The 120 posters on display reflect Ho Chi Minh’s great ideas on national independence, people’s happiness and friendship and solidarity with other peoples.

The head of Luong Prabang Province, Bunhuong Duong Phachan, said that the event is of profound educational significance and will enable people to learn more about the life and cause of the late President Ho Chi Minh.

The exhibition will last until April 16.

Viet Van also received a Merit Award for his image “Spring is Coming”.

The prize-winning photos, including “Summer in Haiti” (Best Documentary Series) by American photographer James Fischetti and “Cherry Tree and Little Girls” (First Prize) by American Jeanine Vitale, will be reprinted in a book exhibited in the US and Europe, and showcased for sale at Wonderpick Gallery in the UK.

“Harvest season” was taken by Viet Van during a visit to Mu Cang Chai District in Yen Bai Province in September, 2009.

La Quoc Khanh, deputy head of the committee, said that an invitation has been extended to Myanmar, calling this nation to join this year’s event rather than only three Indochina countries. Later, Yunnan of China will also be asked to participate in following events to make it a professional travel expo of the sub-region in the near future, he said.

“We want to make a new theme to promote the common image of the four countries in 2011 once a common voice is reached among the four tourism ministries of Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia and Myanmar in this travel expo,” he said in a meeting to promote the event in HCMC last Friday.

The sixth annual event will take place from this Thursday to Saturday at the Saigon Exhibition & Convention Center in Phu My Hung, District 7.

As of last Friday, 170 local and foreign exhibitors have registered to join the expo. More than 150 foreign buyers will also join the event compared to 100 buyers last year.

Alongside the exhibition will be the ASEAN Tourism Investment Forum, Tourism Ministers Meeting, Tourism Alliance Awards and the ITE HCMC 2010 Golf Tournament. Familiarization trips will be organized for foreign guests to explore tourist attractions and services.

At the event in 2007, tourism ministers of Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia inked a joint declaration on tourism cooperation to make the three countries a common destination for international tourists.

Khanh said the tourism sector has not been doing well some joint activities like developing human resources and drawing a common tourist map. However, via the cooperation, the travel expo has been better known worldwide, and at the same time, the three Indochina countries’ tourism image has also been better promoted.

The Vietnam National Administration of Tourism and the HCMC Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism are collaborating with IIR Exhibitions Pte Ltd and VINEXAD to organize the international travel expo.

Khanh said that the organizing committee in this year offers incentives to small and medium-scale companies who want to join the event. “Such companies can enjoy a discount of up to two-thirds compared to big-scale companies,” he said.

The conference, jointly held by the national flag carrier, Vietnam Airlines and the People’s Committees of Da Nang, Quang Nam, Quang Ngai and Thua Thien-Hue, attracted representatives from leading travel agencies around the country and Vietnam’s key markets, including Japan, the Republic of Korea, Germany, France, Russia, Australia, Taiwan and Hong Kong.

The Vietnam Airlines representative pledged to play a major role in the plan by developing charter services directly to Da Nang in the near future.

In the past, Vietnam Airlines has liaised with foreign travel agencies to operate flights to the central region. In 2009, the airline ran 15 flights from Japan , the Republic of Korea , Hong Kong and Cambodia to Da Nang , which were praised by passengers.

As the demands for this service are increasing, Vietnam Airlines plans to operate between 20-25 flights to the region.

In the domestic market, the airline operates 50 flights a day on 24 routes between Hanoi-Ho Chi Minh City and the central region and the Central Highlands.

Vietnam Airlines also has 25 flights a week on routes from Da Nang to the Central Highlands provinces of Gia Lai, Dac Lac and Lam Dong and to the central province of Khanh Hoa , to link up with large economic centres in the central region.