Hoi An celebrates arrival of six millionth foreign tourist

The ancient city of Hoi An in central Quang Nam province celebrated the arrival of the 6 millionth foreign tourist who visited the old quarter at the Japanese Bridge, on February 28.
German tourist Erika Wilskie, 85, who joined the tourist group Studiosus, was identified as the 6 millionth foreign visitor and received gifts from the municipal People's Committee.
"I'm so happy today to find out that I am the 6 millionth tourist to visit the old streets in Hoi An. I've been retired for years and have visited many destinations around the world. But this is my first visit to Hoi An," Wilskie said.
"I was told that Hoi An is the best visitor site as it's so friendly, and tourists can enjoy the peaceful town and its people."
The old town started selling package tickets for tourists to visit the old street in 1995.
The city's tour service office offered free tickets to the German tourist group as a gift on the occasion of the arrival of the 6 millionth tourist in the old quarter.
According to Quang Nam Provincial Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism, more than 1.6 million foreign visitors had visited the province in 2013.
Hoi An had already successfully launched community tourism activities, such as farming, fishing, boat rides and biking. Other community festivals, sites and art exhibits such as the silk village, lantern festival and pottery display have also been launched.
The province is the only location in Vietnam with two UNESCO-recognised world heritage sites, Hoi An and the My Son Sanctuary, as well as the world biosphere reserve of the Cham Islands.