(Vietnam Visa)
- The mountains and forests of the Central Highlands will come into
sharp focus at the year-long National Tourism Year 2014 event,
organisers said last Friday.
Accordingly,
the event, held in Lam Dong and other provinces in the region
throughout next year beginning December 27 this year, will have "High
Mountains and Thick Forests of the Central Highlands" as its main theme,
said Nguyen Van Huong, director of the province's Department of
Culture, Sports and Tourism.
He
was speaking at a meeting held in Da Lat on Friday between
representatives of the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism and the
organisers of the national tourism year.
The
tourism year will comprise nine programmes and 17 events, 13 of which
will take place in Da Lat, the capital city of Lam Dong, and four others
in Kon Tum, Gia Lai, Dak Lak and Dak Nong provinces.
Major
events of the National Tourism Year 2014 will include the Cultural Week
to Celebrate the UNESCO Viet Nam Heritage Festival, a festival of
brocade arts, a Central Highlands fashion show, a festival of Central
Highlands wooden statues; and an international gong festival.
A
festival marking the 120th founding anniversary of Da Lat City and the
Fifth Da Lat Flower Festival will also be held to promote tourism in Lam
Dong province, Huong said.
A series of sporting events including an elephant race, a boat race, and several folk games will also be held during the year.
A Central Highlands Ethnic Minority Food Festival will be the gastronomic highlight of National Tourism Year 2014.
The
Central Highlands has been recognised as a land of mysterious mountains
and forests with a significant population of ethnic minorities whose
varied customs and lifestyles are an anthropologist's delight.
The
region is also home to some of the most endangered species in Viet Nam
and Southeast Asia, such as the Indochinese tiger, the gaur, the wild
Asian water buffalo and the Asian elephant.
Its rich and unique natural beauty and cultural diversity make it an ideal site for tourism development.
Hoang
Thi Diep, Deputy Director of the Viet Nam National Administration of
Tourism, said the National Tourism Year 2014 aims to encourage
localities in the region to develop tourism as a way to boost the
economy and improve the living standards of local residents.
Speaking
at the Friday meeting, Hoang Tuan Anh, the Minister of Culture, Sports
and Tourism, said National Tourism Year 2014 will be an international
event that introduces images of the natural landscape and people of Viet
Nam's Central Highlands in general and Lam Dong - Da Lat in particular,
to local and international friends.
Anh
asked organisers of the event as well as Lam Dong authorities to
enhance tourism management and stop fraud and overcharging for products
and services provided to tourists, making Da Lat City and Lam Dong
Province a safe and attractive destination in 2014 and the years to
come.
Source: VNS
