Ministry proposes visa exemption for visitors from five nations

Minister of Transport Dinh La Thang has recommended the Prime Minister consider visa exemptions for travellers from France, Germany, the UK, Australia and India.

The move aims to offset the decline in the number of Chinese tourists to Vietnam in recent times due to the recent territorial dispute in the East Sea.

The Ministry of Transport plans to strengthen the transportation of travellers from countries like France, Germany and the UK which have not been affected by the East Sea situation. These countries are potential transport markets with an annual growth rate of 9%.

Ministry of Transport (MoT) leaders have proposed the Prime Minister assign the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to soon study and issue regulations on relaxing visa requirements for travellers from the aforementioned countries.

A MoT report shows the air transport sector saw a sharp decline in May and June as Chinese and Taiwan authorities warned local residents and visitors not to travel to Vietnam.

In June, the number of flights between Vietnam and China, Taiwan and Hong Kong decreased by 62%, 26% and 6.3% respectively.

The national flag carrier Vietnam Airlines has cancelled 298 return flights to 12 destinations in China from mid-May to late October, except for those to Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou.

At the same time, airlines from China, Taiwan and Hong Kong announced their flight cancellations until the end of October, meaning the number of flights to Vietnam should be reduced by 34%.

At present, China comprises 10% in the Vietnam Airlines’ international aviation market, which has affected the airline’s business plan.

Tourism forum sparks Vietnam-Indonesia business interest

A tourism forum in Jakarta, Indonesia on September 2 provided a great opportunity for nearly 60 Indonesian entrepreneurs, starting or planning to expand tourism related businesses in Vietnam to locate cooperation partners.

Speaking at the forum, the Vietnamese Ambassador to Indonesia briefed those in attendance on the state of affairs of Vietnam-Indonesia relations.

Representatives from the Vietnam National Administration of Tourism (VNAT) in turn made presentations touting Vietnam’s advantages and attractiveness as an investment destination, highlighting the huge economic potential in the tourism sector.

Representatives from the Indonesian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (Kadin) accentuated the Indonesian government’s support policies towards small and medium-sized enterprises, especially tourism businesses.

The event, widely covered by The Jakarta Post and Antara News agencies, attracted leading Indonesian businesses in the fields of tourism, restaurants, and hotels.

Tourism peaks in central region

Localities in central Vietnam have seen an increasing number of domestic and international tourists in the past two years, particularly over national holidays, thanks to a range of promotional activities and stronger provincial tourism links.

With regard to tourism, the central region, boasting numerous world heritage sites, beautiful beaches and high end resorts, has made a name for itself as “the central heritage road” or “The East-West Economic Corridor”, making it a popular destination for tourists.

Da Nang City - the “gateway” linking the world heritage sites of My Son Sanctuary and the Ancient Town of Hoi An in Quang Nam province with the imperial city of Hue - attracted close to 91,000 visitors for National Day (September 2), up by 36,7 percent compared to 2013.

This figure includes over 20,000 international tourists, representing an increase of 50 percent compared to last year, according to Deputy Director of the municipal Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism Tran Chi Cuong.

The Ancient Town of Hoi An welcomed close to 10,000 visitors over the holiday, half of whom were from abroad, according to Director of the provincial Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism Dinh Hai.

The town was rated one of the top places in the world for its nightlife by UK Rough Guide magazine, and second best city in Asia, after Kyoto, Japan, by the world’s premier travel magazine Conde Nast Traveller.

About 30,000 holiday-makers flocked to the imperial city of Hue for September 2, including 10,000 foreigners. Built under the Nguyen dynasty (1802-1945), Hue Citadel was recognised as a World Cultural Heritage Site by UNESCO in 1993.

Nha Trang city in the central coastal province of Khanh Hoa welcomed more than 35,000 tourists over the past few days, including nearly 10,000 international visitors. The city is a well-known beach destination with a 10-kilometre long coastline of white sand beaches, with clear warm waters all year round.

Hotel room rates stable on National Day holiday

This year’s National Day holiday lasted four consecutive days, but hotel room tariffs in seaside tourism destinations remained stable due to low occupancy.

During the holiday from last Friday till on September 2, tourists flocked to seaside resort towns like Danang, Hoi An, Binh Thuan, Phu Quoc and Nha Trang.

Danang City sought to attract visitors with many leisure activities and entertainments such as an international marathon tournament and a boat race in the Han River. There were approximately 90,000 tourist arrivals in the city, up 36.7% over the same period last year.

Hotels in Danang recorded an average occupancy rate of 55-60% and there was no fluctuation in room rates.

“Despite a large number of visitors to Danang on this occasion, the occupancy rate has not shot up because some 2,000 rooms had been added before,” said Tran Chi Cuong, deputy director of the Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism.

According to Cuong, more Chinese tourists have been coming back to the city after the East Sea tensions in May. Danang has restored eight out of 13 chartered flights connecting the city and some provinces of China. Another air route to Shanghai is expected to open again in the coming time.   

Similarly, room rates in Nha Trang City saw no significant change though there were about 37,000 visitors traveling there, rising 38% compared to the same period last year.

“Some hotels raised prices slightly while room rates at many four or five-star hotels were unchanged. A shortage of hotel rooms is no longer a concern of tourists to Nha Trang,” said Nguyen Ngoc An of Fiditour Company.

Meanwhile, in Ba Ria-Vung Tau, a tourist destination around 110 km from HCMC, the number of visitors was higher than normal but not enough to make the city’s service suppliers overloaded.

However, high quality resorts like The Grand Ho Tram Strip were full of customers. Tourists could not find rooms in these sites on the holiday.

Notably, hotels and resorts in Phu Quoc and Binh Thuan were fully booked on the National Day vacation.

Almost all hotel rooms in Ham Tien and Mui Ne in Binh Thuan Province were full from August 30 to September 1. While some resorts were still full on September 2, the number of tourists fell gradually because people started to come back to work.

Nguyen Van Khoa, general director of Mui Ne Bay Resort, said his resort and neighboring ones had no rooms left during the days, and their prices remained unchanged.

According to Binh Thuan Province’s Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism, the number of guests staying at tourist sites rose 27% year-on-year to 55,300 people, concentrating on Ham Tien and Phan Thiet City.

Some travel firms said room rates in Ham Tien and Mui Ne had gone up 15-20% on the holiday.

VOV/VNS/VNA