The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism’s International Cooperation Department has agreed to Ly Nha Ky’s decision to give up her running to become the country’s tourism ambassador.

Ly Nha Ky 

Nguyen Van Tinh, head of the department, said the ministry would officially hold a conference to accept the decision on April 1. The ministry will make decision on whether to extend the deadline for other nominations until the end of June this year or not.

“We respect Ly Nha Ky’s personal opinions and once she said she wanted to withdraw, we couldn’t do any more,” Mr. Tinh added.

According to the department, it would propose appointing tourism ambassadors for different regions, even in foreign countries.

To date, the department has received nominations form Miss National Asia Pageant Chau Mong Nhu, while actress Lan Phuong’s representative said that her documents would be sent soon, said Tran Nhat Hoang, Director of Sports, Culture and Tourism Promotion Centre. He also disclosed that some other candidates would also join the race.

Despite gaining overwhelming votes, Ly Nha Ky recently sent a letter to withdraw from the run for the tourism ambassador for the health reasons.

In a heartfelt letter, Ky said that her health had been poor and that during her term she suffered numerous slanderous remarks against her, her family and relatives. Mixed public opinion regarding her position had upset Ky’s mother and hurt other family members, prompting her decision to withdraw from the race.