International visitors to Khanh Hoa rise 25%

More than 478,000 international tourists have visited Khanh Hoa province so far this year, up nearly 25% from a year earlier.

According to the Khanh Hoa Department of Culture, Sports, & Tourism, most of them came from Russia (up 190%), the Republic of Korea (up 60%), and Australia (up 40%).

The average length of stay was 3.3 nights per visitor.

The national flag carrier, Vietnam Airlines will operate direct flights between Hong Kong and Nha Trang as of November-two to four from the Far East region to Cam Ranh International Airport a day and two from Moscow to Nha Trang a week.

Khanh Hoa province currently has 540 accommodations with a total of 15,000 guest rooms, including 48 three-to-five star hotels with more than 8.500 rooms, and a lot of shopping centres.

In addition, there is a wide network of information bureau and customer care services to ensure a safe tourism environment for international visitors.

In an effort to attract more Russian visitors to Khanh Hoa, the provincial People Committee has proposed the Government upgrade Cam Ranh international Airport and grant visa exemption for tourists coming from major markets including Russia, Japan, and the Republic of Korea.

HCM City-Abu Dhabi air route launched

Etihad Airways, the national flag carrier of the United Arab Emirates (UAE), opened direct flights between Abu Dhabi and Ho Chi Minh City on October 2.

Daily flights will depart from HCM City at 8.15am and arrive in Abu Dhabi seven hours later, using Airbus A330-200s.

Etihad Airways CEO James Hogan said these daily flights will provide approximately 3,700 seats every week, aiming to meet demands of travellers seeking business opportunities and freight between Vietnam and the UAE, Middle East and Europe.

In 2012, Vietnam’s export turnover to the UAE exceeded US$2 billion for the first time, up 82% compared to 2011, and is predicted to reach over US$4 billion this year.

Airbus A330-200, capable of transporting 13 tonnes of cargos, is expected to help increase the trade volume and value between Vietnam and the UAE, Europe and North America.

Etihad Airways currently conducts flights to 94 destinations in the Middle East, Africa, Europe, Asia, Oceania and America, using over 80 Airbus and Boeing aircraft.

Vietravel receives World Travel Awards and TTG Asia

Vietnam’s only representative, Vietravel tourist company, has been honorably awarded the title “Vietnam’s Leading Tour Operator” and “Vietnam’s Leading Travel Agency” of World Travel Awards 2013 (WTA).

This is the third consecutive year Vietravel has been nominated for the TTG Travel Awards 2013 voted by TTG Asia magazine.

The awards ceremonies will be held in Dubai on October 1 and 3.

Established in 1993, WTA, known as “the Oscars of the travel industry”, is recognised globally as the highest accolade in travel and tourism, and serves to recognise, acknowledge and reward excellence of customer service, product development and business performance throughout the tourism industry.

The company covers travel agencies, tour operators, hotels, national tourism organisations and airlines across the world.

Founded in 1974, TTG Asia is a leading travel magazine with 26 publications a year.

This year, there are 82 TTG Travel Awards in four categories including service providers (52 awards), leading travel agencies (16 awards), excellent performance (four awards) and Travel Hall of Fame for winning ten awards since 1989 (ten awards).

Moveable Feast offers a new dining experience

Have you ever moved through different restaurants to have your meal served? If not, try the inaugural Moveable Feast that will be held on Saturday, from 6.30-8.30pm.

The special feast will start with canapes and cocktails in the courtyard of the fashion store Chula, overlooking West Lake. The connoisseurs then will move to the Warehouse on Xuan Dieu Street, where they can enjoy a panoramic view of West Lake while indulging in their entree. Main courses will be served on the roof terrace of the Hanoi Cooking Centre before moving to Pots'n Pans to chill-out in style with sweets.

Electric buggies will provide the transport for diners to all locations. Tickets, including transportation, entertainment, meal and beverages, are available from Pots'n Pans, 57 Bui Thi Xuan Street; the Hanoi Cooking Centre, 44 Chau Long Street; and Chapi Aspirant, 38A Nguyen Truong To Street. For further info, contact Chapi Aspirant at (04) 39270479, email info@chapiaspirant.com.

