Sydney (VNA) – The Vietnam tourism promotion programme for Australia and NewZealand arrived in Sydney on the evening of August 15 as part of its five-citytour.
The event,organised by the Vietnam National Administration of Tourism (VNAT) andsupported by 15 Vietnamese tourism companies, toured around four cities inAustralia and one in New Zealand.
Theprogramme featured networking events, a roadshow, and musical performances. Thiswas the first time it had taken place in New Zealand and third time inAustralia.
Speaking atthe opening ceremony in Sydney, VNAT General Director Nguyen Van Tuan said thetwo countries have always listed amongst the top ten tourist markets inVietnam.
In 2017,Vietnam welcomed more than 370,000 Australian visitors, up 15.5 percentyear-on-year, while the respective figures for the first seven months of 2018were 238,000 and 9.1 percent. The demographic has tended towards staying for along period of time, with a high and stable spending level. They choose Vietnamfor its safety, friendliness, culture, and fast-growing economy.
Taking partin the event, Max Llewelyn from The Holiday and Travel magazine said he attendedto find more information on Vietnam’s tourism products, new hotels, and other services.
He said theevent still entertained him despite the fact that he has travelled to thecountry four times.
Llewelynsaid Australians are interested in visiting Vietnam for its culture, food,history, entertainment activities, and relatively low costs.
Accordingto Dinh Ngoc Duc, head of the VNAT marketing department, both Australia and NewZealand are among the key markets for Vietnam’s national tourism developmentand marketing strategies.
He said it wasthe first roadshow on Vietnamese tourism to cross five cities of the twobiggest countries in the Oceania, adding that the organising board receivedwarm welcome from Australian and New Zealand travel agencies everywhere theywent.
Accordingto him, many Vietnamese companies have met up with and discussed partnershipswith their Australian and New Zealander peers.
VietnamAirlines is currently operating direct flights between Sydney and Hanoi, aswell as Ho Chi Minh City and Melbourne. –VNA
VNA