The signing of an agreement to this effect took place in the northern province of Quang Ninh on October 18 by the provincial Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism and the Management Board of the “Environmentally and Socially Responsible Tourism Capacity Development Programme” (ESRTCD).

The agreement is part of the ESRTCD in the 2011-2015 period, which is funded by the EU with a total budget of 11 million EUR.

Under the agreement, the programme will assign domestic and international experts to help in the process of drafting a master plan of tourism development in Quang Ninh province to 2020.

Investigations on demand of visitors will be conducted in the framework of the project in order to design suitable tourism products in Ha Long Bay.

Additionally, the project will also help improve professional skills for tourism workers through training courses.

The EU is one of the biggest donors of non-refundable aid for Vietnam ’s tourism sector. This was the second project funded by the union, following the recently completed “Tourism Human Resources Development” project in 2010.