Hanoi in top five budget-friendly cities globally

Hanoi has been cited as one of the top five most budget-friendly destinations for a short getaway excursion for two people, according to a recent survey by TripAdvisor – the world’s largest tourism website.

TripAdvisor conducted a survey of 67 cities from around the globe, with criteria for rankings based on the typical costs for two people touring and staying one night at a five-star hotel together with dinner, cocktails, a bottle of wine, and two taxi fares.

Rounding out the top five list are Jakarta (Indonesia), Mumbai (India), and Kuala Lumpur (Malaysia).

London topped the list as the worlds’ most expensive city, followed by Paris (France), New York (the US), Stockholm (Sweden), and Oslo (Norway).

Danang launches summer tourism programme

Hundreds of thousands flocked to the central city of Danang on June 20 for the kick off its “Summer Rendezvous” festival in a hope of luring more local and foreign holiday-makers to the locality.

A wide array of cultural, sporting and tourism activities are taking place in the East Sea park area, along sun-drenched beaches and main streets of the city.

This year organisers have added several outdoor activities to the programme, including aerobic performances, street dances, a vintage car exhibition, a basket shaking contest and a kayak race.

A highlight of the event is a parasailing contest which attracts both local and foreign athletes. The tournament will begin on June 27 and end on June 29.

The festival aims to promote sea tourism products of the city and elevate Danang city’s reputation as a safe and attractive destination for international friends.

Central provinces boost tourism cooperation

Three tourist destinations in central Vietnam – Hue, Danang and Quang Nam – are strengthening tourism cooperation to provide better products and services for increasing numbers of tourists.

Nearly 100 delegates from the three localities participated in a seminar on tourism management in Danang city, on June 18, as part of an EU-funded project on tourism development and social responsibility.

They proposed a number of measures to manage tourist destinations more effectively, such as developing tourism products and marketing programmes, training staff and mapping out a specific development strategy in line with the projected tourism growth rate.

Project chief advisor Mary Mckeon stressed the need to create close links between Hue, Danang and Hoi An (Quang Nam province) for more sustainable development of the local tourism industry.

She suggested these localities focus on promoting tourism advertisement and drawing up a good zoning plan for luxury hotels in coastal areas in the future.

The biggest EU-funded tourism project is underway in Vietnam from 2011 to 2015 at a total cost of 11 million Euro.

It is pivoted on building policies, improving institutions and establishing an organizational structure and an effective cooperation network between the State and private sectors. The project will also increase capacity for tourism staff, sharpen competitiveness and raise public awareness of responsible tourism.

Experts talk tourism management

The EU-funded Environmentally and Socially Responsible Tourism Capacity Development (ESRT) program in three central coastal provinces held discussions on destination management at a workshop in Da Nang on Wednesday.

Addressing the opening session, ESRT Program's international expert Robert Travers presented findings from his mission that showed the strengths, weaknesses and problems that need to be resolved and the opportunities for each province.

He then pointed out several fields for cooperation in term of destination management, marketing and training in the region.

The workshop was organized as a follow-up to a mission from May to June 17 in the provinces by Travers.

Earlier, the leaders of the three provinces on February 27 signed a memorandum to cooperate on tourism management.

Attending the workshop were 70 representatives from government and business, including the Departments of Culture, Sports and Tourism, the leaders of Viet Nam Tourism Association and Viet Nam Society of Travel Agents, and key tourism businesses in Quang Nam, Da Nang and Thua Thien – Hue.

Representatives of Viet Nam National Administration of Tourism's Hotel and Travel departments and the Institute for Tourism Development Research were also on hand to take part.

Mary McKeon, ESRT's Team Leader, explained the concepts of destination management, and the benefits that a Destination Management Organization can bring, based on successful international models.

The outcomes from the participants' discussions will be used to develop a draft strategy for destination management.

Speaking at the workshop, Truong Nam Thang, ESRT's expert, said: "Tourism has been developing rapidly in the central coastal provinces of Viet Nam for the past decade. The objective of the ESRT program is to support local authorities and stakeholders in planning and managing the changing process responsibly."

In 2014, the ESRT Program is also conducting many activities to support the provinces, including a visitor survey; research on tourism products in the region to develop responsible tourism products; and tourism brand development and destination marketing.

It will also strengthen and promote Public - Private Partnerships and tourism human resources development.

The ESRT Program is the biggest tourism technical support program in Viet Nam, designed to promote sustainable tourism that will also enhance competitiveness and contributed to the country's socio-economic development plan.

It is funded by the European Union with 11 million euros and the Vietnamese Government contributes 1.1 million euro. Implementation is from 2011 to 2015.

Hotel Nikko Saigon wins more honours

Hotel Nikko Saigon has received the "Certificate of Excellence – 2014 Winner" from Tripadvisor, the world's largest travel site.

It is for the third straight year that Hotel Nikko Saigon has won the prize from the website.

The result was based on the top 10 per cent performing hotels in HCM City in which Hotel Nikko Saigon is currently at number 2 due according to reviews and ratings uploaded by guests.

Earlier this year the hotel was named among the "Top 5-star Hotels" and "Top Ten E-Commerce Websites for Tourism" on the occasion of the annual Tourism week – Best Tourism Brand Awards event organised by the city Department of Sports, Culture and Tourism.

Ben Tre to host Coconut Festival next year

The 4th Coconut Festival will be held from April 7 to 13 next year in Ben Tre to promote and showcase the province's as well as Viet Nam's coconut industry and products.

It will provide a chance for coconut farmers and Vietnamese and foreign traders to meet and compare notes on growing, processing, and consuming coconuts.

The festival will feature a culture tourism week, a parade by flower-decked vehicles, a southern food festival, a beauty pageant, a poetry contest, an exhibition of coconut products, and seminars on applying technology in the coconut sector and the use of coconut in healthcare.

Sa Pa village fruit season attracts hoards of tourists

The number of tourists to villages in Sa Pa for sightseeing and buying plums, peaches, and pears has increased considerably since April – the plum harvest season – according to reports by Lao Cai Province.

There have been 800,000 visitors to Lao Cai this tourist season, up 25 per cent year-on-year.

Nguyen Van Thanh, head of Sa Pa District's economic department, said plums and peaches have been specialties in the region for many years.

Summer Destination Week to kick off holidays in central city

Chefs from Hue, Hoi An and Da Nang, will start the annual competition that kicks off the Summer Destination Week at the central city's East Sea Park next Friday.

Each competitor will cook four dishes – appetizer, meat, seafood and dessert – within 150 minutes. As scheduled, a series of programmes will be held in the city to promote tourism from June 20 to 27.

The park is also a venue for a photo exhibition of nature and landscape, a vintage Vespa scooter display, street dance, bar tending, flashmob bikini and a fashion show.

My Khe beach, one of the world beautiful beaches, will host water-motor, jet-ski, triathlon and kayak races. A quick eating and drinking contest will also make its debut at the park.

As many as 35 fliers will join a paragliding race on Son Tra Peninsula on June 27.

VNN/VNS/SGT