The first prize winner of a national logo and slogan contest won’t be used in the Vietnam National Administration of Tourism (VNAT)’s promotional materials, according to the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism.

In January VNAT selected the submission from Cowan Company as the winner to serve as the tourism sector’s logo and slogan for the 2011-2015 period.

However, Minister Hoang Tuan Anh Tuesday announced that the star-shaped logo and the slogan “Vietnam – A different orient” were disqualified after a surveyed found that only 50-60 percent of experts, managers and journalists were in favor of the winning entry.

Many argued that the logo and slogan failed to meet the contest’s requirement – stressing the country’s ecology, culture and oceanic tourisms, the ministry’s news website Van Hoa reported.

Anh asked VNAT to make alternative plans to find a new logo and slogan.

Still, the ministry agreed to include Cowan, which operates in Vietnam and several other countries in the region, to participate in drafting a new logo and slogan, as well as plans to develop a brand for Vietnam’s tourism, the news source said.

Vietnam has used a lotus bulb-shaped logo and the slogan “Vietnam – the Hidden Charm” since 2006.