The three-day EATOF 2010 reaffirmed the significance and role of the regional organisation in the new context, and stressed provinces’ commitments to fulfill their responsibility and rights as EATOF members.

At the closing ceremony, Quang Ninh province’s leaders transferred EATOF’s flag to Cebu province of the Philippines, the host of the next forum.

Themed, “For sustainable development in East Asia”, delegates discussed tourism-related issues with the aim of building a sustainable EATOF.

Within the framework of the forum, a travel fair was held with the participation of over 30 booths from member provinces promoting their images and tourist products.

Also, a series of workshops and bilateral meetings among EATOF took place, offering opportunities for cooperation, investment and tourism development in each locality.

Established in 1999, EATOF consists of Cebu of the Philippines, Chiang Mai of Thailand, Gangwon of the Republic of Korea, Jilin of China, Luang Prabang of Laos, Primorsky territory of Russia, Quang Ninh of Vietnam, Sarawak of Malaysia, Siem Riep of Cambodia, Tottori of Japan, Tuv of Mongolia and Yogyakarta of Indonesia.

An embroidered picture called “Coi xua” made by the Coi Xua Handicraft and Export Company from Van Lam craft village in the northern province of Ninh Binh, has recently been introduced in Hanoi.

The picture is an enormous 5.5×31m weighing 1.5 tonne. More than 100 artisans started their work in 2009, using nearly 170m2 of Italian wool and around 250kg of thread to complete it in 60,000 days.

The picture features the important historical events in the former ancient capital of Hoa Lu under the reign of the Dinh-Pre Le and Ly Dynasties, including the foundation of the Dai Co Viet, the landscape of Hoa Lu with the temples of kings Dinh Tien Hoang and Le Dai Hanh, and Ly Thai To’s decision to move the capital city to Hanoi.

Pham Thi Hoai, the owner of the picture, hopes it will be displayed in Hanoi to serve as a bridge linking the former capital city of Hoa Lu and the present capital Hanoi.

Attending at the introduction ceremony, Pham Quang Nghi, Secretary of the Hanoi City Party Committee expressed his gratitude to the Hoa Lu embroiderers’ great contribution Hanoi’s millennium anniversary.

The picture is scheduled to make its public debut at the Cultural Friendship Palace on August 16.

The first flight of the route was carried out on ATR-72 plane.

The HCMC-Can Tho-Phu Quoc flights will serve passengers every Monday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday and Sunday.

Vietnam Airlines offers passengers to the newly-open route with a discount price of VND304,000 (USD18) for each section (from HCMC to Can Tho, Can Tho to Phu Quoc and vice versa) till May 30.

This was Vietnam Airlines’ 31st domestic air route and the third one to the Mekong delta region.

In recent years, demands for travelling from HCMC to Can Tho increased sharply. The airlines expects that along with the Hanoi-Can Tho route, the new air route would help bring passengers to Can Tho and other Mekong delta provinces, even to Phu Quoc, the country’s largest resort island, off shore Kien Giang Province.

In the first quarter of this year, Vietnam Airlines opened five new domestic and international air routes and is actively making preparations to join the global airline alliance Skyteam in June.

A special focus is on traditional Hanoian food with about 300 dishes.

Ten provinces and cities including Hanoi, Dak Lak, Ho Chi Minh City, Hue, Hung Yen, Lang Son, Ninh Thuan, Quang Nam, Son La and Thanh Hoa will fill up 130 pavilions at the event, to be divided into five separate sites – food of northern, central and southern regions, international dishes and vegetarian cooking.

Besides food, the traditional cultural specialities of different regions throughout Vietnam will also be on show.