The money will mostly go to four key national tourist sites and 17 other specific sites to develop the national tourist industry into a unified system, Mr Tu said.

He also announced the VAT's plan to invest in the tourist industry in the central coastal region and the Central Highlands, which consists of 19 provinces from the northern central province of Thanh Hoa to the southernmost central province of Binh Thuan.

Vietnam has witnessed a boom in luxury tourist sites in recent years. The northern port city of Hai Phong has started the upgrade of its Cat Co II Sea Beach. Meanwhile the northern province of Ninh Binh has finalised the planning of seven major new tourist sites. In the central region, Thanh Hoa province has marked off an eco-tourist site in Hoang Hoa district and the UNESCO's world heritage listed Hoi An, an ancient town in Quang Nam province, is working on a project for a night entertainment complex. The northern mountains province of Lao Cai has commenced the construction of the Sa Pa urban tourist site.

Projects on tourist infrastructure have stimulated the growth of the industry, said VAT officials. They also pledged increasingly tight management over ODA-funded projects, including projects on tourist human resource development funded by the EU, Belgium and Luxembourg and the Mekong tourist development project.