Foreign press hails a hospitable Vietnam  
The success of the 17th ASEAN Summit and related summits in Hanoi was mainly due to the contributions of many news agencies.

Vietnam is friendly and hospitable, said most of the foreign journalists attending the 17th ASEAN Summit. According to Tsuruo Mochizuki, representative head of Japan’s NHK in Asia, this summit featured many important events and meetings among countries in the region and their partners.

All these events were well organised and related information was up to date. This is the fourth time Mochizuki has visited Vietnam and he said he always has a good impression of a beautiful country with friendly people. The working conditions for the journalists were also very good.

This was the first time Fatt Famon Rasa, a reporter from Indonesia Television, worked in the country, and he faced no difficulty. The modern equipment and high-speed network in the Vietnam National Convention Centre were very convenient for his work. The Vietnamese volunteers and journalists were willing to help when he needed to transfer information and images from the Summit to Indonesia.

Ramez, a reporter from Singapore’s journalist delegation, said that he and his colleagues received great support from volunteers and they were provided with timely information on bus schedules and important events.

We were very happy and hope to have a chance to work in Vietnam again, said many journalists during their meeting with VOV reporters at the end of the summit.

Nearly 1,000 foreign journalists worked in Hanoi during the 17th ASEAN Summit and the related summits.
Hanoi Railway Station announces Tet sales 

Hanoi Railway Station will begin selling train tickets for the Lunar New Year season on November 1 and tickets for rush route will be up by 25% and tickets for poorly patronized route -down  10%-81%. 

Especially, ticket fare of Thong Nhat train’s north-south route, which depart from January 19 – 24, 2011 and from January 25 to February 1, is VND140,000 (US$7) per hard-seat.

Customers can buy tickets by phone or on the internet, at the station and local agencies.

During the peak season, customers are required to present identification ID.

Ticket refunds must be made at lease ten hours before departure and are subject to a 30% fee.

Jetstar says will service more flights for Lunar New Year 

Vietnam’s low cost airline Jetstar Pacific has said it would increase domestic flights to meet soaring travel demand during the Lunar New Year, which falls on February 3.    
Jetstar Pacific said it would add one daily service to the HCM City – Hanoi schedule, four flights for HCM City – Da Nang and two flights for Da Nang – Hanoi.

The routes from HCM City to Hue, Vinh and Hai Phong will also be increased to two flights per day.

Jetstar is running a cheap ticket program with ticket price from VND300,000 (US$15) per ticket, which runs until November 1.

The program aims to stimulate travel demand during Tet holiday, said a representative of Jetstar.

The cheap tickets are applied for flights from Hanoi, Hai Phong, Vinh, Da Nang and Hue to Ho Chi Minh City, which depart from January 26 – February 3, 2011.

The cheap tickets are also applied for flights from Ho Chi Minh City to Da Nang and Hanoi, which depart from February 14 – 19, 2011.

VND70 billion for Ha Tinh flood victims  
Domestic and foreign organisations have provided relief aid worth VND70 billion for flood victims in the central province of Ha Tinh as of October 29.

Le Dinh Son, Vice Chairman of Ha Tinh provincial People’s Committee, said the province supported supplying corn seeds and vegetables to farmers, and 17.5 tonnes of vegetables and 40 tonnes of corn seeds were delivered to flood victims.

Each family will be provided 15 kg of rice per month for three months.

On the same day, East Asia University in coordination with Da Nang City’s Small-and-Medium-sized Enterprises Association collected more than VND530 million for flood victims in Nghe An and Ha Tinh provinces. The assistance was donated by students, businesses, individuals and organisations in Da Nang City.  

Dinner reception for leaders attending 17th ASEAN Summit  
Vietnam’s Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung and his wife hosted a dinner to welcome leaders attending the 17th ASEAN Summit and related summits at the National Conference Centre in Hanoi on October 29.

PM Dung warmly welcomed kings, Government and State leaders, and heads of delegations attending the event, an important part of every ASEAN Summit.

He emphasised that this is an opportunity for delegates to meet and exchange ideas in a friendly atmosphere to help strengthen friendship, and promote mutual understanding.

PM Dung said he believes the welcome dinner will promote new views of the different cultures of each ASEAN country and a bridge towards solidarity in the region.

The dinner included arts performances by the ASEAN symphony orchestra and the National Song, Dance and Light Music Theatre.

Vietnam to receive 5 million foreign visitors  
Vietnam expects to welcome 5 million visitors this year, up by 800,000 over the yearly target, according to the tourism sector.

In the first ten months of this year, almost 4.2 million foreign tourists arrived in Vietnam, up 39 percent over the same period last year, according to the General Statistics Office.

In October - the month of the 1000th anniversary of Thang Long-Hanoi, the number of tourists arriving in Vietnam increased sharply with over 440,000, higher by 99.3 percent over the same period last year.

Tourists from Asian countries also rose rapidly, including China, the Republic of Korea and Japan.

Tourist numbers from ASEAN countries also increased strongly, by 97.2 percent from Cambodia, over 41 percent from Thailand and 28.4 percent from Malaysia.

ASEAN delegates’ families visit Vietnam Museum of Ethnology  
A delegation, including wives and husbands of high-ranking foreign delegates taking part in the 17th ASEAN Summit, paid a visit to Vietnam Museum of Ethnology in Hanoi on October 29.

Tran Thanh Kiem, wife of Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung and Ngo Thi Thanh Hang, Vice Chairwoman of Hanoi municipal People’s Committee, also took part in the event.

Participants toured around rooms displaying objects of Vietnam’s 54 ethnic groups featuring culture, and religious objects as well as clothing.

Later, the delegation went sightseeing around Viet House and joined in a banquet there. Then, they visited a project to fight against HIV in Tu Liem Healthcare Centre in Hanoi. 

More help arrives in central provinces  
The Vietnam Red Cross (VRC) on October 27 announced that VND35.745 billion has been raised so far for flood victims in central Vietnam.

Of the sum, VND8 billion came from mobile phone massages via the 1400 switchboard, VND17 billion from domestic organisations and individuals, and over VND10 billion from foreign friends.

The VRC and other international organisations provided the provinces of Nghe An, Ha Tinh, Quang Binh, Quang Tri and Thua Thien-Hue with food and beverages worth of VND12 billion. 

It also donated 1,000 cattles worth VND7 billion to the flood victims in Nghe An, Ha Tinh and Quang Binh.

An Giang province allocated VND350 million from its budget to Nghe An, Ha Tinh and Quang Binh.

Vietnamese entrepreneurs oversea sent VND1 billion to Nghe An and Ha Tinh.

The Danone Corporation handed over 2 tonnes of milk, nearly 200,000 bottles of fresh water and medicines worth over VND1 billion to the VRC on October 28.

Oxfam Vietnam has been running a 3-month project in 12 flooded communes in Ha Tinh, where US$350,000 will be distributed to 40,000 people.

PV