The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism co-ordinated with Vietnam Airlines to organise Viet Nam’s booth at the World Travel Market (WTM), held in London, UK, from November 4-6.
Under the framework of the expo, Viet Nam’s travel agencies and hotels presented tourism products in order to promote an image of Viet Nam as “safe, friendly, and attractive” to international friends. The booth also promises to open up new opportunities for tourism in Viet Nam and exchange experiences of tourism development with countries over the world.
During the three-day event, Viet Nam National Administration of Tourism, Viet Nam Airlines, travel agencies, and relevant local authorities are introducing some of their new services, including tours through Son Doong - the world’s biggest cave - and Dong Van Karst Plateau Global Geopark, as well as seaplane tours of Ha Long Bay.
These sights are predicted to become new magnets for European tourists in 2015, joining other popular hotspots including Hanoi, Sapa, Hue, Da Nang, and Hoi An.
The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism and the Vietnamese Embassy in the UK will also conduct a press briefing to promote Viet Nam's tourism.
Last year, WTM 2013 was attended by nearly 50,000 key tourism players from around the globe and had an estimated transaction value of US$3.5 billion. It is hoped that participation in this year’s WTM will reap positive benefits for Viet Nam’s tourism industry.
In recent years, the UK in particular and the European market in general have been key markets for tourism to Viet Nam. In 2013, the country welcomed more than 1 million European tourists, accounting for 14 percent of all international visitors, a 24 percent increase from 2012. There were more than 170,000 tourists from the UK visiting Viet Nam in the first 10 months of 2014, increasing 13% compared to that of the same period in 2013.
World Travel Market (WTM) is one of the leading tourist events worldwide, gathering a large number of buyers, sellers, and popular brands in the tourism industry to introduce products, seek partners, sign contracts, and more. It is a unique opportunity for the whole global travel trade to meet, network, negotiate and conduct business.
This year’s fair features over 100 events taking place over 4 days. In addition to exhibitions, and meetings between tourism organizations and travel companies around the world, the event will also feature conferences and seminars with governmental representatives and experts in global tourism development, responsible travel, cruise tourism, and announcement of World Travel Awards.