Delegates taking part in the 17th General Assembly of the East Asia Inter-Regional Tourism Forum (EATOF 17) which opened in the northeastern province of Quảng Ninh on Tuesday. — VNA/VNS Photo Văn Đức

QUẢNG NINH — The 17th General Assembly of the East Asia Inter-Regional Tourism Forum (EATOF 17), themed "Tourism recovery in East Asia in the new normal era", opened in Ha Long City of the northern province of Quảng Ninh on Tuesday.

The province is host to the important forum for the second time after two years of cancellations due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The opening ceremony took place in both online and offline formats, along with a celebration for the 20th anniversary of the EATOF.

In his opening remarks, the chairman of the provincial People's Committee, Nguyễn Tường Văn, underlined the crucial role of EATOF in promoting regional tourism development and expanding bilateral cooperation and boosting solidarity and friendship among the EATOF members. 

He said he hoped EATOF members would further promote cooperation to recover tourism activities, especially international tourism, towards sustainable tourism development.

Kim Jin-tae, Governor of Gangwon province of the Republic of Korea, said international tourism activities had been resuming, which meant a new era of tourism had begun. 

East Asia will be at the centre of the new era, while member localities of EATOF will be key players, he stressed. 

EATOF 7 will feature three discussion sessions, a meeting of the EATOF Standing Committee, bilateral meetings, a meeting of provincial governors, the signing ceremony of the EATOF joint statement, and a press conference.

Delegates are also to tour several tourist destinations in Hạ Long and Cẩm Phả cities and Vân Đồn District.

About 150 delegates are attending the event, including domestic and foreign speakers from the World Tourism Organisation, UNESCO, Tripadvisor and tourism experts from universities.

The event offers a chance to promote the image of Quảng Ninh as a friendly, safe and attractive destination, contributing to helping the Vietnamese locality attract investment inflows. It also helps promote investment and tourism cooperation among EATOF's member localities and countries worldwide. — VNS