A traditional festival in Vietnam. (Photo: VNA)Bangkok (VNA) - Vietnam's unique culture can be the strength for the country to attract foreign tourists, said Chattan Kunjara Na Ayudhya, DeputyGovernor of the Tourism Authority of Thailand.
Speaking with the Vietnam News Agency (VNA)'s resident correspondents in Thailand,Chattan said that Vietnam is developing very fast and when international tourists come to Vietnam, they can see a lot of things.
If Vietnam wants tourists to enjoy the time they spent there,the country needs to develop more infrastructure, particularly transportinfrastructure, he recommended.
According to the Thai official, tourists are interested inthe Vietnamese culture, so Vietnam should further promote it.
He also suggested Vietnam develop tourism in second-tier cities and smaller towns.
Sharing the same view, Songrit Pongern, a journalist and Thaicultural researcher who has been to Vietnam many times, said that Vietnam, withits diverse culture, has many festivals to introduce to internationaltourists.
He said that Vietnam can do the same as Thailand, forexample, introducing popular festivals that foreigners can join in and have a good experiences. The Thai ethnic minority people in the North of Vietnam also celebrate the Songkran Festival (new crop festival) which should be further promoted, Songrit suggested.
According to Songrit, Thailand's tourism strength isthat the country has long attached the promotion of culture to tourismpromotion campaigns. Thailand actively promotes its festivals and encouragesforeigners to learn about the cultural festivals held throughout the year. The most familiar Thai festivals to foreigners are the SongkranFestival in April and the Loi Krathong festival in November. The two festivalsappear in every tourism promotion campaign in Thailand both at home and abroad.
He said the Songkran festival is also an occasion for Thaipeople to pray for a better life and to have the most joy. Therefore, thefestival is loved by many foreign tourists and they want to have theopportunity to participate in the festival not only once but many times./.
