Deputy Prime Minister Le Thanh Long: Tourism is the development trend of the future

This was affirmed by Deputy Prime Minister Le Thanh Long at the first international conference on rural tourism held in Quang Nam province.

On December 10, the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism coordinated with the United Nations Tourism Organization (UN Tourism) and the People's Committee of Quang Nam province to organize the first international conference on rural tourism.

Speaking at the conference, Deputy Prime Minister Le Thanh Long said that tourism is an important economic sector, a "smokeless industry", contributing increasingly to the economies of countries and is a development trend of the future.

The first International Conference on Rural Tourism was held on December 10 in Quang Nam province (Photo: Cong Binh).

Most countries in the world are very interested in investing in developing tourism in a green, friendly and sustainable direction.

Nowadays, there are many rich and diverse forms and models of tourism such as cultural tourism, eco-tourism, resort tourism, discovery tourism, medical tourism, in which rural tourism is increasingly popular and developing.

Deputy Prime Minister Le Thanh Long affirmed: “Developing rural tourism not only promotes economic transformation, reduces the development gap between rural and urban areas; but also promotes, honors, preserves, enriches, develops and spreads unique local values, contributing to promoting socio-economic development, bringing a better life to the people”.

Deputy Prime Minister Le Thanh Long also said that the United Nations Tourism Organization is expanding the implementation of the "Tourism for Rural Development Program" to contribute to protecting natural and cultural resources, empowering communities and creating jobs.

This is a very meaningful program and is consistent with the three pillars of sustainable development: economy, society and environment.

This is also consistent with Vietnam's development strategy and distinct potentials, competitive advantages, and outstanding opportunities with the orientation of rapid, sustainable development, green transformation, digital transformation, green economic development, digital economy, and circular economy.

Deputy Prime Minister Le Thanh Long speaks at the conference (Photo: Ha Vy).

According to Deputy Prime Minister Le Thanh Long, the Vietnamese Government always pays attention to, promulgates and implements many mechanisms and policies for rural agricultural development, and includes rural tourism in major development programs.

One of the important orientations is "developing local specialties, craft villages, developing service economy and rural tourism on the basis of preserving and promoting local culture".

Many localities have exploited their strengths well, developing a diverse system of rural tourism destinations with many high-quality, unique and attractive tourism products such as Lao Cai, Son La, Lai Chau, Ha Giang, Quang Nam, Thua Thien Hue, Dong Thap, Ben Tre, Can Tho and the Central Highlands provinces...

Craft demonstration at the conference (Photo: Cong Binh).

Among them, many tourist villages have been recognized according to ASEAN criteria. In particular, Tan Hoa village (Quang Binh), Thai Hai village (Thai Nguyen), Tra Que vegetable village (Quang Nam) were honored by the United Nations Tourism Organization as the best tourist villages.

With the coordination of the United Nations Tourism Organization and the Best Tourism Village Network, Deputy Prime Minister Le Thanh Long hopes and believes that initiatives and projects to develop rural tourism will be effectively implemented in the coming time, creating a solid foundation to make rural tourism a driving force for sustainable development for communities around the world.

In recent times, Vietnam tourism has received strong investment and development, making an increasingly large contribution to socio-economic development. In the first 11 months of the year, Vietnam tourism served more than 100 million domestic visitors and welcomed 15.8 million international visitors, an increase of 41% over the same period in 2023 and is aiming for the target of 18 million international visitors in 2024.

The first International Conference on Rural Tourism held on December 10 in Quang Nam province is the first global event of UN Tourism on rural tourism.

The event attracted the participation of more than 300 delegates from 50 countries around the world, representing national and local management agencies of UN Tourism member countries and Vietnam, international organizations, the tourism community and the private sector.

Source: https://dantri.com.vn/du-lich/pho-thu-tuong-le-thanh-long-du-lich-la-xu-huong-phat-trien-cua-tuong-lai-20241210161633973.htm