Ho Chi Minh City and some other provinces in Vietnam will be joininga programme to showcase their tourism products and services at a majortourism event in Russia next month, the Saigon Times Daily reported.

Forthe first time HCM City has been joining forces with Da Nang city, PhuYen, Lam Dong, Khanh Hoa, Binh Thuan, Ninh Thuan and Ba Ria-Vung Tauprovinces and Vietnam Airlines to promote their products and services atthe annual travel fair called Otdykh Leisure Moscow, slated to takeplace from September 16 to 19.

Nguyen Bao Anh, Deputy Director ofthe HCM City Tourism Promotion Centre, said nearly 30 travel firms ofHCM City together with those from other localities will be coming toMoscow to drum up their products and look for business partners.

Theselocalities have already attracted large numbers of Russian tourists orare holding potential to woo Russian holidaymakers, particularly inwinter.

The event will take place before HCM City welcomesRussian tourists on board the chartered flights arranged by Anh DuongTourism Company and its partner Pegas Touristik. Currently, these twocompanies arrange two daily chartered flights for Russians to visitKhanh Hoa province and Phu Quoc Island.

Hoang Thi Phong Thu,Chairwoman of Anh Duong, said her company has leased four counters atthe common pavilion of the tourism event in Russia for Vietnam’slocalities.

Thu described Russian travelers’ bookings for wintertours to Vietnam as fine. The number of chartered flights arranged byAnh Duong is forecast to reach 4-5 a day by the end of this year and thecompany expects to serve 250,000 visitors this year.

The numberof Russian arrivals in Vietnam still grew well despite drops in visitorsfrom many markets. The figure reached nearly 194,000 in the first halfof 2014, up 25.9 percent from a year earlier.

Vietnam expects to welcome 400,000 Russian tourists this year and 1 million by 2017.-VNA