Van Don grabs world's leading regional airport award

The airport in the northern province of Quang Ninh beat competitors Chubu Centrair International Airport in Japan, Denver International Airport in the U.S., Gimpo International Airport in South Korea, King Shaka International Airport in South Africa, London City Airport in the U.K., and Salalah Airport in Oman.

The result was based on votes cast by travel industry professionals and the public, with the nominee gaining the most votes in a category named the winner.

A regional airport is an airport serving traffic within a relatively small or lightly populated geographical area and usually does not have customs and immigration facilities to process traffic between countries.

Van Don International Airport with total investment of VND7.5 trillion ($324 million) officially entered operation in December 2018 and is only 50 kilometers from UNESCO-recognized world heritage site Ha Long Bay.

World Travel Awards, launched in 1993, acknowledge excellence in the travel and tourism industry, and have been described as the travel industry's equivalent of the Oscars.