Vietnam: Northern festivals set to lure tourists.

(From Thai Press Reports)

Section: Regional News - Pilgrimage to the Roots, a tourism programme aimed at promoting the country's northwestern regions, will kick off with a grand ceremony from February 3-5 in Viet Tri City. Thanh Ha reports.

A tourism promotion campaign called Pilgrimage to the Roots aims to introduce historic areas of the three north-western provinces of Yen Bai, Lao Cai and Phu Tho to tourists.

Nguyen Ngoc Hai, deputy chairman of the Phu Tho People's Committee, said the grand ceremony to start the year long campaign would run in Viet Tri City in Phu Tho Province from February 3-5, and would be televised live.

"Through this co-operation programme, which will emphasise our strong points, traditional festivals, we are aiming to attract one million domestic and foreign travellers to the region to achieve a turnover of VND300 million (US$19 million)," Hai said.

"We plan to tap each province's potential, and the nearby economic corridor from China's Kunming Province to Vietnam's Hai Phong," she said, adding that the provinces would favour tourism companies, especially travel agents operating in the areas. "We expect that co-operation between these provinces will …