Metropole Hanoi makes prestigious Top 100 list

Travel guide Fodor has cited the Sofitel Legend Metropole Hanoi Hotel as one of the top 100 hotels in the world.

The Metropole Hanoi is the first hotel in Vietnam to receive the distinguished award.

In making the determination, more than 500 specialists of Fodor evaluated over 5,000 hotels assessing their quality, architecture and accommodation.

Fifteen journalists of Fodor served as the jury and made the final selection.

The top 100 hotels in the world include famous names such as Mandarin Oriental in Bangkok, Thailand, Savoy in London, the UK and Taj Mahal in India.

The Metropole Hanoi was built in 1901. It is located in the centre of the capital city of Vietnam, near the Hanoi Opera House and Hoan Kiem (Sword Lake).

The hotel has received many accolades throughout its history and many well-known prime ministers, presidents and ambassadors from around the globe have stayed there.

Some of the more famous visitors included former US President Bill Clinton (twice), former British Prime Minister Tony Blair (twice), French Prime Minister Francois Fillon and Russian Prime Minister Dmitri Medvedev.

Uong Bi City, home to Yen Tu, seeks spiritual visitors

Uong Bi City in the northern province of Quang Ninh will develop spiritual and ecological tourism as part of its road map for the sector through 2020.

The city said it would create new tours, improve tourism services, and upgrade accommodation in that period.

Uong Bi is famous for Yen Tu Mountain, a key spiritual tourism destination for the entire country. Each year some two million people visit the place.

But most visit Yen Tu in the first three months of the year, and the city plans to offer new products like mountain trekking to attract visitors in the latter part of the year.

The Cuu Long (Mekong) Delta city of Can Tho will begin direct air services to Lam Dong and Khanh Hoa provinces next year to promote tourism, according to its Investment, Trade and Tourism Promotion Centre.

The city hopes that the new routes will bring more foreign as well as domestic visitors from these places.

Also next year the city plans to develop tourism services and products and organise events to attract foreign tourists.

This year the city hopes to welcome 1.3 million visitors, an increase of four per cent over last year.

Hanoi undertakes efforts to attract more visitors

Hanoi’s tourism sector is taking a wide range of measures, including increasing the number of services on offer, improving the quality of services,

and boosting links with other localities in an effort to lure more holiday-makers to the capital.

With its 5,000 historical sites, 1,300 traditional craft villages, and a large number of intangible cultural heritages and eco-tourism sites, Hanoi is an attractive destination for tourists.

The city is planning to turn the Ba Vi-Suoi Hai site into a national tourist centre and develop community-based tourism in seven mountainous villages in Hanoi’s outlying district of Ba Vi, Mai Tien Dung Deputy Director of the Municipal Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism, said.

Meanwhile, traditional festivals in the city are to be linked with cultural and historical sites in order to form festive, spiritual and ecological tours.

Community-based tourism will also be promoted in ethnic minority communities.

Recently, Hanoi diversified its tourism services. In addition to its best-known attractions, the city is planning to designate areas for the performance of traditional art forms.

The municipal authorities are working hard to promote the city’s image to international visitors. A tourist hotline was established to be able to respond to visitors’ needs effectively and promptly.

Hanoi is ranked amongst the world’s top ten emerging tourist destinations and is one of the six must-see cities in Asia. The city aims to become one of the region’s major tourist hubs. In 2014, Hanoi is expected to welcome 3 million international and 14 million domestic tourists.

VNS/SGT/SGGP