The conference in the northern province of Ninh Binh on November 21-22 with 300 local and foreign representatives focuses on religious tourism as the highly potential tourism segment in Vietnam, according to the tourism ministry.

At the event, State officials, companies and tourism researchers will discuss related contents on planning, management, preservation and exploitation and development of tourism associated with religious activities.

It is expected that the contents on management and sustainable development of religious tourist attractions, the trend of tourism product development in combination with experiences of many nations in developing this kind of tourism activity will bring a new view for the country to develop the segment.

The tourism industry is still unable to have statistics and specific strategies on religious tourism as well as the contributions of visitors to the segment. However, tourism in provinces like An Giang, Ninh Binh and Quang Ninh reported that millions of visitors take tours and make pilgrimages at the same time or visit popular religious tourist sites in their localities annually.