Lam Dong (VNA) – The People’s Committee of Lam Dong province, in coordination with the Vietnam–Korea Business and Investment Association (VKBIA), hosted a networking event in Da Lat city on June 6, aiming to enhance cultural and tourism cooperation between the Central Highlands province and its Republic of Korea (RoK) counterparts.

The event, which brought together tourism officials and business representatives from Lam Dong and the RoK’s Gyeonggi province, served as a platform to deepen cultural exchanges, foster partnerships, and advance tourism development between the two localities.

According to Dr Tran Hai Linh, President of VKBIA, the RoK remains one of Vietnam’s most important tourism markets, with Korean visitors known for their high spending power and long stays. To strengthen tourism links with Lam Dong, VKBIA plans to implement a series of support measures, including trade promotion, legal consultancy, and investment facilitation for RoK businesses interested in the province.

He noted that priority will be given to developing green transport services, training professional Korean-speaking tour guides, and applying technology in tourism and cultural management and marketing. The association also aims to design customised tour packages tailored to Korean visitor preferences and further develop agricultural and cultural experience-based tourism – key strengths of Da Lat.

Jung Dong-hyeok, a tourism expert and member of the Gyeonggi Provincial Assembly, remarked that while Gyeonggi residents previously associated Vietnam primarily with Da Nang, Lam Dong is now drawing growing interest. He pledged to promote the province’s tourism and trade potential more widely in the RoK, particularly as many organisations and enterprises in Gyeonggi are exploring opportunities for investment and cooperation in Lam Dong.

Nguyen Tien Hai, Deputy Director of the provincial Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism, noted that under a new regional development strategy, the proposed merger of Lam Dong, Dak Nong, and Binh Thuan provinces would create a comprehensive tourism space combining mountains, forests, and sea. The province is prioritising a strategic approach centred on building distinctive inter-regional tour packages, developing a high-quality tourism product ecosystem, and enhancing both international and domestic tourism cooperation, he added.

By 2030, Lam Dong aims to welcome between 40 and 45 million tourist arrivals annually, with international visitors accounting for 18–25% of the total.

In 2024, the province received more than 10.3 million visitors, including approximately 600,000 international arrivals. The RoK consistently ran🔯ks among Lam Dong’s top international tourist markets, under♎scoring the increasing appeal of Da Lat – a romantic, welcoming destination rich in cultural value – to Korean tourists./.