Spain has helped Vietnam develop its tourism in a sustainable manner
and in line with set orientations, according to participants at a
ceremony in Hanoi on May 21.
This was clearly
shown in a Spanish-funded project to enhance Vietnam ’s tourism
competency in realising its tourism development strategy in the
2011-2020 period, with a vision to 2030, they said.
Funded by the Spanish Government through the Spanish Agency for
International Cooperation and Development, the 400,000 EUR project was
carried out in some Central Highlands and northern mountainous
provinces from November 2011 to February 2013.
Addressing the ceremony hosted by the Vietnam National Administration of
Tourism (VNAT) to wrap up the project, Director of the Institute for
Tourism Development Research Ha Van Sieu spoke highly of the
connectivity between the project and other related ones, especially
those implemented in the northern mountainous area.
As part of the project, a community-based tourism website connecting
northwestern provinces was established, serving as a forum for
localities to exchange experience and popularise their images in tourism
development, he said.
It also provided handbooks
guiding the management and development of tourism for managerial staff,
and the development of a green tourism label for shops, restaurants and
hotels, Sieu said, adding that these documents are essential for
Vietnam ’s sustainable tourism development.
Spanish
Ambassador to Vietnam Alfonso Tena said Vietnam is on the right
track to improve the quality and diversity of its tourism services to
lure more foreign visitors, citing that the country expects to welcome 7
million international arrivals this year.
He added
that the project, which focused on policies of social responsibility,
aimed to help Vietnam meet international standards in providing tourism
services to attract foreign tourists.
VNAT’s
Director General Nguyen Van Tuan said that Vietnam will learn tourism
development experience from Spain as it ranks second in tourism
revenues and fourth in tourist attraction in the world.
Besides this project, Vietnam also received support from Spain
through other projects, including those to popularise the Tourism Law,
build Vietnam ’s tourism marketing strategy and make tourism planning
for Cat Ba Island and Hue city.
Tourism
cooperation between Vietnam and Spain has seen positive developments
over the past time, with over 31,300 Spanish tourists visiting Vietnam
in 2012 and 7,200 in the first four months of this year.-VNA