NDO/VNA - Vietnam hopes to receive support from the World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) to restore and develop tourism more sustainably, especially through its initiatives, technical assistance and training programmes.

The statement was recently raised by a delegation of the Vietnam National Administration of Tourism (VNAT) at the 54th Meeting of the UNWTO Commission for East Asia and the Pacific and the 33rd Joint Meeting of the UNWTO Commission for East Asia and the Pacific & the Commission for South Asia.

These were two important meetings of the region in preparation for the 24th UNWTO General Assembly scheduled to be held in Morocco in December. The Vietnamese delegation was led by VNAT Deputy General Director Ha Van Sieu.

Tran Phu Cuong, Director of the VNAT's Department of International Cooperation, said that like other countries in the region, the COVID-19 pandemic has interrupted tourism activities in Vietnam since 2020.

However, Vietnam is implementing campaigns towards domestic tourism and taking measures to stimulate tourism demand, such as launching the "Safe Vietnam Tourism" application and the “Vietnam: Travel to Love” campaign, and setting up the "Wonders of Vietnam" project on Google Arts & Culture.

Cuong also told participants that the Government has agreed on the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism’s proposal to pilot a plan to welcome back international tourists to Phu Quoc island in the southern province of Kien Giang.

The ministry is closely coordinating with localities and related sectors to develop a pilot plan to apply "vaccine passports" with several appropriate countries and territories, he added.