The Hanoi International Tourism Festival will be held from April 29 to May 1 with the theme “Friendship Bridge” with more attractive activities, said tourism officials.

The tourism festival this year will be organised in a more attractive way, particularly emphasizing the anxiety of Hanoi capital, said organisers. Visitors have a chance to enjoy performances by violinists and guitarists from Marseille on balconies of old houses in the Old Quarters.

The opening ceremony of the festival will be held at the foot of King Ly Thai To Monument and the closing ceremony will take place at the Temple of Literature.

Main activities of the festival are due to be organised in the city centre and the Old Quarters, featuring folk songs, dances and music. The festival also includes an exhibition of 300 pavilions displaying tourism products of Vietnam around Hoan Kiem Lake.

The festival is part of practical activities run by the municipal tourism sector to welcome major anniversaries in 2005 including 75 years of the Communist Party of Vietnam; 60 years of the National Day, 30 years of the Southern Liberation Day; 115 years of President Ho Chi Minh’s Birthday and 995 years of Thang Long-Hanoi.

Successful lessons and experiences learnt from previous festivals will definitely make the Hanoi International Tourism Festival in 2005 a great success, meeting demands for promoting a new and effective model of on-the-spot tourism.

Apart from tourism businesses in Hanoi, many others throughout the country will participate in the event which will also be attended by cities, members of the Asia Major Network City in the 21st century (AMNC21). Countries considered Vietnam’s key tourism markets such as Japan, France, the Republic of Korea and China will also take part in the event.

During the three-day festival, eight major programmes will be launched in the Old Quarters, Hoan Kiem Lake, Bach Thao park and Van Mieu-Quoc Tu Giam (The Temple of Literature) and other areas of the city.

Tourism companies, hotels, businesspeople, artisans from Hanoi and other localities throughout the country, and AMNC 21-member cities will introduce hotel tourism products, souvenirs, and items made by traditional handicraft villages.

During the festival, a conference on tourism investment and exploitation in Hanoi will be held to devise measures to improve the quality of tours in Hanoi and surrounding areas. The organising board will also organise farm tours or farm trips and invite representatives from key tourism markets to participate.

There will be exhibitions on trade, tourism, handicrafts, traditional craft villages, ornamental plants and flowers, and art performances of Vietnam and other countries taking place around Hoan Kiem (Restored Sword) Lake, Dien Hong garden, Dong Kinh-Nghia Thuc square, and streets stretching from Le Thai To to Hang Khay.

A culinary art festival for all participating countries will take place at the Zoological Garden, where exhibitions featuring a wide range of ceramic products are held.

The culinary art festival will attract a number of big hotels and restaurants from across the country and other participating countries.

The festival will include activities in the pedestrian areas of Hang Dao - Hang Ngang - Hang Duong and the Dong Xuan night market, with the aim of promoting Hanoi Old Quarters and attracting more foreign visitors. During the festival, the pedestrian streets of Hang Dao, Hang Ngang and Hang Duong and Dong Xuan night market are scheduled to be open both day and night. (Tourism and VOV)