Message on World Tourism Day from UNWTO

Mr. Zurab Pololikashvili

UNWTO Secretary-General

This year, World Tourism Day highlights the need for investment in disruptive digital technologies that can help foster an environment for innovation and entrepreneurship in tourism.

We live in an increasingly connected an interdependent world with digital advances transforming how we inform ourselves, transforming our behaviour, and encouraging innovation. We need not only new tools but also new capacities and ways of thinking. So across the United Nations family we are designing innovative projects, initiatives and partnerships.

The sheer size of global tourism and its impact on many other sectors, and all of the Sustainable Development Goals, puts it at the forefront of social responsibility, which today goes hand-in-hand with innovation on all levels.

Harnessing innovation and digital advances provides tourism with opportunities to improve inclusiveness, local community empowerment and efficient resource management, amongst other objectives within the wider sustainable development agenda. The digital transformation is about providing benefits to all, and we are making sure that tourism contributes to this global commitment.

Ben Tre diversifies tourism products

The Mekong Delta province of Ben Tre has served over 472,000 tourist arrivals, including nearly 200,000 foreigners, since the beginning of this year, a year-on-year rise of 12%.

The tourism sector earned approximately VND342 billion (US$15 million), up 25% against the same period last year.

According to the provincial Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism, the increases were attributed to efforts to build and upgrade business establishments and create new tourism products and services.

Tran Duy Phuong, the department’s deputy director, said to make tourism one of the spearhead sectors of the province by 2020, Ben Tre will continue investing in infrastructure serving tourism, especially in rural areas, together with diversifying tourism products and improving service quality at tourist sites.

In 2018, the locality will work to improve the quality of existing products and exploiting new ones such as orchard, trade village, spiritual and cuisine tourism.

It will also step up dissemination to improve public awareness of the role of tourism as well as the province’s tourism development orientations.

In the time ahead, the province continues calling on competent investors to participate in tourism projects, particularly in the coastal districts of Ba Tri, Binh Dai and Thanh Phu.

Ben Tre can be found in the lowest part of the Mekong River basin, about 85 kilometres south of Ho Chi Minh City. It is also known as the paradise of coconut since there is a lot of coconut planted there.

Source: VNA

Ben Tre tourism - Potential and Development

Viet Nam - Timeless charm

"Vietnam-Timeless charm" and the five colorful petal lotus have just been approved by the Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism to be the new slogan and logo of National Tourism Promotion program in the period 2012-2015.

Inheriting the success of the previous slogan “Vietnam – The Hidden Charm” in the period 2005-2011, Viet Nam – Timeless Charm brings a feeling of wide-open horizon of space, time as well as the diversity of tourist products in Viet Nam.

The new logo was designed by Artist Tran Hoai Duc, using the image of lotus to symbolize the beauty of Vietnam and it's people souls.

The five petals of the lotus with five different colors symbolize the charm and development of Viet Nam tourism. Colors of lotus indicates diversity of tourist products, fantastic experiences and beautiful feelings of tourists to Viet Nam in which, the blue for sea and island tourism, green for eco and natural tourism, orange-yellow for cultural and historical tourism, violet for adventure tourism and pink for hospitable and dynamic Vietnamese. The image of blooming lotus represents for a new developing stage of Viet Nam tourism industry.

The launch of new slogan and logo plays an important role to develop Viet Nam tourism brand aiming to convey the sector's message as well as to bring positive feelings for visitors.

It is hoped that the new slogan and logo  will contribute to improvement of Vietnam's image, brand and competitiveness to attract more international tourists to Viet Nam.

Source: TITC (VNAT)

Ben Tre organizes a competition to compose the tourism logo and slogan

Implementing the tourism promotion program in 2018, Bến Tre Department Culture, Sports and Tourism organizes a competition to compose Ben Tre logo and slogan to search for messages and meaning for tourism Ben Tre promoting images to domestic and foreign markets.

The competition takes place in three months, from April to June 2018, the closing ceremony and announcement ceremony took place at the end of August 2018. All individuals and organizations who have the ability to create logo and slogan within and outside the province (except members of the Organizing Committee and the jury) can register to participate in the competition.

Contest rules (here)

Introduction to Bến Tre province (here)

Registration Form (here)

Special handcraft products of Coconut

Coconut trees can grow everywhere in our country. However, there has long been a saying “Seeing coconut is missing Ben Tre”. Maybe coconut trees have long existed on the land of three isles and had a close attachment to the people here.

Coming to Ben Tre, visitors asre attracted by not only the delicious taste of cononut milk but also skillful handmade products of coconut. Few plants have as many practical values as coconut trees. Its seeds, leaves, trunk, leaf stem, fiber … are used to make goods for consumption and exportation.

More than 500 articles can be made from coconut such as teapots, teacups, wineglasses, bowls, chopsticks, plates, spoons, forks, ladles, flowerpots, card boxes, jewelry boxes, ashtrays, candle stands, models of cyclo, motorcycle, football cups, massage tools, dolls, wine gourds, animal-shaped souvenirs, lanterns, bags, mattresses … Each article is of various sizes and designs that can satisfy visitors’ needs. These products can be used as ornamental objects, personal accessories or housewares.

Besides family makers, private businesses, export companies scattering throughout Ben Tre, there are two main craft villages focusing on coconut handmade products in Phung (Phoenix) Islet and Oc (Snail) Islet.

From coconut sub-materials, with their creative minds and skillful hands, Ben tre craftsmen bring to life various distinctive works of art which partly promote Ben Tre image to national and international friends.