(VOVworld) -  The five-day 2013 Da Lat Culture and Tourism Week opened on Friday night in Da Lat city, the Central Highlands province of Lam Dong. The event also marked the launch of the national tourism year 2014 of the Central Highlands and Da Lat. President Truong Tan Sang praised Da Lat efforts to mark its 120^th birth anniversary and to create favorable conditions for tourism development: “After 4 successful festivals and in this 5^th flower festival, Da Lat has been known as a flower festival city of Vietnam. It sends a message to the Vietnamese and international friends about a city of thousands of flower species and a beautiful and hospitable country. I hope that the Party committee and people of Da Lat city, Lam Dong province and other central highland provinces will continue their tradition of unity, dynamism and creativity to achieve greater success and contribute to national industrialization, modernization and international integration”.

Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism Hoang Tuan Anh declared the opening of the national tourism year of the Central Highlands and Da Lat. Anh said in 2013 Vietnam welcomed 7.6 million foreign visitors and 35 million domestic visitors, earning 35 trillion VND.

The opening of the Flower and Ornamental Tree Exhibition (Photo: Quoc hoc)