The potential for Vietnam’s maritime tourism sector will be highlighted at a festival in Paris from April 28-29.

The festival, the first of its kind in France, will be jointly organised by Vietnam Airlines and the Bank for Investment and Development of Vietnam (BIDV). It aims to introduce the country’s premier landmarks and tourist sites to potential overseas visitors and help to achieve the government’s goal to maintain economic growth, stimulate demand, and boost consumer and service exports.

Twenty-five tourism management agencies from coastal provinces and cities, such as Khanh Hoa and Da Nang, will join other businesses in the tourism service sector at the festival.

The French Chamber of Commerce and Industry and hundreds of investors and travel agencies from France and other European countries are expected to attend the event.

Local visitors will have the opportunity to know mower about Vietnam’s traditional culture and people through a variety of performances, exhibitions and displays of handicraft products, as well as spotlighting the daily lives of coastal people across the country.

The festival is an invaluable opportunity for Vietnamese businesses to find European partners, and particularly for BIDV to establish links with leading financial institutions in France and the rest of Europe.

During the festival, BIDV will host a seminar calling for investment in a number of Vietnamese tourist projects. The bank has arranged more than US$2 billion for nearly 20 projects in coastal provinces and cities around the country, including Da Nang , Quang Nam , Khanh Hoa, Hai Phong and Quang Ninh.

According to the General Director of Vietnam Airlines, Pham Ngoc Minh, the event will help to promote Vietnam to the European community and hopefully increase the amount of investment and the number of visitors to Vietnam.

In early February, Vietnam Airlines took part in the annual Brussels Tourism Fair in Belgium, where experts forecast that Asia, and Vietnam in particular, will remain attractive destinations for European travellers.