International tourists explore Hội An ancient town last November. VNA/VNS Photo Đoàn Hữu Trung

QUẢNG NAM  The National Tourism Year 2022 will kick off in the central province of Quảng Nam on March 25 and is expected to boost national and provincial tourism potentials, said Deputy Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism Đoàn Văn Việt.

Speaking at the press conference announcing the activities of the National Tourism Year 2022 on Wednesday, the deputy minister noted that Việt Nam’s tourism sector is showing signs of revival, as activities resume at major tourism centres nationwide after two years of being heavily affected by the COVID-19 pandemic.

The national tourist target is to welcome 65 million tourists in 2022, of which about five million will be international visitors, earning a total revenue of VNĐ4,000 billion (US$175 million) in 2022.

Việt emphasised that Quảng Nam, the selected avenue for the National Tourism Year 2022, is a locality rich in history and cultural traditions, with important geopolitical and geo-economics sites, as well as being endowed with many natural landscapes such as Bảy Mẫu water coconut forest and Cù Lao Chàm Biosphere Reserve.

Particularly, the province is home to two world cultural heritages recognised by UNESCO – Hội An Ancient Town and Mỹ Sơn Sanctuary.

"With these potentials, Quảng Nam has become a bright spot on the tourist map of Việt Nam and the world, mentioned by many international travel websites in recent years. Especially, Hội An received the World Tourism Award as "Asia's Leading Cultural City Destination" in 2019 and 2021 and is named as one of the most romantic destinations worldwide announced by the prestigious Time Out magazine (UK) this year."

"The National Tourism Year – Quảng Nam 2022 with the theme ‘Quảng Nam – A Green Tourism Destination’ highlights cultural, economic and social events on a national and international scale, as well as the biggest annual tourism events of Việt Nam’s tourism sector.

"We believe that through this event, the values and potentials of Quảng Nam and Việt Nam's tourism sector will continue to be effectively exploited and promoted,” said Deputy Minister Việt .

Spanning its year-long course, the programme features 192 events, including 10 national-level ones, 62 organised by Quảng Nam, and 120 others by 40 centrally-run cities and provinces in response to the tourism year.

The events hosted by Quảng Nam will promote the local river-based and agri-tours, ethnic cultures, and the legendary Hồ Chí Minh Trail, among others.

The highlight of this year’s event is the opening ceremony held at Hội An Memory Island on March 25, which will be broadcast live. The closing ceremony and the celebration of the new year 2023 will be held at VinWonder Hội An Amusement Park by the end of December.

The province aims to welcome more than four million tourists, half of them foreigners, this year. It is making efforts to recover towards a goal of serving 12 million visitors in 2025.

According to Nguyễn Thanh Hồng, director of the provincial Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism, the locality has issued a set of green tourism criteria for travel firms, accommodation facilities, restaurants, and destinations, as well as launching green tourism products specifically for tourists. VNS