This is the fourth consecutive year, the park has been honoured at the 29thWorld Travel Award (WTA) Asia & Oceania Gala Ceremony held recently in HoChi Minh City.
It was one of many successes for Vietnamese destinations and tour operators.
The WTA was launched in 1993 to acknowledge excellence in the travel andtourism industry. Its awards have been described as equivalent to the"Oscars".
Travel industry VIPs from 35 nations attended the blockbuster event at HCMCity’s state-of-the-art GEM Center.
Established in 1962, Cuc Phuong is the oldest national park in Vietnam. Locatedbetween the provinces of Ninh Binh, Hoa Binh and Thanh Hoa, and only 120kmsouthwest of Hanoi, the park boasts an engaging cultural and wildlife heritageand enchanting scenery.
Magnificent limestone mountains rise up majestically from the greenrice-terraces and traditional stilt houses of the Muong ethnic minority.Situated on two limestone mountain ranges, the landscape of Cuc Phuong containsa wonderfully rich ecosystem. The rocky outcrops of the forest park form thesite of valuable pale ontological and anthropological vestiges, including afossilised sea reptile dated 200-230 million years old, while the remains ofprehistoric people who lived in the forest some 7,500 years ago are also to befound in the numerous mountain caves.
More WTA awards
Amazing natural beauty combined with world-class levels of hospitality hasearned Vietnam the title of "Asia’s Leading Destination" and"Asia's Leading Nature Destination", Hanoi has claimed the top prizefor "Asia’s Leading City Break Destination" and HCM City won theaward for "Asia’s Leading Business Travel Destination".
The Vietnam National Tourism Administration has received the award "Asia'sLeading Tourist Board" while the HCM City Department of Tourism won thetitle of "Leading City Tourist Board".
The UNESCO-recognised World Heritage site of Hoi An has won in the category of"Asia's Leading Cultural City Destination".
Moc Chau in the northern mountain province of Son La for the first time hasbeen honoured as "Asia's Leading Regional Nature Destination" and"Vietnam's Leading Nature Destination ".
The WTA 2022 also honoured Da Nang City as Asia’s Leading Festival & EventDestination 2022, Vietnam Airlines as Asia’s Leading Airline Brand 2022, aswell as several hotels and tourist resorts in Vietnam.
In addition, a number of tourism businesses in the country also participatedfor the first time in the World Travel Awards system such as Lux Travel DMCwhich has won titled as Vietnam’s leading destination management company 2022,and Vietravel Airlines with title as the Asia's Leading New Airlines.
The WTA 2022-themed “Southern Journey” focuses on nine categories in the fieldsof airlines, destinations, entertainment parks, yachts, hotels and resorts,travel agencies and tour operators, among others.
Phan Van Mai, chairman of the HCM City People's Committee, said this year'saward ceremony marked an important milestone in the tourism industry of theworld and Vietnam as it was held at the time when global tourism is recoveringfrom the COVID-19 pandemic, and HCM City was proud to host this special event.
The awards have contributed to creating momentum for development and affirming Vietnam'sposition on the world tourism map, according to the city leader.
“This is a great opportunity to promote the image of Vietnam and its beautifuland attractive nature along with the friendly and hospitable Vietnamese peopleto the world,” he said.
According to Graham Cooke, founder and president of World Travel Award, theorganisation board this year had received 2.3 million votes from across theglobe, which shows ‘expectations of global tourism as well as the mainstreamtrend of world travelers looking for new passions and quality services’.
He also singled out Vietnamese representatives that have won the 2022 awardsfor reaching world class standards.
“WTA had the privilege of recognising the industry’s leading lights from thelength and breadth of twin Asia and Oceania regions. As shining examples oftourism excellence, our winners have helped once again raise the bar,” he said.
“Ho Chi Minh City is an impressive cosmopolitan destination, rich in historyand culture but with a dynamic, forward-thinking outlook. Vietnam is not only atremendously exciting destination within Asia, but I believe it will soonbecome a tourism epicentre on the global stage. We foresee an era ofunprecedented growth as more brands and tourism development products areattracted to the nation.”/.