BÌNH THUẬN — Đinh Thị Hoa held off 29 other contestants to win the inaugural Miss Tourism Ambassador Việt Nam pageant in Phan Thiết City on Sunday.

The 23-year-old from Đắk Lắk Province is a student at the Foreign Trade University in HCM City.

Phạm Phương Thanh, 20, of Bình Thuận Province was the first runner-up, and Đinh Thị Thu Thảo, another 23-year-old from Đắk Lắk, was the second runner-up.

The winner received a crown studded with 4,500 diamonds.

She will spend the next two years on various campaigns to bolster the country’s tourism potential and promote its cultural heritage.

The pageant, which began last July, was part of the National Tourism Year 2023 in the south-central province of Bình Thuận, Kim Thanh Thảo, deputy head of the event organising board, said.

The winner has the mission of promoting tourism, cultural heritages, landscapes, and the people of Việt Nam to the world, she said.

The judges included a former deputy minister of culture, sports, and tourism, Vương Duy Biên, director of the Biển Xanh Music and Dance Theater in Bình Thuận Province, Mai Trung Kiên, singer Nguyên Vũ, singer-lyricist Sỹ Luân, Miss Việt Nam Global Business 2017 Vũ Bình Minh, and fashion designer Ngô Nhật Huy. —VNS

The winner and two runners-up, Đinh Thị Hoa, Phạm Phương Thanh and Đinh Thị Thu Thảo, of the inaugural Miss Tourism Ambassador Việt Nam. Photo courtesy of the event's organiser