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Can Tho to
host National Tourism Year 2008 |
The tourism festival,
titled “Mekong Delta’s Waterways and Countryside”, will
include a Mekong Delta food festival in February, a
lantern festival to celebrate Liberation Day on April
30, a traditional boat race in late April, and a fruit
festival.
During a press conference in Ho Chi Minh City on August
7, the deputy chairman of Can Tho People’s Committee and
head of the organising board, Pham Phuoc Nhu, said the
year-long festival would highlight the Mekong Delta’s
unique characteristics and numerous cultural activities
that take place in the city and across neighbouring
cities and provinces.
There are now nine cities and provinces registering to
take part in the big tourism event, which will include
the Southern Fruit Festival, an International Travel
Expo, the festival of Ba Chua Xu (Country Lady), a
Culture and Tourism Week, and other activities across
HCMC, the provinces of An Giang and Kien Giang, and
other locations.
New tours will be organised to offer tourists
opportunities to explore the culture, history and rural
scenery of the delta.
On stage, there will be more than one thousand artists
from art troupes nationwide partaking in parades and
musical performances.
Along with cultural and tourism activities, in 2008, Can
Tho City will host several big openings of major
infrastructure projects, including the Can Tho Airport
in September and Can Tho Bridge in December.
Soon after the opening of the airport, Vietnam Airlines
will launch the Can Tho-HCMC-Hanoi air route.
The city will spend nearly USD 2 million (VND 30
billion) for these activities. Nhu said the money would
come from the city’s coffers and sponsors’
contributions.
According to figures from the Can Tho Tourism
Department, the city currently has 115 hotels with 2,876
rooms. The city received 1.4 million visitors in 2006,
an increase of 24% against 2005. In the first quarter of
2007, the city welcomed 163,000 tourists, a year-on-year
increase of 41%.
Dinh Gia Khanh, director of the Can Tho Tourism
Department, said the city was expected to receive 2
million tourists in 2008.
(Source: VNA)
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