Ten years ago, Germany’s Cologne Zoo embarked on a nature conservation project signed with the Quang Binh Province under which it has engaged in helping the local authorities enforce conservation of biodiversity and endangered fauna and flora at the Phong Nha-Ke Bang National Park.

The Cologne Zoo has also assisted the Phong Nha-Ke Bang National Park to build a rescue centre for wild animals. The centre was designed for the accommodation, quarantine, feeding and breeding of small to medium-sized mammals, but it also included enclosures for turtles.

Since 1999, the Cologne Zoo has coordinated with the Phong Nha-Ke Bang National Park in conducting research on amphibian and reptile. Their joint efforts have results in the discovery of 14 new species of reptiles and 10 new species of fish and a detailed list of 96 reptile species and 45 amphibian species at the park.

In 2007 alone, experts spotted five endangered primate species, including Ha Tinh langurs in the park. In 2009, night fieldwork also captured images of several rare species, such as flying squirrel, deer, chamois, and Ha Tinh langurs.

The Cologne Zoo has also provided training for the park’s staff to improve their capacity in conducting research and enforcing rescue and protection measures.

To further their cooperation in biodiversity research and conservation, the Phong Nha-Ke Bang National Park and the Cologne Zoo signed a memorandum of cooperation for the 2008-2013 period.

Apart from pledges for continued collaboration in biodiversity research, forest protection, wild animal rescue and environmental education, the two sides will work together to create livelihood and stable income for local people inhabited in the Phong Nha-Ke Bang National Park’s buffer zone.

In September this year, the German Government committed to continue funding the project on “conservation and sustainable management of natural resources in the Phong Nha-Ke Bang National Park.

Addressing the signing ceremony, Minister Hoang Tuan Anh acknowledged VNA’s efforts to publicize legal documents and other documents relating to the organisation of cultural, sports and tourism activities.

He also said he hoped that the two agencies will continue to tighten cooperation in the future.

VNA General Director Tran Mai Huong pledged that VNA, as a national news agency with five daily newspapers (two in Vietnamese, two in foreign languages and one online), dozens of publications and a TV channel, will strive to implement cooperation activities and improve the quality of information

Throughout 2009, MCST and VNA have already worked together to publicise information and call for voting on Halong Bay to become one of the world’s seven natural wonders in VNA’s publications.

They will continue to work together to provide information relating to activities within the Vietnam’s “Cultural Diplomacy Year 2009”, including the launching of a Vietnamese cultural centre in France, Vietnamese cultural days in the UK, France, the Netherlands and Germany, and the Mekong-Japan tourism-cultural festival in Can Tho City.

Key events such as the third Asian Indoor Games in Vietnam, the 25th SEA Games in Laos, and the third national festival on traditional then singing and tinh instruments will also be high on both partners’ agendas.

Based on their cooperation agreement, the MCST and VNA will join forces to disseminate information on the celebration of the 1,000th anniversary of the founding of Thang Long-Hanoi in 2010 with a series of activities. They include an international film festival, an international circus and marionette festivals.

Additionally, an international photo exhibition, a Russian cultural week in Vietnam in 2010, and the seventh cultural, sports and tourism festival of the north-western ethnic groups will be held.

The two partners will also be busy providing information on activities for the national tourism year in Hanoi, the celebration of the 80th founding day of the Communist Party of Vietnam and late President Ho Chi Minh’s 120th birthday.

The exhibition will introduce traditional and new food and drink products and food processing and package technology displayed at 150 booths by businesses from Vietnam and the Republic of Korea, Indonesia, China, Thailand and Malaysia.

The annual exhibition is an important event of the food and beverage industry, offering participating businesses trade exchange opportunities and creating an ideal trading floor for products of the sector.

Food and beverage industry is developing strongly in Vietnam and plays an important part in the national economy. More and more businesses are operating in this field.

The industry is considered an “output” for farm produce, attracting a large number of workers and making great contribution to stabilising the market.

Deputy Director General of Vietnam National Administration of Tourism (VNAT) Nguyen Manh Cuong spoke to open the seminar. The seminar had participations of Deputy Director General of VNAT Hoang Thi Diep and over 120 delegates, experts from Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism; VNAT; tourism-related ministries and industries; Vietnam Tourism Association; some research institutes; number of departments of culture, sports and tourism in provinces and cities; universities and colleges; tourism enterprises.

The strategy on Vietnam tourism development in the period 2001 – 2010 was approved by Prime Minister at the Decision No 97/2002/QĐ-TTg in 2002. The strategy includes some main missions: tourism product creation, promotion, technique and material facilities investment, human resource training, technology science research and application, international integration and cooperation, territorial organizations on tourism development.

The seminar aims to assess the strengths, weaknesses, successes, restrictions and causes in implementation of the strategy on Vietnam tourism development in the period 2001 – 2010. It’s basis to construct the strategy on Vietnam tourism development in the period 2011 – 2020, and for 2030 vision.

During the seminar, the experts from Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism; tourism-related ministries and industries; some departments of culture, sports and tourism in provinces and cities and universities presented their speeches and ideas. They focus on some great matters such as: state apparatus organization of tourism; human resource training; tourism promotion; tourism product development; region and industry linkage; tourism environment protection…

Many profound ideas about Vietnam tourism development processes in the last periods were expressed such as: determining frequently the location of Vietnam tourism in the area and the world, creating trademark for Vietnam tourism as well as each tourism product in Vietnam, reviewing tourism effect assessment targets, raising tourism development awareness, exchanging experience lessons in tourism investment and development. The delegates desire to develop tourism on basis of Vietnam tourism resources; strengthen historic-cultural and ecologic tourism as well as beach tourism; develop tourism to alleviate poverty. For tourism promotion, many ideas mention the relation between the State and enterprises in destination and tourism promotions, role of Tourism Association, tourism events and festivals must be organized with significance, unique content, avoiding the creation of same products among different provinces.

VNAT received many experts’ ideas about tourism development from the seminar. These are the significant and value ideas for tourism management, people working in tourism industry and especially for the experts designing the strategy on Vietnam tourism development in the next period.