At the meeting, General Director Nguyen Van Tuan emphasized that Viet Nam has always regarded Russia as one of the most important markets in Viet Nam Tourism Development Strategies. Currently, Russia has become one of the top 10 arrival source markets of Viet Nam with highest growth rate in arrivals, big spending and long stays.

Mr. Nguyen Van Tuan also announced promotion programs for Russian market in the coming time, including: Conference on Tourism Co-operation between Viet Nam – Russia on 23rd May in Phu Yen Province; Culture, Sports and Tourism Week in Russia launched by Vietnamese Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism from 24th to 30th May in three big cities of Russia; training Russian language for tourism staffs and welcoming Russian Famtrips to destinations in the Northern Viet Nam such as Ha Noi, Ha Long (Quang Ninh), Cat Ba (Hai Phong), Ninh Binh etc.,which aims to expand destinations for Russian tourists to this region.

The General Director informed the Minister Counselor about the situation in the East Sea and affirmed that tourism activities in Viet Nam in general and in coastal areas in particular are unaffected. Viet Nam is making best efforts to ensure security, safety and service quality for Russian tourists.

Mr. Gennedy S.Bezdetko said that Russian tourists love travelling to Viet Nam, especially who enjoy travelling with their families to beach areas with warm sunshine and white sand as Nha Trang, Mui Ne, Phu Quoc, etc. He expressed his hope for stabilized situation in the East Sea. The Russian Embassy will support to develop tourism into an important part of cooperation strategy between Viet Nam – Russia and consider to facilitate visa issuance for Vietnamese tourists in the future.

Thanh Tam