Travellers came from traditional markets such as Japan, Russia, France, the United States, the Republic of Korea and the United Kingdom.

The rise was attributable to a growing number of overseas Vietnamese who returned to the home country as the city is hosting celebrations of the 1,000th anniversary of Thang Long-Hanoi and the National Tourism Year.

Thanks to a longer Tet holiday, the number of outbound tourists also surged remarkably to some 20,000, mainly to Thailand, Singapore, Malaysia and Hong Kong.

Meanwhile, domestic holidaymakers on this occasion numbered 1 million despite a 20% rise in tour costs, the department said.

The display will lift the curtain on various activities of Hanoian antiques collectors towards the grand celebrations of the 1000th Thang Long-Hanoi birthday, said Dao Phan Long, Chairman of the Thang Long-Hanoi Pottery and Antiquities Researchers and Collectors.

The items on show, collected and preserved by 14 private collectors in Hanoi, were made of all materials like wood, bronze and pottery.

Artefacts of 2,000-2,500 years of age such as bronze drums, cylindrical jars, soup ladles and animal-shaped lamps will give visitors a look into Vietnam’s ancient culture of Dong Son several thousands of years ago.

The exhibition will also display relics produced during the northern domination period between the first and 10th century and the following 10 centuries of establishment and existence of different feudal dynasties of Vietnam.

Asides from Vietnamese artefacts, the exhibition also saves a space for antiquities of Chinese and Champa cultures which were collected by Hanoians.

All the displayed items have been certified as authentic by leading specialists./.

At the workshop held within the framework East Asia Inter-Regional Tourism Forum (EATOF), Asso. Prof. Tran Thi Minh Hoa from the University of Social Sciences and Humanities Tourism Faculty spoke of advantages for the development of sea, sports, cultural and ecological tourism models in Quang Ninh province.

Quang Ninh is one of the country’s four tourism centres and the home of world-famous Ha Long Bay, twice recognised by the UNESCO for its landscapes and geological values, said Hoa.

The delegates suggested Quang Ninh could zone off deluxe tourism areas, invest in clean energy, develop tourism products and engage in human resources training.

Meanwhile, Dr Milagros C. Espina from the San Jose University of the Philippines introduced a waste management and natural resources programme called Winning over Waste (WOW).

The success of WOW will encourage similar activities in EATOF and reduce the threat of climate change, he said, emphasising the necessity for the exchange of information among cultures on WOW and other initiatives.

EATOF must have a comprehensive policy on environmental protection from climate change and develop a programme for its members to assist one another, he said.

The workshop also heard speeches on rural tourism development in Indonesia’s Yogyakarta province, tourism education in Mongolia, tourism under the ocean and a new change in adventurous tourism development in Sarawak in Malaysia .

A EATOF travel fair opened in Ha Long city on September 14 as one of the forum’s first activities.

The two-day fair saw the participation of travel agencies from eight provinces, namely Cebu (the Philippines), Gangwon (RoK), Luang Prabang (Laos), Sarawak (Malaysia), Siem Reap (Cambodia), Tottori (Japan), Tuv (Mongolia) and Yogyakarta (Indonesia).

Vietnamese travel agencies from Hanoi, Quang Ninh and the northern port city of Hai Phong also introduced their tourism products at the event.

The second sea tourism and flight route committee was reestablished at a conference held by the EATOF organising board on September 14.

The Director of provincial Revolutionary History Museum, Cao Huy Hung said scientists and antiques collectors would find valuable materials for their research and conservation work at the exhibition.

The exhibits would also satisfy curiosities of tourists, both foreign and local, about foreign trade on East Sea waters, Vietnam’s multi-lateral culture and the Silk Road on the East Sea of which Vietnam played an important role.

The exhibition was co-sponsored by the Ho Chi Minh City History Museum and the UNESCO Club.

On the same day, a painting exhibition themed “Quebec Colour” by Yanina Rock from Canada was opened to greet the Hue Festival, which is to inaugurate on June 5 to promote tourism and culture of the former imperial city of Hue.

Hue has been recognised by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) as the world’s cultural heritage site while its court music received the world body’s title “Masterpiece of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity.