“This year’s event is generating a great amount of interest and experiencing an impressive number of visitors,” said Nguyen Quoc Hung, deputy head of the Viet Nam National Administration of Tourism (VNAT).

The number of Russians travelling to Viet Nam over the past few years has been steadily increasing and by 2020 the country expects to welcome over one million Russian arrivals, he added.

Hung said that at this year’s event, Vietnamese tourism companies have cooperated to participate in the event, focusing on advertising various aspects of the travel in Viet Nam such as resorts, the tourism garden in the Mekong River Delta, medical tourism, and shopping tourism.

During the event, the Vietnamese delegation is also organising cultural and arts activities to provide exhibition goers with a better insight into Viet Nam’s cultural identity.

A number of Vietnamese travel companies have expanded activities and established permanent offices in Kazakhstan, Ukraine, the Far East and Russia and recruited foreign staff to promote growth of Viet Nam’s tourism sector.

Gunzada, a representative from Victoria Tour in Astana, Kazakhstan, said there is a great potential for tourism in Viet Nam as Kazakhstani people enjoy travelling to Vietnam and the beautiful sightseeing.

Viet Nam is a new and appealing destination for many tourists, she said.

The event will run until March 22.