Travel agents on a mission

Vietnamese travel agent and tourism officials will tour the nation’s south-central region this month seeking new tourism products.
The September 23 to 28 “familiarization” tour, to be led by Vietnam National Administration of Tourism officials, will include visits to south-central tourist destinations such as Dalat in the Central Highlands and the seaside resort cities of Nha Trang, Danang and Phan Thiet.
Vietnam National Administration of Tourism head Nguyen Van Tuan told the Saigon Times Daily the familiarization tour will also include seminars and meetings with local authorities about ways to develop the local tourism industry.
The trip is one of tourism authority’s most important familiarization tours this year, Tuan said.
A Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism report revealed about 1.4 million of the 1.89 million international tourists who visited Vietnam in the first half of this year visited the country’s south, about 10 percent less than during the first six months of last year.
Tuan said the tourism agency was also planning a separate familiarization trip to the Central Highlands.