The conference had the attendance of Former Deputy Prime Minister Vu Khoan; Minister of the MoCST Hoang Tuan Anh; General Director of the VNAT Nguyen Van Tuan; Head of representative office of UNESCO in Viet Nam Katherine Muller - Marin and representatives of ministries, departments, national and int'l researchers.

Representatives of Quang Ninh Province included Secretary of provincial Party's Committee Pham Minh Chinh, Vice Chairman of provincial Peoples Committee Vu Thi Thu Thuy and relevant departments and agencies.

Opening at the conference, Mr. Hoang Tuan Anh confirmed that the world natural heritage of Ha Long Bay has become a prominent brand on the world's tourist map. However, Ha Long is also facing some challenges in its development progress. He suggested Quang Ninh province should focus on the quality and efficiency of tourism and take responsibility for preserving and promoting the values of this precious natural attraction.

According to Mr. Pham Minh Chinh, Ha Long Bay has an international value which needs to be preserved, restored and promoted effectively associated with ecological environment protection. He also emphasized four major tasks of the province including defining the importance of Ha Long Bay in the national and global's tourism development; developing Ha Long's trademark as a top-ranking tourist destination; exploiting effectively tourist potential associated with environmental protection; raising public awareness of preserving Ha Long Bay.

General Director of the VNAT Mr. Nguyen Van Tuan proposed new direction for the sustainable development of Ha Long Bay in the near future such as prioritizing Ha Long Bay in economic development plan of the province; building legal documents for Ha Long Bay; propagandizing and training the awareness of Ha Long Bay for local communities and schools, as well as tourists and tourism staff.

Participants pointed out the limitation of tourism development as well as opportunities and challenges in Ha Long Bay. International researchers also shared experiences in heritage development, role and position of Ha Long Bay in int'l cruises routes. In addition, participants also discussed and set out requirements and suggestions to enhance service quality and improve environment, aiming to bring Ha Long Bay to a new height in the global tourism.

Thanh Pham