The opening ceremony. (Photo: quangninh.gov.vn)

The 17th East Asia Inter-Regional Tourism Forum (EATOF) in association with EATOF's 20th anniversary hosted by Quang Ninh province has successfully finished. Quang Ninh provincial People’s Committee on October 27 held a farewell party yesterday evening to celebrate diverse achievements of the event.

On behalf of the leaders of Quang Ninh province, Vice Chairwoman of the Provincial People's Committee, Nguyen Thi Hanh, gave her sincere thank to all delegates for their active contributions to the success of EATOF 17.

She also expressed her belief in the stronger connection between member provinces as well as the sustainable development of this community.

Representatives of EATOF members also highly appreciated Quang Ninh's professional organizing work and they got great impression of Quang Ninh as a ‘friendly, safe and attractive’ destination.

he event attracted roughly 300 delegates, including domestic and foreign speakers from the World Tourism Organisation, UNESCO as well as tourism experts from universities.

The EATOF 17 in association with EATOF's 20th anniversary warms to the theme "Tourism recovery in East Asia in the new normal era”. The event held following a two-year hiatus caused by the COVID-19 pandemic aims to speed tourism recovery and promote the sustainable development of this sector.

In his speech, the governor of Gangwon province in the Republic of Korea, Kim Jin-tae, underlined the significant role in promoting tourism cooperation among members in the past 20 years.

He also noted that international tourism is now in the process of reopening, with East Asia set to be at the centre of the new era of tourism. EATOF will therefore lead the development of the tourism industry of member states moving forward and seek to develop a new model for the global tourism industry in the post-Covid era.

Governor's conference. (Photo: quangninh.gov.vn)

Representatives of EATOF members hold up the banner of the East Asia Inter- Regional Tourism Federation. (Photo: quangninh.gov.vn)

EATOF delegates visit Halong Bay. (Photo: quangninh.gov.vn)

Art performances at the event. (Photo: quangninh.gov.vn)

The EATOF Night 2022. (Photo: quangninh.gov.vn)

Representatives of EATOF members hold up the banner of the East Asia Inter- Regional Tourism Federation. (Photo: quangninh.gov.vn)

EATOF delegates celebrate diverse achievements of the event. (Photo: quangninh.gov.vn)

EATOF was established in 1999 in the Republic of Korea with the membership of different provinces of East Asian countries.

10 EATOF members include Cebu province (Philippines), Gangwon (Korea), Jilin (China), Luang Prabang (Laos), Quang Ninh (Vietnam), Sarawak (Malaysia), Siem Reap (Cambodia), Tottori (Japan), Tuv (Mongolia), and Yogyakarta (Indonesia). Quang Ninh was the forum’s observer in 2004 and officially joined it in 2006.