Visitors at Mũi Né Beach in the central province of Bình Thuận. VNA/VNS Photo

HCM CITY — National Tourism Year 2023 will kick off in the central province of Bình Thuận on March 25, bolstering the tourism potential of the locality and its diversity of historic and cultural identities.

The opening ceremony of the National Tourism Year themed “Bình Thuận - Green Convergence” will take place in Phan Thiết City and will be broadcast live by Việt Nam Television.

National Tourism Year will feature 204 cultural, sports and tourism events, including 13 events of national scale hosted by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism.

Bình Thuận will host 31 cultural, sports and tourism events and 41 other provinces and cities will host 164 events as part of the National Tourism Year throughout the year.

An international cuisine festival, a rowing and canoeing competition, a national golf championship, and Bình Thuận Tourism Week are some highlights of the programme.

It is expected to boost the province’s tourism development and attract domestic and foreign investors.

With a coastline of 192 km, stunning beaches, beautiful landscapes, rich natural resources and a diversity of historic and cultural identities, Bình Thuận has become a popular tourist destination for domestic and foreign visitors.

The province is home to around 600 hotels and resorts with a total of 18,000 rooms and 1,000 condotels.

It welcomed nearly 700,000 visitor arrivals last month, double the number from the same period last year.

The tourism revenue was estimated at VNĐ1.79 trillion (US$76.1 million) last month, nearly triple the amount from a year ago. —VNS