A high-level meeting took place in Hue City on Thursday to discuss tourism development cooperation between the 3 central coast localities of Da Nang, Thua Thien-Hue Province and Quang Nam Province. 

The meeting was organised by the Viet Nam National Administration of Tourism with technical support from the European Union-funded “Environmentally and Socially Responsible Tourism Capacity Development Programme” project, or EU Project for short.

Discussions focused on issues relating to the development of responsible tourism in Viet Nam, based on environmental and social principles.  Next, a model for the 3 localities to cooperatively develop tourism will be created.  This will be a model for managing inter-provincial tourist destinations to meet sustainable development principles.  It will be the 2^nd model in Viet Nam to receive technical support from the EU Project following an earlier cooperation programme for 8 north-western provinces. 

Leaders signing the cooperative agreement (Source: http://www.nhandan.com.vn)

In 2014, the EU project will provide support for the tourism cooperation model.  This support will include establishing consultative forums for tourist destination management, conducting surveys of tourists’ demands, encouraging each locality to promote their own responsible tourism products, and building a regional tourism brand name.

At the end of the meeting, leaders from the 3 localities signed a cooperative agreement to promote the development of tourism.  This will help to fully tap the tourism potential of each province, as well as promote sustainable tourism development throughout the region.