National Assembly Chairman Vuong Dinh Hue attends the workshop 'Vietnam Tourism - Recovery and Development'

Attending and directing the workshop were Politburo members: Vuong Dinh Hue - Chairman of the National Assembly, Tran Thanh Man - Permanent Vice Chairman of the National Assembly. Attending online at the Government Office bridge point was comrade Vu Duc Dam - Member of the Party Central Committee, Deputy Prime Minister.

Attending the plenary session, on behalf of the leaders of the National Assembly agencies, ministries, central branches, provinces and cities, there were comrades of the Party Central Committee: Nguyen Dac Vinh - Member of the National Assembly Standing Committee, Chairman of the National Assembly's Committee on Culture and Education; Nguyen Phu Cuong - Member of the National Assembly Standing Committee, Chairman of the National Assembly's Committee on Finance and Budget; Le Quang Huy - Member of the National Assembly Standing Committee, Chairman of the National Assembly's Committee on Science, Technology and Environment; Nguyen Van Hung - Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism; Thai Thanh Quy - Secretary of the Provincial Party Committee, Head of the National Assembly Delegation of Nghe An Province, Chairman of the People's Council of Nghe An Province; Hoang Trung Dung - Secretary of the Provincial Party Committee, Head of the National Assembly Delegation of Ha Tinh Province. Also attending were comrade Nguyen Minh Vu - Alternate member of the Party Central Committee, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs; and leaders of the National Assembly Committees, a number of ministries, branches and enterprises.

On behalf of the Organizing Committee of the Workshop, there were comrades: Ta Van Ha - Deputy Chairman of the National Assembly's Committee on Culture and Education, Head of the Organizing Committee; Doan Van Viet - Deputy Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism, Deputy Head of the Organizing Committee; Nguyen Duc Trung - Deputy Secretary of the Provincial Party Committee, Chairman of the People's Committee of Nghe An province, Deputy Head of the Organizing Committee.

The plenary session was attended directly by more than 300 delegates representing scientists, managers, experts, businesses, associations, and tourism-related organizations domestically and internationally, and online at the Government Office, 19 key tourism provinces and cities nationwide, and on other online platforms.

Comrade Vuong Dinh Hue - Politburo member, Chairman of the National Assembly attended the plenary session of the workshop. Photo: Thanh Cuong

Speaking at the workshop, Comrade Tran Thanh Man - Permanent Vice Chairman of the National Assembly emphasized: The National Assembly leaders welcome the initiative of the Committee on Culture and Education together with the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism and Nghe An province to coordinate to organize this very meaningful workshop, right on the occasion of the 60th anniversary of Uncle Ho's second visit to his homeland.

The Standing Vice Chairman of the National Assembly emphasized a number of key contents for the workshop to achieve the highest results. There is a need to comprehensively and deeply assess the impact on economic sectors, especially the tourism sector; assess the current situation and trends of tourism development; deeply study the tasks and solutions set out in Resolution 08 of the Politburo and in the Vietnam Tourism Development Strategy to 2030, as a basis for proposing and recommending solutions to restore and develop tourism in the coming time.

Delegates attending the workshop. Photo: Thanh Cuong

Comrade Tran Thanh Man also hopes that the workshop will continue to clarify the relationship between the national socio-economic recovery program and programs, plans, and orientations for tourism recovery and development; recommend solutions and policies, especially policies on ensuring epidemic prevention for safe opening; fiscal and monetary policies for tourism recovery and development; and policies to enhance the competitiveness of Vietnam's tourism in the new context.

Comrade Tran Thanh Man - Politburo member, Permanent Vice Chairman of the National Assembly delivered a speech at the plenary session of the workshop. Photo: Thanh Cuong

“The workshop needs to discuss in depth, find solutions to promote diffusion, regional connectivity, develop infrastructure, human resources and perfect institutions to develop tourism associated with cultural development and environmental protection,” said the National Assembly’s Permanent Vice Chairman.

In his welcoming speech, Comrade Thai Thanh Quy - Member of the Party Central Committee, Secretary of the Provincial Party Committee, Head of the Provincial National Assembly Delegation, Chairman of the People's Council of Nghe An province affirmed: In its socio-economic development strategy, tourism is identified by Nghe An province as an economic sector with many strengths and is prioritized for investment, aiming to become a "tourism center of the North Central region".

Nghe An is also the locality that promptly issued an Action Program to implement Resolution No. 08 of the Politburo on developing tourism into a spearhead economic sector.

