Vietnam’s tourism brought closer to Czech people

The event was organised by the Vietnam National Administration of Tourism (VNAT) in collaboration with the Vietnamese Embassy in the Czech Republic, the national flag carrier Vietnam Airlines, and Vietnamese travel firms in the host nation. This is the final stop of the Vietnam Tourism Roadshow Europe 2018 which has travelled through Sweden, Austria and Hungary.

Highlighting the traditional friendship between Vietnam and the central European country, VNAT General Director Nguyen Khac Tuan stressed that both sides pose huge potential for tourism cooperation.

Vietnam welcomed only 1 million foreign visitors in 1995 but the figure is forecast at 16 million this year, including 2 million European holiday-makers, Tuan said, adding that however, only 17,000 of them come from the Czech Republic.

This is a modest figure when Vietnam’s tourism has many things appealing to Czech visitors like beautiful beaches along its 3,000km of coastline, a stunning Ha Long Bay, gigantic Phong Nha-Ke Bang Cave, and unique orchard gardens in the south, he noted.

On the sidelines of the event there were meetings between Vietnamese and Czech tourism agencies, which served as a bridge for them to seek cooperative opportunities.

VNAT General Director Tuan and deputy chairman of the Association of Czech Travel Agents Jan Papez told Vietnam News Agency’s reporters that Vietnamese and Czech tourism products all satisfy demands of tourists from both countries.

However, they said that visa procedures, the absence of direct flights between Hanoi or Ho Chi Minh City and Prague as well as weak promotion campaigns are the main barriers for bilateral cooperation.