Vietnam: Authorities keen to use recent history to attract visitors
Vietnamese authorities are planning to upgrade facilities at the site of a famous massacre – in order to attract more tourists.
The site in question is My Lai, where in 1968 some 500 or more civilians – many of them women, children and elderly people – were allegedly slaughtered by US troops. While the site already attracts thousands of tourists every month, the existing facilities are in poor shape, having been neglected and periodically battered by the frequent typhoons that affect the area.
Now, according to the Radio Australia website, nearly a million US dollars will be ploughed into the renovation of the area, while a two-storey museum documenting events at the infamous site will also be built.
Vietnam is clearly keen to use its recent history to draw in tourists; several months ago the country’s government revealed plans to invest millions on renovating the famous Ho Chi Minh trail as a visitor attraction.
