The opening ceremony of the 2008 National Tourism Year, themed “The Mekong Delta’s Waterways and Countryside,” was organized on the bank of the Hau River in Can Tho city on February 21. More than 1,000 artists took part in a street parade featuring cars bedecked with flowers carrying symbols of Mekong Delta provinces and six countries bordering the river on Hoa Binh, Nguyen Trai and Tran Van Kheo boulevards. The announcing show in which leaders from 13 Mekong Delta provinces and representatives from China, Myanmar, Thailand, Laos, and Cambodia took part featured performances by hundreds of artists from around the country. Organizers reported that the opening event of National Tourism Year 2008 attracted over 20,000 visitors. The opening week will see various exciting cultural activities like Carnival; tourism and commerce conferences and food fairs; the Miss Mekong Delta pageant; the Mekong Delta Tour Guide Contest; water sports contests, and so on. The festival will last until the end of the year with over 50 various activities, offering the delta region a golden opportunity to showcase its tourism and economic potential, history, customs, and traditional festivals to local and foreign visitors. An event featuring colored lanterns to celebrate the 30th anniversary of liberation, and the Mekong Expo International Fair will take place respectively at Ninh Kieu Quay on April 29 and Can Tho International Exhibition and Fair Center from April 29 to May 5. The Delicious Southwestern Fruit Festival will be held from May 28 to June 8 at My Khanh…
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