The tourists are seen visiting Hội An ancient town in the central province of Quảng Nam. Photo vietnamplus.vn

HÀ NỘI — Cultural tourism is hoped to account for 20-25 per cent of Việt Nam’s total revenue of about US$130 billion from tourism by 2030, according to a project to build a national brand for cultural tourism that was recently approved by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism.

This is considered a step to concretise the development strategy of cultural industries and the Vietnamese tourism development strategy through the promotion of national cultural identity.

The project also aims to identify Vietnamese cultural tourism brands, focusing on heritage and culinary values, thereby forming a system of typical destinations and tourism products with high quality.

To accomplish this goal, activities will be prioritised by the tourism industry like promoting the brands of cultural tourism, focusing on building the brand identity in terms of heritage and cuisine, launching communication programmes and activities, and introducing the brands on domestic and international channels, at travel fairs and culture weeks.

According to Deputy Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism, Nguyễn Văn Hùng, the tourism industry contributed more than 9.2 per cent to the country's GDP and generated 2.9 million jobs in 2019.

The competitiveness of Việt Nam’s tourism increased by 12 positions, from 75/141 in 2015 to 63/140 in 2019, according to the Travel & Tourism Competitiveness Report by the World Economic Forum. The World Tourism Organisation ranked Việt Nam sixth out of 10 countries with the fastest growth in tourism in the world.

As Việt Nam has been voted Asia's top tourist destination for two consecutive years, Asia's top cultural destination, Asia's top culinary destination, together with many other prestigious awards, the culture and tourism authority requested tourism management agencies and local People's Committees support the development of heritage and culinary tourism.

The support could be done via research, collection, restoration and development of heritage and culinary values as well as the implementation of policies to encourage heritage and culinary tourism. — VNS