(TITC) – On 15 September 2017, in Hoi An, ASEAN-Korea Centre in coordination with Viet Nam National Administration of Tourism (VNAT) and Quang Nam Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism organized the ASEAN-Korea Tourism Capacity Building Workshop under the theme of “Free and Independent Travelers (FITs) for Cultural Heritage Destination”.
Vice Chairman of VNAT Ngo Hoai Chung spoke at the workshop
The program had the attendances of AKC’s Secretary General Kim Young-sun, Vice Chairman of VNAT Ngo Hoai Chung, leaders of Quang Nam Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism, Vietnamese and Korean tourism experts.
Opening the workshop, Mr. Ngo Hoai Chung emphasized that Republic of Korea always is listed among top source markets of Viet Nam. Viet Nam welcomed 1,543,883 Korean visitor arrivals in 2016. In the first eight months of 2017, Viet Nam received over 1,500,000 Korean visitor arrivals, a nearly 50% increase over the same period last year. The workshop was organized in Hoi An – a culture heritage destination, agains affirming the socio-economic linkage between culture and tourism. The workshop was a good opportunity for Viet Nam to learn about ROK tourism sector in order to develop suitable tourism products for Korean visitors.
Mr. Kim Young-sun noted that, “Hoi An has attracted an increasing number of Korean tourists annually, and is one of the favorite destinations for free and independent travelers looking for historic or natural adventures. Hoi An, designated as the UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1999, is a well-preserved ancient port city with over a 1,000 ancient houses, more than 50 pagodas and temples, and eco-tourism sites. Although Hoi An is already one of the most favorite destinations for Korean tourists, it still has much potential to grow as a cultural heritage destination. I hope this Workshop will contribute to promoting a sustainable tourism development in Hoi An and exchange of knowledges, experiences, and know-how among tourism professionals of Korea and Vietnam.”
At the workshop, Vice-Director of the Hoi An Centre for Cultural Heritage Management and Preservation gave briefing on the destination of Hoi An Ancient Town. Also, Korean tourism experts delivered speeches to the local tourism professionals from private and public sectors on the themes of ‘Promoting Sustainable Tourism in Hoi An as a Cultural Heritage Destination’, ‘Marketing Strategies for Hoi An Tourism in Korea’, ‘Korean Culture: Insights on Korean Tourists.’.
The workshop was organized in line with the Visit ASEASN@50: Golden Celebration Campaign as well as the International Year of Sustainable Tourism for Development.
Hong Thanh