Socialist Republic of Vietnam

Despite being battered by Typhoon Xangsane, the heritage Hoi An town is all set to host the APEC tourism ministers meeting from next Thursday, a top Vietnamese official assured.

Dr Tran Minh Ca, vice chairman of the Quang Nam province people’s committee – government – and head of the committee organizing all APEC tourism activities in Vietnam, dismissed rumors the conference would be shifted from the devastated ancient town.

Hoi An is in Quang Nam province and the 29th meeting of the APEC Tourism Working Group and the 4th APEC Tourism Ministerial Meeting are scheduled for 12-17 this month.

“The infrastructure, meeting halls, accommodation for ministers and their delegations, and telecom facilities are all ready,” Ca said.

The hotels and resorts serving the meeting had not been damaged much.

He along with Hoang Tuan Anh, deputy head of the Vietnam National Administration of Tourism, and the town’s Communist Party chief, Nguyen Su, had thoroughly checked all the facilities and saw no reason to worry.

Local authorities had called on volunteers in and outside the province to lend a hand in cleaning up the town’s streets.

Other activities on the meeting’s sidelines would take place as scheduled including a tourism fair, an informal meeting among tourism officials, and a cultural night on the 16th.

Lanterns and decorations were ready for display at nights, Ca said.

On Tuesday a group of 150 Spanish visitors arrived in Hoi An, the first international tourists in the town since the typhoon last Sunday.

The conference is thought to be an opportunity for Quang Nam, particularly Hoi An, to promote their marine and eco-tourism potential and their unique culture and houses dating back centuries.

A Hoi An Declaration – to be discussed among tourism experts during the APEC Tourism Working Group Meeting – is set to be ratified on the 17th by the ministers.

“The declaration is a certificate for the tourism industry in the province and the central region”, Ca said.

Around 220 international guests from 21 members of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation are expected to arrive in Hoi An.

The town, declared a World Heritage by UNESCO in 1999, estimates its historic sites have suffered damage worth over VND50 billion (US$3.12 million) from the typhoon.

Typhoon Xangsane, the 18th storm of this year's Pacific cyclone season and the sixth to hit Vietnam this year, killed hundreds when it hit the Philippines five days ago.

In Vietnam over 45 died or went missing while material damage has been put at over US$625 million.

Source: Thanh Nien News