Located between the provinces of Ninh Bình, Hòa Bình and Thanh Hóa, and only 120km southwest of Hà Nội, the park boasts an engaging cultural and wildlife heritage and enchanting scenery. Photo courtesy of the park

HÀ NỘI — Cúc Phương National Park, a famous tourist destination in the northern province of Ninh Bình, has once again been named "Asia's Leading National Park".

This is the fourth consecutive year, the park has been honoured at the 29th World Travel Award (WTA) Asia & Oceania Gala Ceremony held recently in HCM City.

It was one of many successes for Vietnamese destinations and tour operators.

The WTA was launched in 1993 to acknowledge excellence in the travel and tourism industry. Its awards have been described as equivalent to the "Oscars".

Travel industry VIPs from 35 nations attended the blockbuster event at HCM City’s state-of-the-art GEM Center.

Established in 1962, Cúc Phương is the oldest national park in Việt Nam. Located between the provinces of Ninh Bình, Hòa Bình and Thanh Hóa, and only 120km southwest of Hà Nội, the park boasts an engaging cultural and wildlife heritage and enchanting scenery.

Magnificent limestone mountains rise up majestically from the green rice-terraces and traditional stilt houses of the Mường ethnic minority. Situated on two limestone mountain ranges, the landscape of Cúc Phương contains a wonderfully rich ecosystem. The rocky outcrops of the forest park form the site of valuable pale ontological and anthropological vestiges, including a fossilised sea reptile dated 200-230 million years old, while the remains of prehistoric people who lived in the forest some 7,500 years ago are also to be found in the numerous mountain caves.

Tourists are trekking at the Cúc Phương National Park. — Photo courtesy of the park

More WTA awards

Amazing natural beauty combined with world-class levels of hospitality has earned Việt Nam the title of "Asia’s Leading Destination" and "Asia's Leading Nature Destination", Hà Nội has claimed the top prize for "Asia’s Leading City Break Destination" and HCM City won the award for "Asia’s Leading Business Travel Destination".

The Việt Nam National Tourism Administration has received the award "Asia's Leading Tourist Board" while the HCM City Department of Tourism won the title of "Leading City Tourist Board".

The UNESCO-recognised World Heritage site of Hội An has won in the category of "Asia's Leading Cultural City Destination".

Môc Châu in the northern mountain province of Sơn La for the first time has been honoured as "Asia's Leading Regional Nature Destination" and "Vietnam's Leading Nature Destination ".

The WTA 2022 also honoured Đà Nẵng City as Asia’s Leading Festival & Event Destination 2022, Vietnam Airlines as Asia’s Leading Airline Brand 2022, as well as several hotels and tourist resorts in Việt Nam.

In addition, a number of tourism businesses in the country also participated for the first time in the World Travel Awards system such as Lux Travel DMC which has won titled as the Việt Nam's leading destination management company 2022, and Vietravel Airlines with title as the Asia's Leading New Airlines.

The WTA 2022-themed “Southern Journey” focuses on nine categories in the fields of airlines, destinations, entertainment parks, yachts, hotels and resorts, travel agencies and tour operators, among others.

Phan Văn Mãi, chairman of the HCM City People's Committee, said this year's award ceremony marked an important milestone in the tourism industry of the world and Việt Nam as it was held at the time when global tourism is recovering from the COVID-19 pandemic, and HCM City was proud to host this special event.

The awards have contributed to creating momentum for development and affirming Việt Nam's position on the world tourism map, according to the city leader.

“This is a great opportunity to promote the image of Việt Nam and its beautiful and attractive nature along with the friendly and hospitable Vietnamese people to the world,” he said.

WTA winners gather for a photo at the World Travel Awards Asia & Oceania Gala Ceremony 2022 held recently in HCM City. — Photo worldtravelawards.com

According to Graham Cooke, founder and president of World Travel Award, the organisation board this year had received 2.3 million votes from across the globe, which shows ‘expectations of global tourism as well as the mainstream trend of world travelers looking for new passions and quality services’.

He also singled out Vietnamese representatives that have won the 2022 awards for reaching world class standards.

“ WTA had the privilege of recognising the industry’s leading lights from the length and breadth of twin Asia and Oceania regions. As shining examples of tourism excellence, our winners have helped once again raise the bar,” he said.

“Hồ Chí Minh City is an impressive cosmopolitan destination, rich in history and culture but with a dynamic, forward-thinking outlook. Việt Nam is not only a tremendously exciting destination within Asia, but I believe it will soon become a tourism epicentre on the global stage. We foresee an era of unprecedented growth as more brands and tourism development products are attracted to the nation.” — VNS