Vietnam’s friendly people, its food and, especially, its natural landscapes are the things that stay in the minds of young British people when they return to the UK. Mathew, a 21-year-old from London who travelled around Vietnam in 2009, said that Vietnamese food such as banh cuon, nem and bun cha are among his favourites. From York, Emy, an 18-year-old student, has travelled around Southeast Asia and visited Cambodia, Laos, Thailand, Indonesia and Vietnam.

She loves Vietnam’s climate, its people and its food and has been here twice. Gurdip, a 39-year-old shop manager in Birmingham, came to Vietnam for a third time and said he loves the friendly people and the food. With a lot of friends in Vietnam, he will return next summer. “We’re so excited to come back to Vietnam another time,” Mathew and Emy told VET, because they know that a lot of things they have not yet explored are waiting for them.

Vietnam has become an emerging tourism destination for European tourists and especially Brits, who are attracted by the beauty and cultural mystery not found elsewhere. Older visitors may choose long day tours that explore the culture in different areas and regions or take relaxation tours, while young people like Mathew and Emy love to discover the countryside to see how Vietnamese people live and work.

Vietnamese people have suffered many difficulties from the country’s wars so there are still many poor people, but they are really friendly and hospitable, believes Joe Palmer, another Brit who has lived in Vietnam for nearly ten years. “It takes a lot of time to get to know Vietnamese culture, which is pretty complicated but very interesting,” he said.

Most travellers to Vietnam find travel agents to seek information and book tour packages. Most of the UK’s major travel agents, such as Explore UK, Wendy Wu, Trailfinder, and SAGA have sent increasing numbers of visitors to Vietnam through local partners. They often choose south to north tour packages, or vice-versa, which include key destinations such as Hanoi, Hue, Hoi An, Nha Trang and Ho Chi Minh City. Indochina tours, through Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia, are also popular.

Vietnam’s tourism sector and travel agents that target the UK market have also developed good tours and tourism promotion plans to the UK. Vietnam has launched numerous tourism promotion activities to polish its image in the UK market. Through cultural activities, in June this year the Vietnam Embassy in the UK, in partnership with Oc-Eo Art Gallery, a major Asian art gallery in the UK, launched an exhibition entitled “Land of Hidden Charms”, introducing the culture and beauty of Vietnamese people and the country itself.

Ms Nguyen Thi Thanh Huong, Deputy Head of the Vietnam National Administration of Tourism (VNAT), said that they have worked with British tourism companies on cooperative measures to promote Vietnam’s tourism and attract more foreign visitors to the country. Last month VNAT, together with nearly 30 domestic businesses, attended the International Tourism Fair in London to seek business opportunities, develop markets and attract visitors.

Over last few years the number of British visitors to Vietnam has increased considerably. There are now some 100,000 travellers to Vietnam annually and this will continue to increase in the future when direct Vietnam-London (Gatwick) flights begin this month. Vietnam Airlines will conduct four flights a week, of which two will depart from Hanoi and two from Ho Chi Minh City. The direct flights also will help travellers between the two countries save time on transit as well as promote bilateral tourism in the future.

It will support the movement of over 7,000 Vietnamese students studying in the UK and make it easier for their families and friends to visit them and experience the life and culture of the UK. The convenience provided is expected to increase the numbers of UK students coming to Vietnam to study as part of their courses.

The flights present a great opportunity to promote Vietnam-UK tourism links and attract more visitors going both ways, and will strengthen the overall relations between the two countries.

Source: Vietnam Economic Times