In the past tourism, has not been seen as a viable industry in Brunei. It was not mentioned in the progressive five years National Development Plan (NDP) up until the Seventh NDP (1996 - 2000) that tourism was specifically mentioned as an industry for economic diversification. This has lead to a turning point by which tourism finally received official endorsement and support from the government. This was also in preparation for the 2001 national event of the first ever Visit Brunei Year 2001.