Hanoi (VNA) – The Ministry ofCulture, Sports and Tourism will take a number of measures to promote culture,sport and tourism activities in 2018 – which is considered a year of decisivesignificance to the nation’s 2016-2020 five-year socio-economic developmentplan.
Speaking at a video conference in Hanoi, Da Nangand Ho Chi Minh City on January 11, Minister of Culture, Sports and TourismNguyen Ngoc Thien said the sector will continue to organize more culturalevents at grassroots level, build a healthy cultural environment and improvethe operation of the network of cultural establishments.
Last year, Bai Choisinging, a folk music genre practiced in Vietnam’s central region, was added tothe UNESCO Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity,while Xoan singing of the northern Phu Tho province was removed from UNESCO’sList of Intangible Cultural Heritage in Need of Urgent Safeguarding and addedto the Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity,raising the total number of Vietnamese heritage elements to 26.
[Top ten cultural, sport, tourism events in 2017]
Regarding tourism, thegoal is to welcome 16-17 million international visitors in 2018 and earn 620trillion VND (27.5 billion USD) in revenue.
In 2017, the tourismsector served more than 12.9 million overseas holidaymakers arrived in Vietnam,up 29.1 percent against the previous year, and 73.2 million domestic tourists, grossingover 510.9 trillion VND (23 billion USD) in revenue, a year-on-year rise of 27.5percent.
In the field of sports, the ministry aims todevelop physical training movement nationwide, especially among youths andstudents, towards improving Vietnamese’s physical fitness and stature.
The country will prepare athletes and coachesfor international sport competitions in 2018, such as the 2018 Asian Games andAsian Para Games in Indonesia, the 2018 Youth Olympic Games in Argentina, andother Asian and global sport tournaments.
Addressing the event, Deputy Prime Minister VuDuc Dam urged the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism to build on itsachievements in 2017 and devise a roadmap to prevent moral degradation insociety.
He suggested promoting art and literature,contributing to the preservation of national traditional art forms.-VNA