Scene at the discussion between Can Tho authorities and representatives
from Japan National Tourism Organization's Viet Nam office (Photo: plo.vn)

Vice Chairman of the Can Tho People’s Committee Truong Hoai Nam made the proposal during a working session with Takahashi Ayumi, head of the JNTO’s Viet Nam office, on September 5.

Nam said while Can Tho is a socio-economic hub of the Mekong Delta region, the number of tourists visiting the city is low compared to other localities in the region. Therefore, the city wants to cooperate with other partners to give a boost to the tourism sector. 

The official also noted that the number of Japanese tourists visiting the Mekong Delta, including Can Tho, has to date increased nearly 10 percent from last year. He attributed the outcome to effective collaboration to promote tourism and tourist exchanges between the sides.

For his part, Takahashi Ayumi said Viet Nam-Japan political relationship is at its best ever since it was established in 1973, thus opening up cooperation opportunities across multiple fields, including tourism.

He unveiled that JNTO Viet Nam has planned a number of promotion events to introduce the Japanese tourism market to Vietnamese while helping Viet Nam promote tourism in Japan. 

The agency will also work with the Japanese Embassy in Viet Nam to organize more international cultural events, and lobby for easing Japan’s visa policy for Vietnamese tourists, among others.

Takahashi asked the Can Tho authorities to consider opening more air routes from Can Tho to Japanese major cities to facilitate travel between the sides.

According to JNTO’s statistics, Vietnamese visitors to Japan saw strong growth in the past 5 years. In the first 6 months of 2017, over 234,000 Vietnamese travelled to Japan, up 28 percent compared to the same period last year. Vietnamese were also among top spenders in Japan with an average spending of 237,000 JPY ( 2,166 USD) per person per trip.