Match racing in Vietnam

By all accounts, Vietnam is a beautiful country (full disclosure: have never been there). The World Match Racing Tour (WMRT) is taking advantage of this fact by holding the Vietnam Match Cup in the city of Nha Trang, which has a well known beach. It will be a WMRT first for Vietnam, which has not exactly been at the forefront of world yachting activity.

From the press release: The World Match Racing Tour (WMRT) has today awarded Rainbow International Co. Ltd the rights to organise the Vietnam Match Cup.

The Vietnam Match Cup will take place in the picturesque east coast city of Nha Trang, Vietnam this September. The event will be the eighth stage of the Tour this year, and is the first time that Vietnam has featured on the WMRT schedule.

The appointment gives Rainbow International the rights to host and promote the event that will be held at one of the world’s most beautiful bays, Nha Trang, Nha Trang City, in Khanh Hoa Province, Vietnam.

“It is a great honour for Rainbow International to host such a large scale programme in Vietnam. For the first time, Vietnamese people will have the chance to witness the competition amongst the worlds best sailors right off the shores of their homeland. It is going to be one of this countries biggest sporting events in 2010. More importantly, this is a fantastic opportunity for the world to discover Vietnam’s natural beauty, which I hope will bring about great benefits to our national tourism industry,” said Mr. Do Tuan Anh, General Director of Rainbow International.

This year, the Tour starts in April in France, and will reach Nha Trang City by late September. Mr. Le Xuan Than, Vice Chairman of Khanh Hoa Province’s People Committee said, “This is an honour for Vietnam to join the Tour. The province will do its very best to make sure everything runs smoothly. I believe this is going to be one of the biggest sports and tourism events in Vietnam for 2010.”

With expected media and television highlights coverage of over one billion households in over 100 countries around the world, the Tour will revolutionise Vietnam’s tourism industry and propel the country into the limelight across the globe.

Several thousand people are expected at the event to witness the world-class competition. This will provide Vietnam with the opportunity to reaffirm to the world its great tourism potential as well as boost the country’s growing sports and tourism industry.
 
Peter Gilmour, President of the Word Match Racing Tour, said that a being a coastal country, Vietnam features many beautiful beaches, especially in Khanh Hoa Province. Nha Trang Bay is one of the world’s most beautiful bays, and thus it is most apt as one of this year’s Tour destinations.
“It is our aim to expand the WMRT especially in Asia and Vietnam is our third destination after Pulau Duyong in Malaysia, and Hwasung City in the Gyeonggi Province of South Korea,” Gilmour added. “The Asian events have really taken the Tour to a new level of achievement and I expect to see continued growth across the Middle East and Asia for the Tour”.

By Ocean Navigator