Quang Nam to Host National Tourism Year 2006 Next Month

12:22:39 PM | 23/1/2006

Quang Nam province on Vietnam’s central coast, is expected to host National Tourism Festival 2006 next month, provincial authorities told local media at the meeting on January 17.
 
Phan Thi Thanh Lam, vice Chairwoman of the provincial People’s Committee, said the
event would officially begin on February 11 mainly in the historic town of Hoi An, the My Son Holy land and the Chu Lai Open Economic Zone (OEZ) and will run until the end of the year with a series of differently themed festivals namely the Spring Tourism Festival, the Hoi An - Summer Emotion Program, the “Discovering cultures of ethnic groups and the legendary Ho Chi Minh Trail" and the “Chu Lai - A Path to an Open Land” Festival.
 
The opening ceremony – to be broadcast live by Vietnam Television – will also include demonstrations of veteran cooks from the central provinces. In addition, a food festival featuring specialties of the central region will be held at the Palm Garden resort.
 
The opening of the National Tourism Festival 2006 in Quang Nam, will be themed the Spring Tourism Festival, and due to take place in the first three lunar months. The festival will feature many folk festivals and traditional art performances rich in the cultural identity of Quang Nam and its people.
 
Visitors can make excursions to handicraft villages including Kim Bong carpentry, Phuoc Kieu bronze casting, Tra Que vegetable planting, Thanh Ha ceramics, and Ma Chau silk weaving villages during the festival.
 
The Hoi An - Summer Emotion Program, scheduled to kick off in June, will take tourists to the beautiful Cua Dai beach, Cham Island and Hoi An which will be the venues for sea and food festivals and fashion shows featuring traditional costumes.
 
The program will also include an international sculpture camp and a beach volleyball tournament.
 
In July, the “Discovering cultures of ethnic groups and the legendary Ho Chi Minh Trail" tour will offer tourists chances to explore the diverse and unique cultural lifestyles of the Co Tu, Gie Trieng, M'nong, and Xe Dang ethnic groups.
 
Following will be the “Chu Lai - A Path to an Open Land” Festival in August, which will include art performances, seminars on investment potential in Chu Lai and traditional sea festivals.
 
The Quang Nam Tourism Year 2006 will conclude with a ceremony to celebrate the 2007 New Year and the 10th anniversary of the re-establishment of the Quang Nam province to be held in Hoi An from December 25-31.
 
In related a development, Hoi An has also been selected to host the APEC Tourism Ministerial Meeting 2006.
 
This is good news for the local hospitality industry, Dinh Hai, Director of Tourism Department said, adding that it will be a good opportunity for the province in particular and for the country in general to promote and introduce Vietnam’s tourism image to foreign countries worldwide.
 
The province is gearing up to make the necessary preparations for the important events, he said.
 
Since the ancient town of Hoi An and My Son Holy Land were recognized by UNESCO as World Heritage sites in 1999, the number of tourists to the sites has risen by 30 per cent annually, local authorities reported, adding that the number of visitors was estimated to reach 900,000 last year.

VietNamNet