances of Vietnamese artists attracted a large audience, and performers were warmly welcomed by international friends. Within just three days, the exhibition attracted several hundred thousand visitors. Events designed to attract tourists from West European countries to Vietnam have left good impressions in the minds of international friends and have contributed to the expanding cooperation between Vietnamese tourism companies and foreign partners. The domestic tourism sector hopes that it will attract more visitors from West Europe and other parts of the world to Vietnam throughout the rest of 2010 and well into the future.