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W
hoever wins the race and
is crowned Vietnam Tour-
ism Ambassador will face
a significant task. They
will have to advertise and promote the
country’s tourism through a mountain
of activities. In order to apply they must
possess abundant criteria and their pro-
file must also be approved by Ministry
of Foreign Affairs, Vietnam National
Administration of Tourism (under the
Ministry of Culture, Sport and Tourism)
and many others.
However, despite the complicated
procedures, the first ambassador was
chosen last year after just one day,
much to the surprise of many experts.
Ly Nha Ky (real name Tran Thi Thanh
Nhan), the was said by Nguyen Van
Tinh, director of the Department of In-
ternational Cooperation, to integrate
the three main criteria, including be-
ing famous, knowing English, and not
requiring benefits. He also said that
there had been some other poten-
tial candidates but they all demand-
ed high benefits that the authorities
could not satisfy.
Ky – an actress and businesswoman
- is known for her sexy, extreme-luxury
dressing style. She had a tough time,
not only because of the endless list of
the ambassador’s tasks, but because of
scandals about her origin, her academic
qualifications, the luxury dresses which
are suspected to be counterfeit and her
boasts about appearing in Hollywood
film, Shanghai 2 in which she had no
lines, and also her hushed marriage with
a German in 2000.
Ky’s university degree was ques-
tioned by Bui Tu Anh. She says believes
it is fake based on what she describes
as the illogical timing of the award and
spelling errors. Ky expressed her disap-
pointment and upset about how she was
being treated despite all her efforts and
achievements as Tourism Ambassador.
Ky is now beginning to gain sympa-
thy, having undertaken charity work and
after promoting Halong Bay to become
one of the seven natural new wonders
of the world. She also helped Vietnam
become the host of ASIAD 2019.
“My health condition is not good.
Slanderous words against me have had a
tremendous effect on my family and rela-
tives,” she wrote in her 600 word letter to
withdraw from the candidate list for this
year. She has since been praised by the
leaders of Ministry of Culture, Sport and
Tourism, and even by parts of the public
for her contributions and enthusiasm.
Before the letter, just the English
teacher Do Thi Hong Thuan and Huynh
Thi Ngoc Han had joined the race. Thuan
is not considered a serious competitor
The title of Vietnam Tourism Ambassador is once
again being fought over by a lineup of Vietnam’s
women, writes
Hong Nhung
The race is on