Tourism year for Vietnam highlands
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The mountains and forests of the Central Highlands in Vietnam will come into sharp focus at the year-long National Tourism Year 2014 event, organisers said on Friday.
The year-long event, held in Lam Dong and surrounding provinces from December 27, will have “High Mountains and Thick Forests of the Central Highlands” as its main theme, said Nguyen Van Huong, director of the province’s Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism.
The tourism year will comprise nine programmes and 17 events, 13 of which will take place in Da Lat, the capital city of Lam Dong, and four others in Kon Tum, Gia Lai, Dak Lak and Dak Nong provinces.
Major events of the National Tourism Year 2014 will include the Cultural Week to Celebrate the Unesco Vietnam Heritage Festival, a festival of brocade arts, a Central Highlands fashion show, a festival of Central Highlands wooden statues, and an international gong festival.
A festival marking the 120th birthday of Da Lat City and the Fifth Da Lat Flower Festival will also be held to promote tourism in Lam Dong province, Huong said.
A series of sporting events including an elephant race, a boat race, and several folk games will also be held during the year.
A Central Highlands Ethnic Minority Food Festival will be the gastronomic highlight of National Tourism Year 2014.
The Central Highlands has been recognised for the beauty of its mountains and forests, which are home to hilltribes whose varied customs and lifestyles are an anthropologist’s delight.
The region is also home to some of the most endangered species in Vietnam and Southeast Asia, such as the Indochinese tiger, the gaur, the wild Asian water buffalo and the Asian elephant.
