The World Culture & Gastronomy Festival 2010 kicked off in the southern coastal city of Vung Tau on July 21, drawing 3,500 cooks and artists from 31 countries and territories.
A photo exhibition on Hanoi and Belgium’s cities opened in Hanoi on July 16. The event, organised by the Vietnam-Belgium Friendship Association, is to mark the 179 th anniversary of Belgium’s National Day (July 21) and the 1,000 th birthday of Thang Long-Hanoi.
Local traveling remains the key pillar for the country’s tourism industry, with up to 17 million Vietnamese people going places in the first half of this year, equal to over two-thirds of the figure for the whole 2009, the national tourism body said.
Thousands of objects belonging to Sa Huynh culture that dated from 2,500-3,000 years ago have been discovered during excavations carried out in the Ma Vuong Mound in Pho Thach Commune, Duc Pho District, Quang Ngai Province from June 17-July 4 this year.
International arrivals in Vietnam were estimated at over 2.5 million in the first six months of the year, representing an increase of 32% over the same period last year.
Over the first five months of this year, the country’s tourism industry has grown by more than 30 percent, said Nguyen Manh Cuong, Deputy Head of the Vietnam National Administration of Tourism at a press conference for the Vietnam Tourism Awards on June 18.
The first Vietnamese art gallery specifically for Vietnamese art in the UK called the “Apricot Gallery” launched its first exhibition by presenting works by five contemporary Vietnamese artists on April 27 in London, the capital city.
Vietnam has asked Japan to continue helping the country preserve the Thang Long Citadel and join hands with Vietnam in events celebrating the 1,000th anniversary of Thang Long-Hanoi.
A friendship exchange programme was held in Hanoi on April 10 to mark the traditional Lunar New Years of Laos, Thailand, Cambodia and Myanmar and the success of the 16th ASEAN Summit.
