Vietnamese Ambassador to Ukraine Nguyen Hong Thach took part in a roundtable which was recently held in Kiev, Ukraine, on May 11 as part of the Ukraine International Travel and Tourism Exhibition.
Participants at the roundtable (Photo: Vietnamese Embassy in Ukraine)
At the event, Ambassador Thach joined representatives from other 12 countries including Bulgaria, Cuba, Cyprus, Egypt, Indonesia, Kyrgyzstan, Malaysia, Montenegro, Switzerland, Uzbekistan, Albania, and host Ukraine to discuss ways to boost tourism cooperation.
Ambassador Thach took the occasion to update the participants on the impressive growth of Vietnam’s tourism.
Accordingly, in 2019 Vietnam welcomed a record 18 million international visitors (up 16.2% compared to 2018) and 85 million domestic visitors, and contributed US$32.8 billion, equivalent to 9.2% of total GDP. With this result, the country was ranked among the top 10 countries with the fastest tourism growth in the world.
In 2020, Vietnam’s hospitality sector faced a number of difficulties caused by COVID-19 pandemic and international travel restrictions, he noted.
He stressed that the roundtable and the Ukraine International Travel and Tourism Exhibition was held at the right time to prepare for the restart of the international tourism market as well as the market in Vietnam and Ukraine in particular.
According to him, there is a huge need for tourism cooperation between Vietnam and Ukraine as many Ukrainians want to visit Vietnam and vice versa. As such, he suggested the launched of a direct flight between Vietnam and Ukraine and a visa exemption policy for tourists of the two countries.
Within the framework of the Ukraine International Travel and Tourism Exhibition 2021, the Embassy and Trade Office of Vietnam in Ukraine organised a booth to advertise Vietnam's tourism image to Ukrainian and international friends.
The Vietnamese booth at the Ukraine International Travel and Tourism Exhibition 2021.