HCM City (VNA) – The 14th International Travel Expo-Ho Chi MinhCity (ITE HCMC), the largest of its kind in the Mekong sub-region, kicked offin Vietnam’s largest economic hub on September 5 evening with the “VietnameseCulinary Delights” Gala Dinner.

Attending the event were leaders of the tourism sector ofCambodia and Laos, representatives from authorities of several Lao, Cambodianand Japanese localities, and domestic and foreign travel agencies.

In his opening remarks, Minister of Culture, Sports andTourism Nguyen Ngoc Thien said that with the theme of “Your Gateway to Tourismin Asia”, the expo aims to connect Ho Chi Minh City in particular and Vietnamin general with tourist attractions, cities and nations in the region.

It also serves as a venue for domestic and internationaltourism management agencies and units operating in the industry to meet, shareexperience and seek cooperation opportunities.

Sharing positive results of the Vietnamese tourism sector,Thien said that Vietnam welcomed over 10 million foreign tourist arrivals inthe first eight months of 2018, up 22.8 percent year-on-year.

On September 3 in China’s Hong Kong, Vietnam was named as Asia'sLeading Destination, he noted.

Therefore, to meet new tourism requirements, Vietnam wantsto continue intensifying linkages between Ho Chi Minh City and cities andnations in the region to form attractive tours.

Chairman of the municipal People’s Committee Nguyen ThanhPhong stated that after 320 years of formation and development, Ho Chi MinhCity always improves itself to attract more visitors and become one of the mostattractive destinations in Asia in 2018.

The ITE-HCMC has become an attractive venue for enterprisesoperating in the tourism industry in Mekong Sub-region nations.

This year’s main expo, which is taking place from September6-8, attracts participants from 38 countries and territories.

As many as 375 sellers representing airlines, hotels,resorts, and travel companies from Brunei, Cambodia, Germany, India, Indonesia,Japan, the Republic of Korea, Laos, Malaysia, the Netherlands, and Russia are participatingin the event.

The Lao Ministry of Information, Culture and Tourism and theCambodian Ministry of Tourism are scheduled to hold tourism programmes in theevenings, demonstrating friendship and cooperation between Southeast Asiancountries.

A number of workshops will also be held during the expofocusing on smart tourism and technological application in tourism.

Airlines such as Vietnam Airlines and Vietjet Air willlaunch promotion programmes on September 8.

The expo is expected to draw about 30,000 visitors. –VNA