Ba Ria – Vung Tau Popularising Tourism by Events

The tourism industry of Ba Ria - Vung Tau province enjoyed a success in promotion activities in 2008. Since the start of the year, the province held the Cultural - Tourist Festival Programme consisting of some 40 interesting and unique sub-programmes like the cannon firing festival in Minh Dam Mount site or the Sea Festival in Nghinh Phong Cape in Vung Tau city.

 

Following events include the World Chess Championship Tour for young players in Vung Tau city, the Long An Fair 2008 for economic, commercial and tourist development cooperation in Long An province, ITE Exhibition 2009 for international tourism in Ho Chi Minh City and others. These happenings were proven good chance to popularise their local attractions.

 

Also in 2008, Ba Ria - Vung Tau province carried out the programme called “a reliable tourist address in Ba Ria - Vung Tau” in order to popularise and introduce reliable enterprises with high quality to domestic and international tourists. As many as 70 service, tourist and commercial units registered to join the programme and 48 of them won the standardisation certification.

 

Thanks to this strategy, in 2008, the province’s total revenue of the tourism industry was estimated at VND1,248 billion, or 101.46 per cent of the full-year plan and up 16.1 per cent from the amount in 2007. Visitor arrivals approximated 6.8 million in 2008, up 11.6 per cent from 2007. At the end of 2008, the province had 124 tourism investment projects with an aggregate registered capital of VND16,670.45 billion (US$1 billion) and nearly US$6.3 billion. As many as eight new projects were put into service in the year while other 35 projects were underway.

 

To attract tourists, in 2009, Ba Ria - Vung Tau province will launch many cultural, sporting and tourist activities, including 15 majors.

 

The new year started with a programme to open the Culture - Tourism Festival (from January 26 to February 4, 2009) with many cultural, artistic and sporting activities. During this event, the Imperial Hotel, the first five-star in the province, was put into service. The province will open the international kite festival from February 20 to 22, 2009 at Ho Tram Beach Resort & Spa in Xuyen Moc district. The fourth major event concerning the return journey to Con Dao Island will take place in April 2009.

 

In April 2009, Ba Ria - Vung Tau province will host an international women’s beach volleyball. In May, it will hold an international exhibition on beach pottery arrangement arts and sculpture in Ho Tram Beach Resort & Spa. The following is the Vietnam Gift Festival in July in the Vung Tau Fine Handicraft Supermarket. The eighth event was the Vietnam’s record-breaking competition, which is expected to be very interesting. Remarkably, at the end of November, Ba Ria - Vung Tau province hold the Mrs World Final Contest 2009, one of the major events in Vietnam in the year. The province will also organise the qualifying contest for Vietnam. Additionally, the province will host many other events including the World Heritage Day, a provincial sport tournament, issues of cultural, sporting and tourist publications and construction and inauguration of cultural, tourist and commercial projects.

 

To continue following a safe, healthy, civilized and courteous tourist environment, the Organising Board of the programme “a reliable tourist address in Ba Ria - Vung Tau” 2008 will is going on with assessments and selections of tourist firms, basing on five major criteria: product quality, advertised service, service manner, law compliance and public awareness.

 

Mr Tran Van Thong, Director of Ba Ria - Vung Tau Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism, said these cultural, sporting and tourist events will be the chance for enterprises to popularise, attract tourists and develop the provincial hospitability industry in 2009.