~ Le Viêt Nam, aujourd'hui. ~
The Vietnam News

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[Year 2001]

Vietnam central region drafts tourism masterplan

HANOI - The local governments in Vietnam's central coast have mapped out a comprehensive master plan for developing the tourism industry in the region over the next two decades. The plan, involving input from the Japan International Cooperation Agency, involves 29 projects covering services, management and organization, infrastructure development and tourism resource protection.

The plan will be submitted to the prime minister for approval later this year, according to Deputy Chief of Vietnam's National Administration for Tourism (VNAT), Vu Tuan Canh. Reports delivered during a seminar on tourism in the central provinces in Hue last week said that three cultural villages and amusement parks would be developed in Lang Co (Thua Thien-Hue Province), Van Phong (Khanh Hoa Province) and Ke Ga (Binh Thuan Province). Traditional craft villages in 10 central provinces stretching from Quang Tri to Binh Thuan will be preserved and revamped to attract tourists.

By 2010, VNAT will open a travel promotion agency, representative offices for Vietnamese tourism in the world's 10 largest cities, and travel information centers at Noi Bai, Tan Son Nhat and Da Nang international airports. Guest houses with parking lots and information services may be built at scenic spots along highways, 50-100 km apart. Phu Bai Airport (Thua Thien-Hue) and Nha Trang Airport (Khanh Hoa) will be expanded into 24-hour international airports. Nine of the projects focus on protecting tourism resources. These include establishing a management board for Nha Trang's beaches and preserving the My Son Cham Sanctuary in Quang Nam Province.

Plans for the tourism industry's growth in the next two decades also focus on preserving tourist sites like Phong Nha Cave (Quang Binh Province), the Forbidden Walls (in the Royal Citadel of Hue), and My Khe and Non Nuoc beaches in Da Nang.

IRNA (Islamic Republic News Agency ) - October 16, 2001.