Thăng Long Imperial Citadel Named “a leading tourist attraction in Vietnam”

On the morning of 8 July 2017 at Hanoi Opera House, the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism and Vietnam Tourism Association jointly held Vietnam Tourism Awards ceremony in honor of the leading and best-performing travel agencies in Vietnam. 91 awards have been given this year.

The ceremony was attended by Deputy Prime Minister Vũ Đức Đam – Head of the National Committee on Tourism, Mr. Ngô Đông Hải – Deputy Head of the National Economic Committee, Mr. Nguyễn Văn Tuyết – Deputy Head of the Parliamentary Committee for Culture, Education, Adolescents and Children, Mr. Huỳnh Vĩnh Ái – Vice Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism, Mrs Đặng Thị Bích Liên – Vice Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism, Mr. Nguyễn Văn Tuấn – Director-General of Vietnam National Administration of Tourism, Mr. Nguyễn Hữu Thọ – Chairman of Vietnam Tourism Association together with representatives of different organizations working in the field of tourism nationwide.

DPM Vũ Đức Đam speaking at the Vietnam Tourism Awards 2017ceremony

Vietnam Tourism Awards is the sole and most prestigious recognition in the tourism sector. The ceremony has been organized every year since 1999 in order to champion the tireless efforts and the creativity made by tourism enterprises or travel agencies in Vietnam which can help to build a national trademark in tourism, reputation for the country and for the companies, the tourism products and turn the tourism sector into a key economic sector of the country.

At the ceremony, the organizing committee announced a list of 91 awards given to various institutions in 2017. The awards were divided into nine categories ranging from travel (10 international, inbound travel businesses bringing foreign tourists to Vietnam and 10 leading domestic travel agencies); accommodation (10 leading five-star hotels, 10 leading four-star hotels and three leading three-star hotels in Vietnam); tourist transportation (five leading tourist transportation service providers in Vietnam); hospitality (10 leading restaurants in Vietnam); tourist stops (2 leading midway stops in Vietnam); sightseeing (7 leading sightseeing destinations in Vietnam); tourist attractions (five leading tourist attractions in Vietnam); golf courses (10 leading courses in Vietnam); airlines (1 largest carrier of holiday-makers, 1 fastest-growing airline).

Vietnam Tourism Awards panel of judges, comprising leaders of Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, Vietnam National Administration of Tourism, representatives of some agencies under the Ministry, Vietnam Association of Tourism, decided on the winners of travel and hotel awards based on both qualitative and quantitative criteria in the form of scores. They then submitted the tentative list to the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism for final round recognition. As for organizations and businesses providing transportation, hospitality services, tourist stops, sightseeing spots and tourism site, the choice was made in consultation with prestigious travel agencies while well-performing golf courses were determined by the Vietnam Golf Association.

Addressing the audience at the ceremony, DPM Vũ Đức Đam stressed that “although the tourism sector has made great efforts in the past years, Vietnam’s rank in terms of tourism competitiveness remains low, at 67 out of 134, which means somewhere below the average, despite the huge advantages of the country in terms of favorable natural conditions, remarkable room for tourism development and the hospitality and friendliness of the local people to foreigners in general. That is not to mention the immense trove of tangible and intangible cultural heritage. Therefore, we need to focus on training the human resources needed for international integration while incentivizing the small and medium enterprises and mobilizing all possible inner resources and initiatives to develop tourism. The whole sector has to make even greater determination and creativity so that it can contribute 15% to GDP as required by the Prime Minister”.

Thăng Long Imperial Citadel named a leading tourist attraction in Vietnam.

This year, Thăng Long Imperial Citadel as a heritage site has the honour of being named “a leading tourist attraction in Vietnam” for the first time. The list also features the Imperial Palaces of Huế, the Temple of Literature – National Royal Academy Complex, Vietnam Women’s Museum, Vietnam Museum of Ethnography, the Underground Tunnel of Củ Chi, and Đà Lạt Flower Valley. The Thăng Long Imperial Citadel has a history of over 1300 years with unique layers of archaeological and cultural values. The site is now still home to several typical monuments that date back to the Lê and Nguyễn Dynasties, such as the Hanoi Flag Tower, Đoan Môn (South Gate), Kính Thiên Palace Foundation, Hậu Lâu (Ladies’ Pavilion), Bắc Môn (North Gate) and major revolutionary relics such as Building D67 and Bunker D67. Situated in the heart of the capital city, the heritage site is well-placed to connect with other famous historical places such as Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum, the Temple of Literature, the Old Quarter of Hanoi, the scenic West Lake, the ancient village of Đông Ngạc, and the ceramic village of Bát Tràng, etc.

Winners of Tourism Awards 2017

The honor of receiving Tourism Awards 2017 provides yet another incentive for the Thăng Long – Hà Nội Heritage Conservation Centre to continue its tourist-centered activities of increasingly better quality, striving to make Thăng Long Imperial Citadel an attractive heritage destination for visitors coming to the capital city. It is also a worthy recognition of the huge efforts made by the Centre in establishing itself as trademark destination.

Kim Yến
Thăng Long – Hà Nội Heritage Conservation Centre