The opening ceremony featured beautiful song and dance from more than 500 artists and local people, as well as a high-range colourful fireworks display.

In his opening remarks, Chairman of the provincial People’s Committee Pham Quang Ngoc said that under the theme “Hoa Lu – Thousand-year-old Capital”, the National Tourism Year 2021 provides an opportunity to promote the land and people of Ninh Binh on Vietnam’s travel map.

Addressing the event, Deputy Prime Minister Vu Duc Dam stressed that the theme for National Tourism Year 2021 reaffirms the time-honoured historical value of the Hoa Lu ancient capital as well as the cultural heritage and natural landscapes of Ninh Binh province.

He emphasised that the Party and State always attaches great attention to tourism development, thus he asked the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism to closely coordinate with the relevant ministries, sectors and localities to boost sustainable tourism while preserving and promoting cultural heritage.

According to the organisers, an assortment of events and activities are being held throughout this year under the framework of the National Tourism Year 2021, with 11 major activities and 27 others hosted by Ninh Binh, while a hundred corresponding events are being presided over by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism along with 27 cities and provinces nationwide.