The spotlight shines on Vietnam this week as the 38th ASEAN Tourism Forum launched in Halong on Monday (January 14) with a series of official ministerial meetings.
Nearly 1,500 delegates are expected to congregate at the UNESCO World Heritage destination for meetings, business and educational sessions as well as a three-day travel trade mart, held from January 16 to 18 at the Quang Ninh Exhibition of Planning and Expo Center.
The travel exhibition – the largest showcase of ASEAN’s destination products and services – will bring together suppliers from the region and global buyers from 53 countries, including Australia, Azerbaijan, China, France, Germany, India, Lebanon, Malaysia, Morocco, South Korea, Sweden, Thailand, Poland and Russia.
In all, nearly 400 delegates, including more than 140 international and local media, will be hosted as part of the event.
The show will also include educational sessions on the theme “Connecting Heritages for ASEAN Tourism Development in the Digital Age”. Keynote speakers include Peter Debrine of World Heritage Nature, Sustainable Tourism and Outreach Unit, Dr. Seul Ki Lee of Tourism Industry Data Analytics Lab (TIDAL), Korea and Con Apostolopoulos from National Geographic Partners.
Delegates can also explore the Quang Ninh province on some 15 pre- and post-show tours hosted by Vietnam National Administration of Tourism (VNAT), including cruises on Halong Bay, Lan Ha Bay-Hai Phong city, as well as trips to Yen Tu Mountain and Ninh Binh.