Pay TV operator moves into films

Viet Nam Satellite Digital Television K+ (VSTV) has announced a strategic partnership with the country's two leading players in film production industry, BHD (Viet Nam) and CJ (South Korea), to exclusively broadcast feature movies on K+ channels.

K+ will be the first pay-TV operator in Viet Nam to invest in production of Vietnamese movies for television. K+'s subscribers will be able to enjoy the latest movies at home.

Newly released movies such as De Mai Tinh 2 (Fool for Love) and Ngay Nay Ngay Nay (The Lost Dragon) will air on K+1 in May and June. The two films have been successful at the box office.

Bo Ba Rac Roi (Triple Trouble) and Quyen, which promise to be box-office hits, have been selected by K+.

The films will air during the last Friday of each month on K+1. Le Chi Cong, K+'s general director, said K+ was continuing to negotiate with producers to find good films to broadcast each month.

During the announcement, an anti-piracy agreement was signed that aims to to enhance the development of the content industry.

Well-known actors such as Thai Hoa, Ngo Thanh Van, Tran Bao Son and Kathy Uyen, as well as concerned directors, producers and investors (K+, BHD, CJ) took part in the signing ceremony.

Trek routes laid in My Son Sanctuary

The management board of My Son Sanctuary officially inaugurated a 2km road connecting the Khe The Bridge to the central group of Cham towers.

Management board head Phan Ho said the road is one of the first trekking routes in the UNESCO-recognised world heritage site.

He said tourists have differing tastes, some might prefer walking under a canopy of trees, and so different paths will be developed.

The management board also provided 10 battery-powered cars to transport tourists from the entrance to the towers.

According to Ho, more dinning, shopping and guesthouse services will be available this July to keep tourists at the site for longer.

The world heritage site hosted 102,000 tourists in the past four months this year.

VN-Russia cultural exchange in Da Nang

A cultural exchange between Viet Nam and Russia will be held in the central city's Trung Vuong Theatre on Saturday.

The city's Union for Friendship Organisation said the programme included an exhibition of cuisine, souvenirs, products of the two countries.

The event, which is open free tyo the public, marks the celebration of the 65th anniversary of diplomatic relations between Viet Nam and Russia.

Cafe chain staff wins barista competition

Nguyen Quoc Hung, 26, on Monday beat five other finalists to win The Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf's 2015 Viet Nam Barista Competition and qualify for this year's International Barista to be held in Bandung, Indonesia, on July 28.

Hung, who works at the cafe's Kumho outlet in HCM City, achieved the highest score in the competition with an outstanding performance and a unique signature drink made from unique Vietnamese ingredients like rice flavour tea, lotus seeds, and lychee.

The competition had begun in February, with around 40 young baristas working for the chain competing to make the best espresso, cappuccino, and signature drinks.

The Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf is the oldest and largest privately held American specialty coffee and tea retailer.

Vietnam turns to Bollywood to promote tourism

Vietnam National Administration of Tourism has invited India's film industry Bollywood to help promote local tourism and attract visitors from the sub-continent and counter declining tourist arrivals from major markets Russia and China.

Nguyen Van Tuan, director of Vietnam National Administration of Tourism, said permits had been granted to film crews looking for locations, and he hoped the Indian film industry would help promote Vietnam as a destination.

Vietnam is taking part in more tourism fairs in India and wants to speed up the opening of more direct flight routes between the two countries.

The Vietnam National Administration of Tourism said that in the first four months of this year, overall international tourist arrivals by air declined 9 percent on a year earlier. Visitor arrivals by sea and road declined 30 percent and 25 percent respectively.

It blamed the decline on the fall off of arrivals from China and Russia, Vietnam's two largest tourism markets.

"We are trying to regain the number of tourists from China and Russia. Many measures are being carried out, and I think the market will recover quickly," Tuan said.

The spokesman for a tourism firm in Hanoi said foreign tourists were tightening spending and Vietnam was losing a shrinking market share to Laos and Cambodia.

But there was growing potential for Vietnam in India, where it is still largely an unknown destination, with just 12,300 visitor arrivals from India in 2013.

Lac Viet Tourism Firm estimated Thailand was attracting more than one million Indian tourists a year, and Malaysia was getting 200,000.