Potential to realize Vinh - Khon Ken flight route

(Baonghean) - The conference to promote and advertise Vietnam - Laos - Thailand road and air tourism was held in Khon Ken, Kingdom of Thailand on September 21, 2015. At the conference, Nghe An (Vietnam) chaired and coordinated with the host country Thailand and neighboring country Laos to carry out the promotion and advertising contents. In general, the conference achieved many good results...

After breakfast in Vinh City, at 9:00 a.m. on September 20, a Vietnam Airlines plane took off, bringing our Nghe An delegation to Vientiane International Airport - the capital of Lao PDR at 10:00 a.m. the same day. We had lunch in Vientiane, took a comfortable nap, and at around 1:30 p.m., we departed by car to Khon Ken City, the capital of Khon Ken Province - the third largest province among 77 provinces of Thailand... We had 3 meals a day, how interesting!

The conference on promoting and advertising Vietnam - Laos - Thailand road and air tourism was attended by a large number of people, including representatives of the General Department of Tourism and localities of each country. After a very impressive 30-minute performance of Nghe Tinh Vi and Giam folk songs by singers of Nghe An Folk Song Group, the conference continued continuously, very exciting with rich and practical content, until 12:30 noon. In the afternoon, businesses of the three countries met to exchange, discuss and discuss cooperation measures. In the evening, a large number of overseas Vietnamese in Khon Ken organized a meeting and reception for the delegation. Nghe An Folk Song Group once again performed for overseas Vietnamese with a special folk song program, imbued with the cultural identity of Nghe An, leaving deep feelings in the hearts of the people for their homeland. The next day, the Nghe An delegation continued to survey, promote and advertise in some localities in the Northeast of Thailand and the Southwest provinces, including Phu Ket province, one of the famous tourist centers of Thailand and the world, about 1,250 km from Khon Ken. It can be said that this trip to promote and advertise tourism of the Nghe An delegation has achieved many good results, the image of Nghe An has reached Thai friends, especially in Phu Ket.

Golden Temple - a spiritual tourist destination in Khon Ken province (Thailand).

Returning to the above conference, the delegates at the conference expressed that all three countries have a high demand for implementing road and air tours, eating in three countries in one day, to enhance mutual understanding and continuously consolidate the solidarity, friendship, cooperation and development between the people of the three countries Vietnam - Laos - Thailand. The conference highly agreed on establishing an air route Vinh (Nghe An) - Khon Ken and vice versa. When traveling by air, when returning, choosing to go by road or air depends on the guests and the pre-determined tours.

Through discussions at the conference and practical experience, it is seen that the establishment of Vinh - Khon Ken air route is feasible and has high potential. We can go into evaluating some conditions.

Currently, Thailand is a country that is developing strongly in terms of market economy, especially tourism and trade. Because Thailand is a country that has developed in all aspects decades earlier than us, Thailand has a lot of experience in both success and failure for us to learn and research. The relationship between Thailand and Vietnam is currently progressing well. Especially after Vietnam joined ASEAN, Thailand has had positive diplomatic relations with Vietnam, including policies towards overseas Vietnamese in Thailand. One of those policies is that Thailand allows all overseas Vietnamese to become Thai citizens; overseas Vietnamese children can complete all levels of secondary and university education; all overseas Vietnamese can travel freely within the country and around the world like Thai people...

As for Nghe An, it is a province with great potential for tourism development; and from what we heard and saw during this working trip, it can be said that this potential is not inferior to Thailand. Currently, Nghe An is actively and proactively integrating and developing in all aspects, including the tourism industry; focusing on strong economic development, especially investment economy, and cultural development, including promoting Nghe An culture abroad through tourism. Traveling to Thailand, in the current conditions of Nghe An, does not require large-scale implementation, but needs to be calculated appropriately and have highlights. One of those highlights is to visit Khon Ken City, Khon Ken province, because this is the largest province in the Northeast region and the third largest province in Thailand. Khon Ken is a province with good infrastructure, convenient for traveling in the region and a rich, diverse and effective economic development. Khon Ken has an airport that can go to many provinces in the country and many countries in the region. At the same time, there is a multidisciplinary university, with a scale of 30-40 thousand students, the largest university in the Northeast of Thailand.

Tourists visit Kim Lien relic site (Nam Dan).

The Northeast region of Thailand has 20 provinces out of the total 77 provinces of this country. From the second half of the 16th century to the present, especially from the end of the 19th century to the beginning of the 20th century, due to the ups and downs of history, many Vietnamese people with different reasons have come to Thailand to live. Although the statistics are not complete, it is estimated that there are many overseas Vietnamese in Thailand, up to hundreds of thousands of people, of which the Northeast region accounts for a large proportion, about 4/5. This is one of the major sources of tourists who regularly return to visit their homeland, especially the Nghe Tinh region where there are quite a number of overseas Vietnamese people.

On the other hand, currently, in Thailand in general and the Northeast of Thailand in particular, there are many Vietnamese people going to work, cooperate and do business. If we organize tours by both air and road, it will create opportunities for these workers to participate in the above tours. Most of the delegates at the Conference on Promoting and Promoting Vietnam - Laos - Thailand Road and Air Tourism all have the opinion that this tour should be opened, in the direction: Vinh (Nghe An) - Khon Ken (Khon Ken province) by air for each side when going. When returning, after visiting as per the pre-arranged tour, everyone returning by road will be able to visit many places and learn more about Vietnam, Laos and Thailand. From Vinh to Khon Ken by plane and stay here overnight; the next day, we will visit many relics such as pagodas, which will be very suitable for the traditional spiritual cultural customs of the Vietnamese people. From here to Udonthani province, it takes about 2 hours by car, which is where many Vietnamese people live, because in the past, many Vietnamese patriots stopped to do revolutionary activities here. Like the time of the Dong Du movement, there were patriotic scholars Dang Thuc Hua, Vo Van Kieu, Vo Van Dong, Co Khon. Currently, there are 5 graves of 5 revolutionary predecessors that are carefully cared for by overseas Vietnamese. In particular, there is a relic site here that records the time when our Uncle Ho was active in the revolution in the years 1928 - 1929. Vietnamese tourists in general and Nghe An in particular will have a deeper understanding of those special historical relics and have deep feelings for Uncle Ho and the revolutionary predecessors of their homeland...

Based on the above analysis, we need to calculate more carefully before deciding to open a new flight route Vinh - Khon Ken (or Udonthani) and vice versa for each side when going, and at the same time open a road for each side when returning, which is really more effective and sustainable. We believe that opening a tour Vinh (Nghe An) - Khon Ken (Thailand) in the above direction or opening a flight route Vinh - Udonthani is a suitable and practical way, which will attract many people of Nghe An province, the North Central provinces of Vietnam and people of Khon Ken province, the Northeast region of Thailand in particular and the people of Vietnam - Thailand, international visitors in general to participate. This tour will become attractive not only for sightseeing of historical and cultural relics, but also for increasing trade and investment activities, because the Thai market economy is currently developing and has prestige with many Vietnamese consumers and investors. On the contrary, this is also an opportunity for many overseas Vietnamese to return to visit their homeland, and join Thai businessmen in investing in economic development in Nghe An and the North Central region...

Ths.Bui Dinh Sam

(Provincial Party Committee's Propaganda Department)