Speaking at a tourism promotion programme held in Milan on June 27 by the Vietnam National Authority of Tourism (VNAT) and the Vietnamese Embassy in Italy, the Italian official said the numbers of tourists from Italy to Vietnam and vice versa is expected to increase.
Addressing the event, VNAT Director Nguyen Trung Khanh said that Italy is a leading traditional and important market of Vietnamese tourism in Europe. In 2023, Vietnam welcomed about 57,000 Italian visitors, equivalent to over 80% of the pre-COVID-19 pandemic level.
Khanh assessed that the Vietnam Tourism Roadshow in Italy was a good opportunity for tourism businesses of the two countries to share updated information, seek business cooperation opportunities, increase tourism exchanges, and prepare for a new phase with stronger development.
Convenient direct flights, simple immigration procedures, attractive destinations and tourism products, and hospitable people are ideal conditions to promote tourism development between the two countries, he said.
Vietnamese Ambassador to Italy Duong Hai Hung affirmed that Italy is the third largest economy in the EU and a potential tourist market for Vietnam.
The two countries celebrated the 50th founding anniversary of diplomatic relations in 2023, which demonstrateed a long-standing friendship and cooperative relations and a good foundation for cultural, economic and tourism cooperation between the two countries.
Hung said the Vietnamese embassy in Italy has carried out many activities to promote cooperation and promote tourism in localities in Italy. The Ambassador also appreciated the cooperation between Italy in general and the Lombardy region in particular with Vietnam in recent times and emphasised the need for a direct flight connecting Italy and Vietnam.
At the event, Italian travel businesses expressed their interest and asked many questions to better understand Vietnam’s tourism policies and incentives.
Within the framework of the tourism promotion programme in Italy, Khanh had a meeting Alessandra Priante, ENIT President and Raffaele Cattaneo, deputy minister in charge of international relations of Italy's Lombardia region.
At the meeting, the two sides affirmed the need to strengthen tourism cooperation between the two countries in the coming time. They agreed to call on the two governments consider signing a bilateral tourism cooperation agreement in the new period.
They also agreed to propose leaders of the two countries to allow opening a direct flight between Vietnam and Italy soon. The two sides also committed to strengthening tourism information exchanges and promotion activities in the coming time.
The programme in Italy was part of activities to promote Vietnamese tourism in Europe together with similar programmes held in France and Germany.
