Foreign media invited to promote VN tourism

Representatives of dozens of foreign media agencies in Vietnam will attend a press conference in Hanoi and start a trans-Vietnam journey to explore the country’s tourism potential.

Correspondents from such countries and territories as the Republic of Korea, France, Indonesia, and Taiwan, will make fact-finding tours of major tourist destinations in Hanoi, Quang Ninh, Danang, Khanh Hoa, Tien Giang and other provinces.

The programme, to be co-organised by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, is part of activities to introduce Vietnamese tourism to the world.  

The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism reveals the Vietnam National Administration of Tourism expects to receive an additional 12 foreign media and travel agencies in the remaining six months of the year to discover Vietnam’s tourism potential.

A number of travel agencies in Japan are organising an independent tour of Vietnam in late July with the participation of some top Japanese leading tourism companies.

The General Statistics Office (GSO) has announced the total number of international visitors to Vietnam dipped in June, largely attributable to a one month drop of 29.5% in the number of Chinese tourists,

According to the GSO, the country welcomed 4.3 million international visitors in the first six months of 2014, nearly 21.1% higher than last year’s figure. Of the total, 1.1 million were Chinese visitors.

First int’l marina gets off the ground in Nha Trang

Focus Travel Co. Ltd commenced construction of Ana Marina, the first international standard marina in Vietnam, at Nha Trang Bay of the central coastal province of Khanh Hoa on July 7.

The Turkish designed project will be built on 89.3 hectares, including 68 hectares of water surface with at a total cost of VND388 billion.

It has three functional areas: one for villas, one for services and infrastructure facilities, and the remainder for quays, a green park, and a breakwater system.

The project will help Khanh Hoa organise future cultural and sport events, especially international yacht races.

Nha Trang City has held 5 international sailing regattas from Hong Kong to Nha Trang between 2004 and 2013 and a domestic yacht race annually.

The marina is scheduled to be operational in April, 2016.

‘Vietnamese People Travel Vietnam’ program launched

The Vietnam National Administration of Tourism (VNAT) on July 7 initiated a tourism stimulus programme named ‘Vietnamese People Travel Vietnam’ on the occasion of the organisation’s 54th traditional day (July 9, 1960-July 9, 2014).

The programme focuses on stimulating the growth of domestic tourism and encouraging overseas Vietnamese to visit their homeland, as well as promoting the image of a safe, friendly and beautiful Vietnam.

At the ceremony, delegations of travel companies presented a series of promotion programmes and called on domestic visitors to enjoy their holiday in Vietnamese destinations.

After the launching ceremony, more than 300 university and college students paraded through the main streets of Hanoi to promote domestic tourism.

In the first half of this year, the number of foreign arrivals to Vietnam surged by 21.1 percent from the comparable period in 2013, while that of domestic arrivals was estimated at 23.4 million, up 6.9 percent.

Danang steps up efforts to attract international tourists

Danang city has maximized efforts to market its tourism and investment appeal to international audiences through increased advertising and easing up on procedures for tourists to obtain travel visas.

In the first six months of the year the total number of foreign and domestic tourists to the city rose 15.8% year on year to 1.8 million arrivals.

The number of foreign arrivals jumped up 15.76% to 450,000, which is over half of the current year’s annual target.

Total revenue from the tourism industry has also skyrocketed by 29% to over VND4,600 billion, equivalent to 52.8% of the annual goal for the year.

City officials emphasize thatmaintaining an optimal tourism environment is essential, and are implementing programmes to raise the awareness of taxi drivers, vendors, and tour guides on the importance of conducting themselves in a polite and civilized manner.

The city has also directed the tourism industry to intensify its oversight of culture, environment and food to eliminate problems areas, which adversely affect the image of local tourism.

In order to create the most favourable conditions for tourists, Danang city’s Department of Information and Communications is investing VND2 billion to develop a tourism information support portal. The portal is scheduled to launch a Vietnamese version by August 30 and an English version three months later.

Another positive development for the tourism industry is that national flag carrier Vietnam Airlines will officially launch direct round trip flights connecting Danang - Narita, Tokyo (Japan), in July.

To achieve its goal of welcoming 3.6 million visitors in 2014, municipal officials in coordination with the tourism industry are sparing no effort to help enterprises overcome difficulties.

Tourism stimulus programme launched

A domestic tourism stimulus programme has been launched as part of Vietnam National Administration of Tourism (VNAT) in celebration of its 54th founding anniversary (July 9).

VNAT General Director Nguyen Van Tuan said that the programme is being deployed across the country aimed at achieving sustainable growth of the tourism industry.

This programme focuses on stimulating domestic tourism growth and encouraging Overseas Vietnamese to visit their homeland, and promoting the images of a safe and beautiful Vietnam with friendly Vietnamese people.

After the launch, 300 students of some universities and colleges carried banners of the tourism industry and paraded through the main streets of Hanoi.

VNAT said that in the first half of this year, the number of foreign arrivals to Vietnam surged by 21.11% from the comparable period in 2013 while that of domestic arrivals was estimated at 23.4 million, up 6.9%.

Total revenue from tourism industry reached VND125,000 billion, 22.5% higher than the level recorded a year earlier.

Train travellers to receive discount

Viet Nam Railways announced a new 30 per cent discount on all north-south trips for customers who buy tickets at least 30 days prior to departure.

The discount is available from August 5-28 for individual customers taking trips of at least 1,300km.

Viet Nam Railways is also offering a 5-17 per cent discount for sleeper tickets until September 3. 

Emirates Vietnam offers Autumn promotions

Emirates Vietnam has recently welcomed the new country manager, together with the connection of Chicago, Oslo and Brussels to Emirates’ global network.

On the occasion, the company offers special fares to early bookers with registration before July 18, 2014.

The customers could also enjoy exceptional service, gourmet cuisine and over 1,800 channels of in-flight entertainment during their journey with Emirates, one of the fastest growing airlines in the world.

The special fares are for Business and Economy class, round trip ticket per person, for departure from Ho Chi Minh City from September 6 to November 30, 2014, inclusive of taxes and surcharges.

The fares are valid for bookings made and purchased before July 18, subject to seat availability and subject to change due to exchange rate fluctuation.

Int’l guests to Khanh Hoa up 30%

Central coastal  Khanh Hoa Province welcomed 1.65 million tourists in the first half, up 22% compared to the same period last year, according to the provincial Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism.

They included  411,213 foreigners and 1.245 million domestic guests , up 32.9% and 18.8%, respectively.

The guests helped the tourism sector earn a remarkable revenue of VND2,690 billion, up 36.9%.

The number of Russian tourists to the Province witnessed a surge of more than 50% in five months.

In July and August, the province will organize a Viet Nam Food Festival and an International Yacht Festival 2014, which are expected to attract more visitors.

Danang resumes flights to China

In a related development, chartered flights taking guests from Hangzhou in China to the central city of Danang will resume some time in the middle of this month following a suspension in May.

Tran Chi Cuong, deputy director of the city’s Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism, said China is the top visitor-generating market for Danang. After its illegal deployment of an oil rig in Vietnam’s waters in early May, as many as 13 chartered flights have been canceled.

However, the Hangzhou-Danang service will restart in mid-July, Cuong added.