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BY A CORRESPONDENT
February 25, 2007
Vietnam is hoping to make a breakthrough in
developing tourism in Thai Nguyen province and
neighbouring areas, cashing in on the rich cultural
identities of ethnic minority groups living in six
northern mountainous provinces.
Thai Nguyen province is celebrating the year as ‘Thai
Nguyen Tourism Year 2007.’
With the theme, Returning to the capital of mountains
and forest winds – The Northernmost Vietnam Base 2007,
the tourism year will comprise activities to honour Thai
Nguyen, Tuyen Quang, Bac Can, Cao Bang, Lao Cai and Yen
Bai provinces.
These provinces were chosen by the late President Ho Chi
Minh as a revolutionary base during his nine-year fight
against the French colonial rule (1946-1954).
A fair to promote trade and tourism investment will be
held in addition to many cultural and sports activities
in Thai Nguyen province.
Thai Nguyen has been collaborating with Hanoi and other
northern mountainous provinces to disseminate
information on the tourism year, organise personnel
training courses and conduct surveys to develop new
unique and attractive tours.
With mountains making up two-thirds of its total
acreage, Thai Nguyen is home to primeval forests, caves
and wonderful waterfalls such as the Phuong Hoang cave
and Mo Ga stream (Vo Nay district), Chua cave (Dong Hy
district) and Hang Cave (Dinh Hoa district).
Besides, Thai Nguyen province has 780 cultural and
historical relic sites, many of which have been
recognised as having national significance.
Thai Nguyen is well known for the Nui Coc Lake
ecological tourism site, and tea brands such as Tan
Cuong, Trai Ca and La Bang.
Tourists visiting Thai Nguyen province will be
encouraged to get involved in ecological tours to the
Thai Nguyen city, the Nui Coc lake, the Dinh Hoa, and
Dong Hy cave tourism zones.
It may be noted that, after the end of the American War
in 1975, Vietnam was hidden from the world for about 20
years. Opening up began in the mid-1980s. In the
beginning of 2007, Vietnam became the 150th full member
of the World Trade Organisation.
The Vietnamese people have reminded the world that they
are resilient, determined and proud. On the flip side,
they can also be stubborn, too proud to accept external
influences and very traditional in thinking and
practices.
Being traditional is a positive factor for tourism, but
a negative one when engaging with the modern,
international business world.
The new slogan adopted by the Vietnam National
Administration of Tourism (VNAT), Vietnam – The Hidden
Charm, is very apt. There are hidden charms in every
part of the country and in the people – one just has to
find them.
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