Representatives from six northern mountainous provinces gathered inTuyen Quang province on Nov. 21 to discuss how to tap their potential intourism.

The provinces, which in the past formed the famousrevolutionary base of Viet Bac, boast many beautiful sceneries, diverseecological systems and culture as well as rich historical relics, NguyenVan Tuan, Director of the Vietnam National Administration of Tourism,said at the workshop on tourism development.

Besides such famousrelics of the resistance war as Tan Trao, Dinh Hoa, Pac Bo cave or LeNin stream, the region also has the Ba Be lake which has made its nameas one of the two largest natural fresh water lakes in the world, or theDong Van Plateau, a global geological park.

Viet Bac is also home of ethnic minority groups with unique cultures.

Tuanurged local authorities to closely work in developing tourist productsand making a joint tourism programme in order to attract more tourists.

Thesix provinces, namely Ha Giang, Bac Kan , Cao Bang, Thai Nguyen,Lang Son and Tuyen Quang, need to focus on sustainable tourismdevelopment in combined with natural preservation and local culturalpromotion, he added.
At the workshop, tourism management agenciesfrom the six provinces agreed on a joint action programme until 2015which aims to develop joint tourist products, promote tourismconnectivity in the zone and facilitate cooperation between theirtourism companies.

In 2009, provinces in Viet Bac zone receivedmore than 4.5 million tourists, including over 520,000 foreigners,earning 1.7 trillion VND, according to statistics.

The zone expects to over 4.6 million arrivals this year, including 539,000 foreigners, earning nearly 1.9 trillion VND./.