Mr Tran Chi Dung, director of the Mekong Delta province's Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism, gave the assurance at a press conference on "the 2016 National Tourism Year."

To open on April 30th and run until year end, the annual event is expected to boost the number of visitors to Kien Giang's main attraction, Phu Quoc Island, by 30-37 percent from this year's estimated 1.2 million.

Similar growth is also forecast for other Mekong Delta provinces co-hosting along with Kien Giang.

Dung told the media that local authorities would require hotels, restaurants and suppliers of tourist services to sign an undertaking they would not hike prices or rip visitors off during the event.

Other issues such as hygiene would also be addressed, he said.

But it is unclear what penalties violating businesses would face. "We will do our best to make Kien Giang friendlier to tourists," Dung said.

With 367 hotels and other accommodations that can together provide more than 8,000 standard rooms, Kien Giang would be able to meet the demand during the event, he said.

A food festival, a folk music festival, and a boat race will be among many national events the province has planned for next year./.

( VNF )