Present at the event were Vietnamese ambassador to France Duong Chi Dung, Head of Vietnam's Mission to UNESCO Ambassador Duong Van Quang, President of VietnAmitie Therese Nguyen Van Ky, President of overseas Vietnamese association in France, Olivier Lacost, and representatives of France’s Ministry of Economy, Finance and Industry, and Vietnam’s Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism.

The seminar also attracted many travel agents, including Hit Voyage, Tangka Voyage, Nova Voyages and representatives of the national flag carrier Vietnam Airlines, and Air France.

At the event, presentations highlighted Vietnam’s tourism potential, and its efforts to develop the non-smoking industry. Particularly, through documentaries, delegates were introduced to some sightseeing destinations and learned about Vietnam’s people and distinctive cultural identity.

Ambassador Duong Chi Dung emphasized that Vietnam is an attractive and favourite destination of French tourists. The Embassy of Vietnam in France always creates conditions and supports initiatives to hold festivals, fairs, and activities to advertise Vietnamese tourism, he said.

These activities aim to strengthen cultural and economic exchanges and reinforce the call to French and European investors to develop infrastructure and improve Vietnam’s historical relics for tourism, Mr Dung noted.

Dao Ngoc Anh, a representative from the Vietnam National Administration of Tourism (VNAT), said that France is one of Vietnam’s key tourism market and some 200,000 French tourists visited Vietnam last year.

The country has set a target of increasing average tourism growth by 11.5-12 percent per year during 2011-2020.

Many tourism promotions in France and Western Europe have been carried out, such as organizing visits for Vietnam’s businessmen to French and European markets, and tourism fairs, exchanging experience among Vietnamese and French travel agents, and increasing the qualifications of tour guides.

Vietnam always considers France a gateway to the European market, Mr Anh noted. (Source: VOV)