The Vietnam National Administration of Tourism (VNAT), the Vietnamese Embassy in Malaysia and Vietnam Airlines jointly held a seminar and a gala night to promote the Vietnamese tourism in Kuala Lumpur on March 5.

This is part of a tourism promotion programme celebrating the 1,000 th anniversary of Thang Long-Hanoi conducted in Thailand, Singapore and Malaysia from March 1-5 in order to advertise Vietnam’s tourism to regional countries.

The tourism promotion programme in Malaysia focused on introducing the hidden charm of Vietnam through a series of tourism products as well as preferential policies to attract tourists to Vietnam.

Speaking at the opening ceremony, Minister Counsellor of the Vietnamese Embassy in Malaysia Trinh Vinh Quang said that Vietnam, as the ASEAN Chair in 2010, will make active contributions to building an ASEAN Community based on three pillars, including politics-security, economics and socio-culture.

The Vietnamese Embassy will serve as a bridge linking the two countries through which Vietnam can promote its hidden beauty and tourism potentials to the Malaysian people, helping strengthen mutual understanding about each other’s culture, history and custom.

Pham Quang Hung, Director of the VNAT’s International Cooperation Department, stressed that boosting intra-ASEAN tourism is high on the agenda of the Vietnamese tourism sector’s programme.

This year, the VNAT will have many programmes to attract tourists from Southeast and Northeast Asia, Australia and New Zealand, he added.

According to Nguyen Thanh Vuong, Deputy Director of the VNAT’s Tourism Market Department, tourism promotion programmes in Thailand, Singapore and Malaysia have brought in satisfactory results.

On the occasion, VNAT representatives had a working session with officials from Malaysia’s Ministry of Tourism during which the two sides agreed to boost bilateral cooperation, he said, adding that Malaysia pledged to train Vietnamese human resources in management and serving skills.

During the gala night, guests had a chance to enjoy art performances imbued with the Vietnamese national identities.

In 2010, Vietnam, described as a land of peace, is expected to welcome 4.2 million international visitors from neighbouring markets, especially regional countries. (VNA)