he event, the eighth of its kind, presents a good chance for Hai Phong to introduce its popular tourist destinations to domestic and foreign visitors as well as the city’s socio-economic achievements gained over the past years, according to Chairman of the municipal People’s Committee Nguyen Van Tung.
More than 60 economic, cultural, sport, and tourism activities are being held during the three-day festival.
An art exchange programme with the participation of artists from the Republic of Korea and Japan is expected to draw visitors.
Renowned as the city of flamboyant flower, Hai Phong is a peaceful city of wide boulevards dovetailed with organised tree rows.
The Hoa Phuong Do festival was initiated in 2012 and named after the symbol of Hai Phong.
As one of the important commercial and industrial hubs in the north of Vietnam, Hai Phong is striving to make tourism a spearhead economic sector and turn itself into one of the nation’s key tourism destinations.
It is the only city in Vietnam’s northern region accessible by all five types of transportation, which are inland waterways, seaway, road, rail and air transport. The city aims to welcome 9 million visitors in 2019.
Hai Phong is leading the country in economic growth. The gross regional domestic product (GRDP) in the first quarter of 2019 rose by 15.05 percent. The local State budget collection reached over 8.5 trillion VND (over 364 million USD), representing a year-on-year rise of 33.7 percent.
The index of industrial production (IIP) expanded by 23.01 percent. The export turnover was estimated at 4.38 billion USD in the first three-month period, up 25.52 percent year-on-year.
