The agreement was reached at a tourism promotion workshop held on August 23 in the central province of Thua Thien-Hue that attracted 27 airlines and 20 travel agents from various countries, mostly of Southeast and North Asia, and Vietnamese top ten travel agents.

Provincial People’s Committee Chairman Nguyen Ngoc Thien pledged to offer best available conditions for international airline giants to open commercial flights to Hue City.

The provincial leader said the International Phu Bai Airport has been approved by the Government to upgrade itself into a commercial gate to attract foreign tourists, especially from the Sub-Mekong region and the Asia-Pacific.

The province will provide assorted services with preferential policies for airlines, including financial support in the initial stage for those airlines which open commercial flights to Hue.

The Central Region Airport Corporation offered price subsidies to some aviation services for those airlines which begin to use services of the Phu Bai Airport.

“Special incentives will be given to those flights out of rush hours at the Phu Bai Airport”, said the corporation representative at the workshop.

The festival includes a fair on trade and tourism with 430 booths from 180 units displaying industrial equipment, fine art works, daily necessities, garments, cosmetic products and agricultural products and specialties of the Mekong Delta, the South and the Central Highlands. The fair also has some activities such as ethnic music and dance shows, workshops on agricultural development and a food festival.

During the festival, there are an artistic photo exhibition, a photo exhibition on Vietnam’s ethnic groups and economic achievements at Giai Phong Park, sports, food and artistic performances at the Soc Trang Provincial Museum and at Giai Phong Park.

On November 1 and 2, ten female groups and 30 male groups have joined the ghe ngo (a boat made from timber in the shape of a nagar snake, the sacred object of the Khmer people) race on the Maspero River.

The race is the highlight of the festival. Young Khmer men and women move gently in harmony with the sounds of gongs and waves. As the first boat crosses the finish line, the crowds on both riverbanks cheer loudly and enthusiastically for their victory.

The closing ceremony left a deep impression on audiences. Speaking on the occasion, Pham The Dung, Chairman of the Gia Lai People’s Committee and head of the organising board, said that the festival had closed with a call to people to preserve and promote the value of gong for peace, solidarity, friendship and development of ethnic minority groups in the country and the region. It also provided a good opportunity for the Central Highlands to promote its potential.

During the four-day festival, 63 domestic and foreign groups of gong players gave special gong performances using fascinating collections of gongs. Thousands of domestic and foreign visitors enjoyed the unique cultural identities of the ethnic minority groups, such as a festival to welcome new crops, a buffalo festival, sculpturing a burial tomb and a culinary village.

Many domestic and foreign specialists attended a seminar to discuss ways of preserving and promoting the gong culture in Vietnam and Southeast Asia.

He added that the UNESCO General Assembly’s decision to take part in the organisation of Thang Long-Hanoi’s millennial celebrations in 2010 is a great honour for the city.

On the occasion, he sent out a message that the capital city of one thousand years is dynamically developing and together with international friends trying for an everlasting peace on earth, creating a stable ground for development, prosperity and integration.

Cuban Ambassador in Vietnam Fredesman Turro Gonzalez who has been living in Hanoi for more than 20 years also expressed his love to the city as his second homeland.

“Hanoi today is making great efforts to deserve the title,” he said. “It has become an important city in the Southeast Asia, having hosted and will host important events during Vietnam’s integration process into the region and the world, and contributing actively to the common struggle for peace in the world.”

In 1999, Hanoi was among five cities in five continents presented with the “City for Peace” award by the UNESCO to recognise its contributions to the struggle for peace as well as its development that meet the organisation’s standards of equality in the community, the urban construction, living environment protection, culture and education promotion, and care for young generations.