In a meeting with the Vietnam News Agency on September 15, Tuanreported on the outcomes of the recently concluded 8 th tourismministerial meeting of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC),held in Macao, China.
The Vietnamese delegation proposedcollaboration between tourism, transport and education sectors, makingit easier to establish direct flights and launch cruise routes. Theeducation sector should encourage young people to travel within APEC, hesaid.
Vietnam also suggested the creation of a jointtourism website, which introduces each APEC country as a touristdestination and links visitors to the respective official nationaltourism agencies. A forum for the APEC tourism sector would act asplatform for tourists, tourism management, and tourism service providersto interact.
In a bid to promote Vietnam as a touristdestination, participating ministers were informed of Vietnam’s effortsto improve technical infrastructure and the quality of services, whilstalso developing new destinations throughout the country.
During the event, the Vietnamese delegation expressed its hope thatVietnam was considered a trustworthy partner for APEC, he informed VNA.
The one-day meeting "Exploration of Asia Pacific TourismCooperation and Future Development" discussed the integration ofAsian-Pacific tourism markets; the facilitation of transformation andgrowth; the promotion of intelligent tourism using modern technology;low-carbon development; and cooperation between tourism operators.
The ministers issued a joint declaration at the end of the event,setting out their vision for Asian-Pacific tourism development.
Launched in 2000, the biennial event aims to facilitate tourism exchanges in the region.
Vietnam hosted the fourth meeting of its kind in the central provinceof Quang Nam on the occasion of the Year of APEC-Vietnam in 2006.-VNA