TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — A former employee of a travel agency from Hanoi won an award from Taiwan’s Tourism Bureau by designing “a slow voyage in Matsu,” reports said Friday (Dec. 17).

Nguyen Thanh Hung said he was interested in Taiwan’s outlying islands, including Matsu close to China’s Fujian Province, and would take his friends there as soon as the COVID-19 pandemic was over, CNA reported.

The Tourism Bureau organized the contest with nine Vietnamese airlines and several travel agencies, asking members of the public to design their own future dream trip to Taiwan.

Nguyen drew up a Matsu tour lasting four days and three nights, including local sights such as a lighthouse, traditional buildings, and the blue tears. At the end of the selection process by the Tourism Bureau’s office in Ho Chi Minh City and by more than a thousand netizens, Nguyen was awarded first prize.

He told CNA he was extremely surprised by the outcome as he had never traveled to Taiwan. Nevertheless, his experience working at a travel agency and his friendship with Vietnamese who had studied in Taiwan had contributed to his win.

The first prize was a free trip for two according to the winning design, the Tourism Bureau said. The government of Vietnam estimated it could open its borders to international travel during the second quarter of 2022.