HÀ NỘI — The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism has announced the National Tourism Year 2019 will be held in the central coastal province of Khánh Hòa.

Elsewhere in the country, fifteen cities and provinces had confirmed they would be taking part in the yearly event with the theme, Visit Việt Nam Year 2019, Nha Trang-Khánh Hòa Sea Festival, according to the ministry.

The launch of the event will be combined with a ceremony to welcome in the New Year in Nha Trang.

The activities scheduled for the year include an opening ceremony to be held in May, a sea festival week, a beer festival, a Miss Universe contest and a Hong Kong-Nha Trang yacht race.

Khánh Hòa Province’s Department of Tourism will be responsible for organising a ceremony to launch the Visit Việt Nam Year 2019 along with New Year and closing ceremonies.

The department will also update its website nhatrang-travel.com to promote the Visit Việt Nam Year 2019.

The provincial People’s Committee has decided to establish an organising board for National Tourism Year 2019 with 18 members, led by Trần Sơn Hải, standing deputy head of the committee, reported Khánh Hòa News.

According to the provincial Department of Tourism, the number of tourist arrivals to the locality has increased substantially from 2.3 million in 2012 to 5.5 million last year.

In the first nine months of this year, more than five millions chose to visit the province, including 1.7 million foreigners and up more than 116 per cent compared to the same period last year.

Khánh Hòa has hosted the sea festival every two years since 2003, which has drawn a large number of visitors.

Boasting 180km of coastline, stunning natural landscapes with Vân Phong, Nha Trang and Cam Ranh bays listed as among the world’s most beautiful, together with many exciting festivals such as the Ponagar Temple festival, a whale worshipping festival, and the Salanganes Festival, Khánh Hòa has huge potential for tourism development.

Since 2006, the province has hosted many large-scale beauty contests, including Miss Việt Nam World, Miss Việt Nam, Miss Earth and Miss Universe Việt Nam.

Currently, the locality has 680 accommodation facilities with 31,700 rooms.

The province plans to welcome 8.5 million tourists, including 3.5 million foreigners, in 2020, and earn VNĐ70 trillion (US$2.99 billion) in tourism revenue. — VNS