The event was part of efforts to step up communication and promote Quang Nam’s green tourism brand, and strengthen tourism development cooperation between Vietnam and Australia, especially to increase the number of tourists to Quang Nam and the central region of Vietnam.

The event saw the participation of representatives from the Australian Trade and Investment Commission (Austrade), the Vietnamese Business Association in Australia, the Australia - Vietnam Business Council, airlines, and press agencies in Melbourne, and travel agencies from Quang Nam, Da Nang, and Thua Thien-Hue.

The programme featured a business-to-business (B2B) trade programme for direct meetings and connections, allowing tourism businesses to share information and sign cooperation agreements. Areas were also arranged for film screening, and displaying images to introduce the culture, tourism, and specialty products, tourism destinations, and festivals of the three localities.

The national flag carrier Vietnam Airlines introduced its flight routes, while tourism businesses from Quang Nam introduced travel agencies and services for Australian travellers.

According to First Secretary of the Vietnamese Embassy in Australia Doan Thi Thanh Mai, the programme was part of the agreement between the two governments on upgrading the bilateral relations to a comprehensive strategic partnership.

Melbourne is an open city in terms of international integration, so it is an ideal choice for Vietnamese central localities to organise tourism promotion events, she said.

Nguyen Thanh Hong, Director of the Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism of Quang Nam, said Australia ranks third among the top 10 international tourist markets of Quang Nam. The central province welcomed 104,000 Australian visitors in 2023, and over 96,000 in the first eight months of 2024.

Australian visitors are particularly interested in cultural tourism, golf tourism, and sustainable green tourism, Hong said, adding that Quang Nam is also focusing on developing green and sustainable ecology tourism, and rural tourism.

The tourism promotion programme in Australia was expected to open up many new opportunities, contributing to promoting the recovery of international tourist flows to the central region of Vietnam.

On the occasion, the delegation from the Department of Culture, Sports, and Tourism of Quang Nam will participate in an investment and tourism promotion workshop in Sydney on September 13.