“Thirty companies in Vietnam have registered to join the festival. An artist group of 20 people is ready for the program. We will promote culture, tourism as well as investment and trade exchange between Vietnam and the two countries,” Tinh said.

South Korea and Japan were the second and fourth best markets for the country’s tourism in the first four months of this year. Around 178,100 South Koreans visited in the period, up 32.8% year-on-year, and around 148,900 Japanese, up 15.8% year-on-year.

The Vietnam National Administration of Tourism and the Japan Association of Travel Agents inked a memorandum of understanding in 2008 to boost tourist exchange.

The association has included Vietnam as one of the destinations of its Visit the World Campaign, a program to increase the number of Japanese outbound travelers to 20 million this year compared to 17.3 million in 2007.

Tinh said the bureau had invited Hanoi, HCMC, Danang, Quang Nam and Thua Thien-Hue to promote their images in the two countries because these are the favorite destinations of Japanese and South Koreans.

“We will focus on activities to promote sea tourism, festivities of 1,000 years of Thang Long-Hanoi and tourism in HCMC and the Mekong Delta,” he said, adding the bureau had not made different contents for the two countries because Japanese and South Korean guests have so many similar tastes.

Tinh said the bureau was preparing for a similar festival in China this year.