Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism Hoang Tuan Anh and Vice
President of the European Commission, Commissioner for Industry and
Entrepreneurship, Antonio Tajani inked a Letter of Intent on cooperation
in the field of sustainable tourism in Hanoi on November 13.
The two sides agreed to work jointly towards the establishment of a
periodic dialogue and exchange of information between their services
responsible for tourism on the respective initiatives in the field of
tourism, to ensure the development of sustainability and competitiveness
in tourism in the European Union and in Vietnam .
The Letter of Intent also said Vietnam and EU would promote the
exchange of good practices in the development of sustainable tourism
among European and Vietnamese tourism authorities and main stakeholders,
including the academic world, notably in the fields of natural and
cultural heritage preservation and promotion, small and medium- size
enterprises, training and skill, and the improvement of tourism services
quality.
Speaking at the signing ceremony,
Minister Hoang Tuan Anh praised the support and cooperation of the EU
with Vietnam, particularly in the field of tourism.
Vietnam tourism set the targets to receive 7.5 million foreign
and over 35 million domestic arrivals, contributing over 10 billion USD
to the state budget in 2013.
The development cooperation and support of the EU has been helping Vietnam fulfil the set target, he added.
Minister Tuan Anh also asked EU to continue its cooperation and
assistance to Vietnam in other fields such as culture, sports and
family.
For his part, Vice President Antonio Tajani
affirmed that EU would like to continue and develop bilateral ties with
Vietnam including the sustainable tourism development and other
fields of culture, sports and family.
He said EU is
willing to share its experience with Vietnam in building development
models of sustainable and responsible tourism, pledging the union’s
participation in bilateral tourism activities and cultural exchanges in
the months to come.
He considered activities to
introduce Vietnamese cuisine in EU members as a magnet for international
tourists to the Southeast Asian country.
Organising
cultural activities and introducing Vietnamese cuisine to European
countries would help attract foreign visitors to come to Vietnam,
Vice President Antonio Tajani suggested.
EU
has been assisting Vietnam in realising the environmentally and
Socially Responsible Tourism Capacity Development Programme (ESRT)
between 2011 and 2015. ESRT is funded with 11 million EUR by EU and 1.1
million EUR by the Vietnamese Government.-VNA