Dien Bien, Luang Prabang provinces tighten cultural, tourism links
Officials of the northwestern province of Dien Bien and the Lao province of Luang Prabang agreed to enhance cultural and tourism cooperation during talks in Dien Bien Phu city on September 16.
Representatives of the Dien Bien Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism and the Luang Prabang Department of Information, Culture and Tourism sign a cooperation document (Photo: VNA)
Dien Bien (VNA) – Officials of thenorthwestern province of Dien Bien and the Lao province of Luang Prabang agreedto enhance cultural and tourism cooperation during talks in Dien Bien Phu cityon September 16.
Representatives of the Dien Bien Department ofCulture, Sports and Tourism and the Luang Prabang Department of Information,Culture and Tourism said both provinces are home to diverse natural landscapesand ethnic groups with different cultures, major resources for developingcultural – historical tourism, ecotourism, spiritual tourism andcommunity-based tourism.
Dien Bien also houses the special nationalhistorical relic site “Dien Bien Phu Battlefield”, most notably associated withVietnam’s resistance war against France.
They said in 2017 and 2018, the two departmentshave organised various activities, helping boost relations and encourage peopleto support exchanges and cooperation programmes.
They have worked to connect travel firms of DienBien and Luang Prabang, organised fact-finding trips for businesses, andcoordinated to distribute promotion publications among Vietnamese and Laopeople. These activities have resulted in positive outcomes, helping to promoteintegration, serving the protection of the border and supporting external work,officials said.
At the talks, the two sides agreed that in 2019and 2020, Dien Bien and Luang Prabang will strengthen solidarity, mutualunderstanding and cooperation in culture and image promotion. They will openrefresher courses for local art troupes and increase cultural exchanges andphoto exhibitions. The provinces will also step up learning about each other’stourism to create inter-provincial tours, popularise their tourism products andstay updated on relevant information about investment, business and tourismopportunities in each country.
They further agreed to propose authorities opena direct air route linking Dien Bien and Luang Prabang.
After the talks, the two departments signed amemorandum of understanding on reinforcing cultural and tourism partnerships.–VNA
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Representatives of the Dien Bien Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism and the Luang Prabang Department of Information, Culture and Tourism sign a cooperation document (Photo: VNA) 
