Representatives from Vietnamese and Italian tourism businesses meet at the tourism promotion programme in Milan, Italy. VNA Photo

MILAN – President of the Italian Government Tourist Board (ENIT) Alessandra Priante has described Việt Nam tourism as a rising star in Italy.

Speaking at a tourism promotion programme held in Milan on June 27 by the Việt Nam National Authority of Tourism (VNAT) and the Vietnamese Embassy in Italy, the Italian official said the numbers of tourists from Italy to Việt Nam and vice versa is expected to increase.

Addressing the event, VNAT Director Nguyễn Trùng Khánh said that Italy is a leading traditional and important market of Vietnamese tourism in Europe. In 2023, Việt Nam welcomed about 57,000 Italian visitors, equivalent to over 80% of the pre-COVID-19 pandemic level.

Khánh assessed that the Việt Nam Tourism Roadshow in Italy was a good opportunity for tourism businesses of the two countries to share updated information, seek business cooperation opportunities, increase tourism exchanges, and prepare for a new phase with stronger development.

Convenient direct flights, simple immigration procedures, attractive destinations and tourism products, and hospitable people are ideal conditions to promote tourism development between the two countries, he said.

Vietnamese Ambassador to Italy Dương Hải Hùng affirmed that Italy is the third largest economy in the EU and a potential tourist market for Việt Nam.

The two countries celebrated the 50th founding anniversary of diplomatic relations in 2023, which demonstrateed a long-standing friendship and cooperative relations and a good foundation for cultural, economic and tourism cooperation between the two countries.

Hùng said the Vietnamese embassy in Italy has carried out many activities to promote cooperation and promote tourism in localities in Italy. The Ambassador also appreciated the cooperation between Italy in general and the Lombardy region in particular with Việt Nam in recent times and emphasised the need for a direct flight connecting Italy and Việt Nam.

At the event, Italian travel businesses expressed their interest and asked many questions to better understand Việt Nam’s tourism policies and incentives.

Within the framework of the tourism promotion programme in Italy, Khánh had a meeting Alessandra Priante, ENIT President and Raffaele Cattaneo, deputy minister in charge of international relations of Italy's Lombardia region.

At the meeting, the two sides affirmed the need to strengthen tourism cooperation between the two countries in the coming time. They agreed to call on the two governments consider signing a bilateral tourism cooperation agreement in the new period.

They also agreed to propose leaders of the two countries to allow opening a direct flight between Việt Nam and Italy soon. The two sides also committed to strengthening tourism information exchanges and promotion activities in the coming time.

The programme in Italy was part of activities to promote Vietnamese tourism in Europe together with similar programmes held in France and Germany. - VNA/VNS