At the WTA awards ceremony held in Manila, Philippines on September 3, the Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism of Quang Nam was the only representative of Vietnam to be nominated and surpassed many excellent candidates in the region such as Bali (Indonesia), Sabah (Malaysia), Sarawak (Malaysia) and Luang Prabang (Laos) to win the title of "Asia's Leading Local Tourism Management Agency".
WTA has been around since 1993, and is a prestigious award, considered the “Oscar of the Tourism Industry”. This award is held annually to honor outstanding destinations and quality tourism service providers, including many categories: Airlines, hotels, resorts, travel agencies, tourist destinations...
But for the first time, Vietnam has a unit, the Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism (DCT) of Quang Nam province, that has achieved this title.
Hoi An - the address that has continuously won the title of "Asia's Leading Cultural City Destination" for 5 consecutive years (2019, 2021, 2022, 2023 and 2024) is understandable, because the product is very clear. Hoi An has affirmed its world brand, has a special attraction for international tourists.
Some 5-star hotels, resorts, golf courses... won the "Oscar of Tourism" which is also convincing because these facilities are already classy. However, a state management agency like the Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism in Quang Nam province winning the award has attracted much attention and surprise. Because the state management "products" of the department are often difficult to see and cannot be "touched".
However, Quang Nam's tourism achievements are relatively clear. After the COVID-19 pandemic, tourism almost returned to zero. However, in just 2 years, from the end of 2022 until now, Quang Nam tourism industry has implemented many stimulus solutions, created new products, persistently followed the direction of green, sustainable, environmentally friendly tourism, so it recovered very quickly. In 2023, Quang Nam welcomed more than 7.5 million visitors, with revenue of nearly 8,000 billion VND. This is approximately the number of visitors achieved in 2019 (nearly 7.8 million). In the first 6 months of 2024, the total number of visitors was also 4.6 million...
Quang Nam is the first locality in the country to issue a set of provincial green tourism criteria (2022), for 6 areas and types: Hotels, homestays, eco-resorts, community-based tourism destinations, travel and sightseeing spots. Implement controlled management of the general environment, electricity, water, solid waste, wastewater, air quality, noise. Support local communities, manage human resources...
Because Quang Nam has a clear policy, specific policies with common goals of the world and in line with the trend of the times, Quang Nam has succeeded. This result also demonstrates the consensus of the people and community with the Party's policy and the State's policy in Quang Nam.
This is also a lesson that needs to be replicated, so that Vietnam can soon complete the goal of reducing greenhouse gas emissions to 0 (Net Zero) by 2050 as Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh has repeatedly committed to with the international community.
