Tourists visit the top of Bà Đen (Black Lady) Mountain in Tây Ninh Province. —VNA/VNS Photo

TÂY NINH — A range of cultural, tourism and art entertainment activities will be held during Tây Ninh Day in Hà Nội from October 7-8 at the Hoàn Kiếm Lake Walking Street.

The event, organised by the Tây Ninh Province’s People’s Committee for a third year, is part of activities to celebrate the 69th anniversary of the capital’s Liberation Day on October 10, said Trần Anh Minh, director of the Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism.

It is expected to attract a huge crowd of domestic and foreign visitors, making it a good chance for the province to promote the beauty of the sacred and culturally rich land of the Southeast region and boost tourism and investment attraction, he said.

Trần Quốc Thịnh, director of the province’s Tourism Promotion Centre, said national intangible cultural heritages in Tây Ninh would be introduced to visitors during the two-day event.

Visitors will be invited to join artists and artisans to sing vọng cổ (nostalgia tunes), folk songs used in cải lương (reformed opera), and play the Chhay – dăm drum dance of the Khmer people.

One of the highlights of the event will be photo and watercolour painting exhibitions. Nearly 100 photos reflecting the beauty of Tây Ninh through exciting tourist attractions, historical relics, and intangible cultural heritage along with the beauty of both old and modern parts of Hà Nội depicted in 20 watercolour paintings by painter Hoàng Phong will be displayed at Lý Thái Tổ Flower Garden.

Around 25 enterprises will showcase specialty products and OCOP (One Commune - One Product) agricultural products such as rice paper, red chili salt, honey, sugar, custard, peanuts, and starch flour.

A tourism promotion conference will be held on October 8 to connect travel firms in Hà Nội and Tây Ninh to seek cooperation opportunities and create new tours and products.

Cooperation agreements between travel firms Hà Nội and Tây Ninh will be inked at the conference.

It is expected to attract more investors to develop tourism as a key economic sector and contribute over 10 per cent of the province's GRDP by 2030. 

Đào Thị Việt, deputy director of SunWorld Ba Den Mountain, said ticket discounts for cable cars to the spiritual and cultural complex of Bà (Lady) Pagoda and the top of Bà Đen (Black Lady) Mountain are offered to residents in Tây Ninh and visitors from Hà Nội throughout this month to celebrate the Tây Ninh Day in Hà Nội.

The mountain is famous for its natural landscapes as well as sacred pagodas and temples.

The province has been implementing various plans of tourism marketing and promotion and attracting investment to develop eco-tourism in Dầu Tiếng Lake and Lò Gò - Xa Mát national park.

Tourism linkages between the province and other localities in the Southeast region, including HCM City, Đồng Nai, Bình Dương, and Bà Rịa-Vũng Tàu, have been implemented over the past few years to develop inter-provincial travel products combining popular destinations in the region.

Popular tourist destinations in Tây Ninh include the historical and scenic Bà Đen Mountain, the Cao Đài Holy See, Dầu Tiếng Lake, and the Central Party Office for South Việt Nam, a special national heritage site.

The province’s tourism sector has seen strong growth in recent years. It welcomed 4.2 million tourist arrivals in the first nine months of this year, a year-on-year increase of 9.3 per cent, according to the provincial Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism.

Tourism revenue was estimated at VNĐ1.76 trillion (US$72.2 million) during the period.

The province set a target of welcoming 5 million tourist arrivals this year, with tourism revenue totaling VNĐ1.8 trillion ($73.9 million). — VNS

Cable cars take visitors to the top of Bà Đen (Black Lady) Mountain in Tây Ninh Province. —VNA/VNS Photo