The Spanish artist captured the images while touring Vietnam’s major cities, pagodas and beaches last March.

For his first personal exhibition, the artist has selected 25 photos that feature Vietnam’s wet rice civilisation, and its ethnic communities.

The show will be open throughout April, and will include talks about Vietnam and a performance of Vietnam’s traditional water puppetry.

The Department of Travel under VNAT said the Government Office announced the Prime Minister had agreed to a request of the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism for the extension in line with the extended tourism promotion.

Vietnam’s tourism agency early this year launched the Impressive Vietnam program offering discounts of 30%-50% for visitors buying package tours from travel agencies in the program.

To help the country’s tourism attract more foreigners, the Government in May agreed to exempt visa fees for foreigners who enter Vietnam on these package tours.

The Department of Travel said more than 20 travel companies had registered for their guests to enjoy free visas.

Despite efforts from the tourism sector, international tourists in Vietnam are still lower than last year.

In related news, the Prime Minister issued a regulation to map out and realize the national tourism promotion program for 2009-2010.

Under the regulation, the Prime Minister assigns the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism to collect, classify, approve and realize the national tourism promotion program every year. Each program should combine activities to promote tourism, trade, investment and culture.

The regulation stipulates that programs to promote the country’s tourism via local and foreign media, tourism conferences, meetings, events and other activities will receive financial support from the State.

Nguyen Thi Thanh Huong, Deputy Director of the Department of Tourism Market under VNAT, said the budget which the regulation mentions belongs to the Trade, Investment, and Tourism Promotion fund. Along with the budget, the country’s tourism is supported by the National Action Program on Tourism.

The fair has seen 70 pavilions built to showcase traditional foods reflecting the lifestyles and living conditions of different localities and also the process of making them.

The host province alone has 16 pavilions built by major food makers based in the province.

“The fair aims to promote the culinary arts of the Red River Delta to other parts of the country and the world as well for regional tourist development”, said organisers from the Vietnam National Administration of Tourism (VNAT) and the provincial Department of Industry and Commerce.

The event will close late on October 16 as part of the Cultural, Sports and Tourism Festival 2009 of Red River Delta Provinces.

The fair will also organise a “golden hands” contest for chefs and folk art shows performed by amateur artists from regional provinces and cities, including Hanoi Capital.

The tight agenda for a period of half a year includes 15 events in China, Japan, Taiwan, Germany, Malaysia, Russia, France and other countries. The remaining seven events at home include the Gong Festival, the Mekong-Japan Festival as well as activities to prepare for the National Tourism Year in 2010.

Apart from these events, the VNAT will also run publicity programs on BBC and in other international magazines, plus a repeated program on the Cable News Network (CNN) in the coming time.

VNAT said these busy programs were meant to woo international visitors back to the country at a time the hospitality industry has been hit hard by the global economic downturn.

“VNAT are kept very busy in the period with all promotion activities and efforts to improve tourism products. We are in a hurry to make better programs to woo more guests. Our agency will combine with travel firms to make survey trips before launching new products and new tours”. Tuan said.

Such survey trips will cover coastline attractions from Quang Ngai Province southwards to Binh Thuan Province in September, attractions in the Central Highlands, and other trips to the Mekong Delta region. Such survey trips are aimed at doing away with overlapping tours and products being offered by different localities.

“National and provincial agencies and travel firms will join hands in making new products and limiting undercutting as currently many localities are offering similar products for tourists,” Tuan said.

Apart from above events, important conferences will also take place this year, including those on development of river tourism and border-gate tourism.