National Tourism Year 2008 Officially Launched
The National Tourism Year 2008 was officially launched in the Mekong Delta Can Tho City February 21 with various cultural events.
This is the first time the city has organized the event, the organizing board said, adding that thirteen provinces in the Mekong delta and Ho Chi Minh City will take part in the festival.
Themed ‘The Mekong Delta’s Waterways and Countryside,” the National Tourism Yearwill feature over 50 cultural events. It will also introduce the achievements as well as tourism potentials in the Mekong Delta generally and Can Tho particularly.
Thousands of visitors will enjoy the festival, the board estimated, hoping that through the National Tourism Year 2008, the city will attract more investors and tourists, and improve service standards in the local hospitality industry.
Last year, the National Tourism Year held in the northern Thai Nguyen province witnessed success, particularly a year-on-year increase of 20 per cent in the number of visitors.
Can Tho is not only a key artery junction and a socio-economic and cultural center of the Mekong River Delta, is but also considered the capital city of the crisscrossed canals and rivers in the western region.
The city currently has 135 hotels and guesthouses, including 26 star-rated and 80 well-equipped ones capable of serving visitors.
Can Tho has set targets of welcoming two million visitors and earn revenues of VND500 billion (US$31.2 million) in 2008. (Local sources)
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