Comrade Thai Thanh Quy - Secretary of Nghe An Provincial Party Committee delivered a welcome speech at the workshop. Photo: Thanh Cuong

In recent years, except for the period affected by the Covid-19 pandemic, Nghe An tourism industry has made progress in the right direction, effectively promoting the heritage values, landscapes and landscapes of the homeland, tourism products are increasingly diverse, unique and of better quality. Tourism infrastructure such as airports, accommodation facilities, restaurants, and shopping centers have developed strongly, ready to meet the increasing needs of tourists.

Along with Vinh city and Cua Lo town, the tourism network has been formed in most districts, cities and towns, notably in Nam Dan, Thanh Chuong, Con Cuong, Quy Chau, Que Phong... In fact, the tourism industry has been making a very important contribution to the economic restructuring, the province's budget revenue, and improving the quality of people's lives.

In the context of the tourism industry being most heavily affected by the Covid-19 pandemic, the Secretary of the Nghe An Provincial Party Committee emphasized that the workshop is a valuable opportunity to introduce and promote the province's tourism products, learn more experiences in tourism recovery and development, and seek and share cooperation opportunities from friends, colleagues, experts, scientists, and leading managers in the tourism industry.

Through this, the province also reviews and evaluates the leadership and direction of tourism development in recent times, and has more important information and orientations to develop Nghe An tourism in the new context.

Overview of the conference plenary session. Photo: Thanh Cuong

Earlier, in the morning of the same day, the 2021 Tourism Conference with the theme "Vietnam Tourism - Recovery and Development" held a thematic session.

Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism Nguyen Van Hung speaks at the conference. Photo: Thanh Cuong

At the plenary session, delegates listened to Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism Nguyen Van Hung present the content: "Vietnam tourism in the context of the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic", in which he looked back at the imprints of Vietnam tourism before the Covid-19 period; at the same time, he discussed the impacts in the context of the Covid-19 pandemic, the drastic efforts of the National Assembly, the Government under the leadership of the Party, the efforts of the business community under the State management so that Vietnam's tourism can have a "great day".

Delegates attending the workshop. Photo: Thanh Cuong

The workshop also heard a central report with the theme: "Current situation and solutions to restore Vietnam tourism in 2022, 2023"; proposed solutions to ensure health safety for tourists in the new normal context. Through the online format, Secretary General of the World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) Zurab Pololikashvili also spoke on the theme: "Global tourism - recovery and development trends". A number of key tourism localities in the country also gave presentations at the plenary session.

Delegates discuss at a round table. Photo: Thanh Cuong

After the roundtable discussion, speaking from the Government Office via online format, Deputy Prime Minister Vu Duc Dam emphasized that this was a very important workshop; at the same time, he agreed with the opinions on the need to improve the quality of tourism products, including strengthening the development of community tourism because it not only supports tourism businesses but also helps many people economically and "brings the world to remote areas" through tourists.

On the other hand, the Deputy Prime Minister suggested that it is urgent to digitize tourism resources; at the same time, to restore tourism development, in addition to strategies, visions, and major solutions, it is important to organize and implement them well and effectively.

Deputy Prime Minister Vu Duc Dam speaks via online format. Photo: Thanh Cuong

Regarding the opening of the tourism industry, based on the analysis: If Vietnam is not safe from the Covid-19 epidemic, international tourists will not come, or if a locality is not safe, domestic tourists will not come, Deputy Prime Minister Vu Duc Dam said that opening must be accompanied by certain measures; we should not be too hasty, but the main thing is to control the Covid-19 epidemic well in the shortest time, at the same time, innovate tourism activities to be ready to welcome visitors when safety is ensured.

Delegates attending the workshop. Photo: Thanh Cuong

Concluding the workshop, Chairman of the National Assembly's Committee on Culture and Education Nguyen Dac Vinh said: The Organizing Committee will synthesize and complete the workshop results report and recommend to the National Assembly and the Government specific and practical mechanisms, policies and solutions to remove difficulties and obstacles, restore and develop tourism in the coming years.

At the same time, it is recommended that the National Assembly study the proposed contents to consider and discuss the Socio-Economic Recovery and Development Program for the 2022-2023 period; it is recommended that the Government study and consider adding contents related to tourism recovery and development in the Socio-Economic Recovery and Development Program for the 2022-2023 period, in which tourism is considered a priority focus area with a large enough scale, long enough time, and wide enough scope to recover soon and regain strong growth momentum for the tourism industry.