Vietnam Airlines to add more flights during Tet

The national flag carrier Vietnam Airlines plans to add more flights during the upcoming Tet holiday season to meet the increasing demand, from January 19 to February 16, 2014.

From October 2, the airlines will begin selling tickets for the Tet holiday season. The carrier plans to conduct 835 flights on nine of the busiest routes that are most in demand during Tet.

Vietnam Airlines will open an additional 385 flights on the Hanoi-Ho Chi Minh City route, and 218 flights on the Da Nang-HCMC route.

On other routes, namely HCMC-Nha Trang/Vinh/ Hai Phong/ Thanh Hoa, the airline will increase an additional seven flights.

Besides these, the carrier will arrange a round-the-clock schedule for a number of night flights just before and after Tet, between January 25-29 and from February 2-9.

An Giang Province to close paths leading to Cam Mountain

The People’s Committee of the southern province of An Giang has asked authorities in Tinh Bien District to prohibit vehicles from travelling to Cam Mountain as there is likelihood of landslides during the rainy season.

Due to continuous heavy rainfall in recent days, paths to the peak of the mountain have become landslide prone and as many as three spots are already highly susceptible, including Do, Cuu Nan and a hill under Do.

According to the Institute of Geophysics, Cam Mountain has 220 landslide-prone sites along its 2.5 kilometer path up the mountain, and 126 big boulders have become a serious threat.

After authorities issue the ban, transport of essential items to people living on the mountaintop will take place in the early mornings and afternoons.

An Hao Commune authorities will help take children to schools.

Phu Quoc lacks hotels for Russians

Although travel firms plan to take Russian tourists in droves to Phu Quoc Island on chartered flights, the plan may not be realized as the island is lacking hotels meeting three-star standards or higher for tourists.

Since Phu Quoc International Airport was put into operation, Russia-based Pegas Touristik and its local partner Anh Duong Co. have many times studied tourism of Phu Quoc Island to take Russian tourists there.

“We need a maximum of 500 rooms per day but a lack of hotel rooms makes the plan uneasy to be executed,” said Hoang Thi Phong Thu, chairwoman of Anh Duong Co.

The firm has received supports from the island’s government and the airport’s management board in seeking hotels and plans to operate two to four chartered flights to the island each month at first.

“We hope to operate chartered flights this December or next January,” she said.

Le Minh Hoang, director of Kien Giang Province’s Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism, admitted that the island did not have enough decent hotel rooms.

Phu Quoc currently has around 2,900 rooms, 2,400 of which are qualified enough for tourists. From now until 2015, small and medium projects will only supply 500-700 new rooms, which will still be insufficient, according to Hoang.

Pegas Touristik and Anh Duong are currently the two companies taking the highest number of Russian tourists to Vietnam. From October 20 to next April, there will be 72 chartered flights taking tourists from Russia to Cam Ranh Airport in Nha Trang City each month so that tourists can visit Khanh Hoa, Binh Thuan and Ninh Thuan provinces.

A representative of Pegas Touristik said last month that the firm planned to take around one million Russian tourists to Vietnam in the next five years.

Int’l conference on religious tourism opens next month

An international conference on religious tourism will be held in Vietnam for the first time next month by the World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) and the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism.

The conference in the northern province of Ninh Binh on November 21-22 with 300 local and foreign representatives focuses on religious tourism as the highly potential tourism segment in Vietnam, according to the tourism ministry.

At the event, State officials, companies and tourism researchers will discuss related contents on planning, management, preservation and exploitation and development of tourism associated with religious activities.

It is expected that the contents on management and sustainable development of religious tourist attractions, the trend of tourism product development in combination with experiences of many nations in developing this kind of tourism activity will bring a new view for the country to develop the segment.

The tourism industry is still unable to have statistics and specific strategies on religious tourism as well as the contributions of visitors to the segment. However, tourism in provinces like An Giang, Ninh Binh and Quang Ninh reported that millions of visitors take tours and make pilgrimages at the same time or visit popular religious tourist sites in their localities annually.

Source: SGT/SGGP/VNA/VNS/VOV/ND