A food tray featuring the traditional dishes of Mường ethnic minority in the northern province of Hoà Bình has been recognised as the biggest of its kind by the Vietnam Book of Records on Saturday. — Photo vietnamnet.vn

HÀ NỘI — A food tray featuring the traditional dishes of Mường ethnic minority in the northern province of Hoà Bình has been recognised as the biggest of its kind by the Vietnam Book of Records during the province’s festival of food and traditional handicrafts on Saturday.

Including 12 pavilions showcasing food and products from 11 local districts and Hòa Bình City as well as 10 typical trade villages as several local enterprises, the festival aims to honour, promote and introduce traditional food and crafts of ethnic communities in Hòa Bình Province, in addition to enhancing and attracting investment in tourism development.

It is also expected to showcase the skills of the local artisans and cooks from within the region.

According to Nguyễn Văn Chương, the vice chairman of Hòa Bình Province’s People’s Committee, the event was held in the context that Việt Nam was experiencing strong development, receiving many honourable awards presented by many prestigious international organisations.

Most recently, Việt Nam was named Asia’s Leading Destination for the second year in a row, together with the Asia’s Leading Cultural Destination, Asia’s Leading Culinary Destination 2019, Asia’s Leading Cultural Destination 2019, Asia’s Leading Cultural City Destination: Hội An awards at the 26th World Travel Awards (WTA).

The vice chairman stressed that Hòa Bình Province had rich cultural and historical tradition, with the total population of more than 87,000 people of various ethnic communities like Kinh, Mường, Thái, Tày that live harmoniously together.

“Each community has their own unique cultural identity that has contributed to the colourful cultural picture of the beautiful northwestern gateway of Việt Nam. It is the resource and favourable condition for the province to exploit and develop tourism into key economy,” he added.

Lasting until Monday, the festival of food and traditional handicrafts was organised within the week of culture and tourism of Hòa Bình Province.

Other activities included photo exhibitions showcasing the beauty of the land and people of Hòa Bình Province, the performance of local intangible cultural heritages and conference of Hòa Bình Province’s tourism development.

Addressing at the opening ceremony, the chairman of Hòa Bình Province’s People’s Committee said it was a major event that aimed to introduce the land, culture, people and nature of the province, as well as promote the tourism potential to both domestic and international tourists.

The week of culture and tourism of Hòa Bình Province ends on Monday.

Hòa Bình Province has attracted an increasing number of tourists in recent years. In 2019, the province has welcomed more than 3 million visitors, 400, 000 of which are international tourists, increasing 17,3 per cent in comparison with 2018. The total revenue from tourism of the province in 2019 achieved VNĐ1.8 trillion (US$78 million), increasing 37,2 per cent compared with the previous year. — VNS