Haiphong Tourism Festival 2006 to kick off .

The Haiphong Tourism Festival 2006 will kick off at Do Son beach town in the northern port city of Haiphong, 100km east of Hanoi, on April 21.

On the opening day of the festival, a tourism and trade fair will open with the participation of tourism agencies and 150 enterprises.

The festival aims to introduce and to promote the region's tourism potential as well as attract investment, according to Mr Tran Trung Dung, Director of the city's Tourism Department.

During the fair, a food festival will be also held to attract visitors who want to explore the local cuisine. Various kinds of handicraft products made by the city's traditional villages, including bamboo products, embroidered paintings, and wood statues will be presented at the fair.

During the festival, Haiphong's tourism agencies will launch two new tour packages, including a Haiphong-Kien Thuy-Do Son adventure tour and a field trip to the Tien Lang hot springs.

Together with the tour to Cat Ba Island, where the Cat Ba Biosphere Reserve is located, these two new tours are expected to become the province's key tourism routes.

The region's Do Son Buffalo Fight Festival will also be replicated during the tourism festival. The annual traditional buffalo fighting festival has attracted thousands of tourists over the years.

Traditionally, locals from the three villages of Do Son, Do Hai and Ngoc Xuyen participate in the activity and preparations usually begin six months beforehand. On the day, six fighting buffaloes are presented to the public after a worshipping ritual.

The Haiphong Tourism Festival will also include various sport competitions, as well as art and fashion performances. A beauty contest will take place, and the winner will compete at the Miss Vietnam competition in August.

With the aim of attracting more tourists to the region, flights connecting Cat Bi Airport in Haiphong City with Macau will be inaugurated during the festival.

On May Day, the opening ceremony of the Memorial Monument of the Ho Chi Minh Sea Route will be organised at the town. Do Son is one of the starting points of the Ho Chi Minh Sea Route, Vietnam's clandestine water route used to supply the southern battlefield during the American War.

A forum on the theme of "Haiphong's Tourism Development and Cooperation with Northern Key Economic Zones" will also be organised during the festival.

(Source: VNA)