Tour discovers Vietnamese civilisations

Join a tour to the Viet Nam Museum of History this Saturday to discover how a variety of civilisations have shaped Vietnamese history.

Hosted by Friends of Viet Nam Heritage (FVH) – a group of Ha Noi foreign residents who work voluntarily to promote and preserve Vietnamese cultural and historical heritage - the English-speaking tour will start at 8.15am.

Along the way, visitors will take a look at the development of such crafts as bronze making, ceramics and woodcarving.

Then, while taking a short break in the atmospheric courtyard, they will learn about the important architecture of the museum and the contribution of French craftsmen to the current atmosphere of Ha Noi.

Visitors will go back inside the museum to learn about major events that have made Viet Nam the unique country it is today. This is followed by lunch and a discussion in the museum cafe.

To join, contact Roman Szlam at FVH.CityWalks.English@gmail.com. Limit: 12 people.

World hospitality, tourism sector has high expectations

Globally, businesses in the hospitality and tourism industries are the most bullish about both revenues and profits in the next 12 months, a study by auditing and consulting firm Grant Thornton has found.

The Q2 International Business Report released on Tuesday says around 63 per cent of business leaders in the industry globally expect revenues to climb over the next 12 months.

It is as high as 72 per cent in the Asia-Pacific region.

The global average (for all industries) is 48 per cent.

More than half of business leaders in hospitality and tourism expect to see profits rise, and, again, Asia-Pacifics even more bullish (63 per cent).

This is well above the global average (for all industries) of 36 per cent.

But in Viet Nam, not all sectors in the industry will perform to the same level because of the reduced growth in visitor arrivals and the change in the structure of visitors.

In the first five months of this year visitor arrivals actually declined by 1.4 per cent, and it was only due to improved performances in June and July that there was a 5.9 per cent increase in the first seven months.

"Viet Nam is lagging behind the growth seen in neighbouring countries and urgent action needs to be taken by the Government to ensure that this important sector, which contributes significantly to the country's GDP, does not get left behind," Grant Thornton Vietnam general director Ken Atkinson said.

"Urgent action needs to be taken in reviewing the visa on arrival and visa exemption policies, investment in tourism marketing campaigns, and urgent action to stop bad practices and services which damage not only the industry but the country and all Vietnamese people," he said.

National Day holiday sees tourists throng

The long National Day holiday, stretching from August 31 to September 2, has helped fuelled the flow of visitors to popular tourist destinations across the country.

It was no surprise that the mausoleum of President Ho Chi Minh in Hanoi was among the most crowded places on this occasion, with nearly 52,000 visitors coming from all corners of the country to pay tribute to the nation’s beloved father during the three-day period.

According to the Management Board of the mausoleum, during the National Day (September 2) alone, as many as 31,643 people queued up for their turn to see the great leader and the famous stilt house where he used to live and work.

In the central region, the complex of ancient royal relics in Hue city in the Thua Thien-Hue province opened to visitors free of charge for the National Day, attracting about 30,000 tourists.

The UNESCO-recognised world cultural heritage site has also launched a promotion month for September with numerous activities such as exhibitions and music shows, while offering lower ticket and service prices, to attract more visitors.

The beautiful beaches and resorts in the southern central province of Binh Thuan drew about 50,000 visitors, while the southern province of An Giang welcomed three times as many tourists from the same period last year who came to worship at local pagodas or enjoy local natural beauty and the unique culture of ethnic communities.

Buying power on National Day surges

Thanks to attractive promotion programs on the National Day holiday and the start of the Sales Month of September, supermarkets in HCMC have been crowded with customers in the past days.

As observed by the Daily, the parking lot of Big C Go Vap supermarket was congested due to a large number of customers flocking there to shop. Besides, aisles inside the market were full of shoppers and there were long lines of people queuing at the cashier, as products at the supermarket are discounted by up to 50%.

Similarly, Co.opmart Nguyen Kiem supermarket has also been similarly crowded since last Saturday.

Co.opmart supermarkets are running a promotion program on Vietnamese goods with discounts on as many as 2,000 product lines.

Hoang Anh from Saigon Co.op said that the purchasing power last Saturday and Sunday increased by over 50% compared to normal days and was also higher than other weekends. The consumption of fresh food products rocketed up by 70-80%.

“Such growth partly results from the short holiday when people still stay in the city and spend money. Another reason is attractive promotion programs,” he said.

Although the number of customers at electronics supermarkets is not as crowded as at supermarkets selling essential goods, the situation is still better than before.

Speaking to the Daily on Monday, Dinh Anh Huan, general director of the store chain Dienmay.com, said that the chain’s revenues earned on September 1-2 were higher than those earned in the Reunification Day-May Day holiday and increased by nearly 100% compared to other days.

Laptops, electric rice cookers, electric fans and gas stoves are among products that sell well as students are beginning the new school year, he added.

In related development, the Big Sale Month Fair is taking place at Phu Tho Sports Center in HCMC’s District 11 and is the opening event of the city’s Big Sale Month program which will last one month.

According to the organizers, the fair which will end today consists of 400 booths of apparels, footwear, food, cosmetics, handicrafts and electronics. Customers can enjoy deep discounts or be given gifts when buying products there.

According to a representative of the HCMC Department of Industry and Trade as the organizer, there will be 3,000 venues selling discounted products of over 850 enterprises citywide with discounts of 5-49%, gifts and lucky draws for customers during this month.

200 Japanese tourists on charity tour of Vietnam

Around 200 Japanese tourists, who are mostly students from Tokyo, Nagoya, and Osaka, will visit HCMC for volunteering and charity purposes.

According to organizer Fiditour, the special guests are divided into seven groups who started visiting the city from August 2 and the last group finishes up on September 18.

During their five to six day tour, participants travel around and donate gifts to Agent Orange/dioxin victims and visit disadvantaged children.

Fiditour also unveiled that recently they have received many bookings for tours accompanied with charity purposes from Japanese, Singaporean and Australian guests.

At the year-end, the travel agency will host another tour for Singaporean students.

Danang's hotels and resorts see the upturn

Danang’s hotel and resort market has experienced an upturn thanks to the increasing numbers of tourist arrivals and better services, according to the Alternaty-Alternative Real Estate Company Limited.

According to its latest newsletter last week, tourist arrivals had increased every year since 2006, with a compounded annual growth rate of 16.1 per cent. In the first half of this year, arrivals reached 1.5 million, up 16.4 per cent year-on-year. Arrivals in the second quarter were especially strong due to the International Fireworks Competition held in April, which attracted an estimated 395,000 visitors.

Arrivals are expected to continue to grow by an average of 14.5 per cent per annum to reach four million by 2015 and eight million by 2020. This means that in only three years from 2012 - 2015, arrivals are expected to increase by 1.3 million visitors, or a staggering 48 per cent increase.

“Should this forecast prove accurate and with limited additional supply expected to come online during this period, the existing properties can expect a continued upward march in occupancy and room rates, particularly during the high seasons,” Alternaty said.

According to Alternaty, international arrivals from China accounted for an incredible 50 per cent of total international arrivals to Danang. Although the Russian market dominates arrivals in other coastal destinations such as Nha Trang and Mui Ne, they have yet to make their presence felt in Danang.

However, it seems that midscale resorts are increasingly turning their attention on capturing this market by signing deals with some of the major Russian travel agents who are purchasing large blocks of room inventory. International arrivals from Russia are expected grow.

The Ho Chi Minh City-based real estate firm said that occupancy of hotels in the central city reached around 65 per cent and tended to be less volatile compared with resorts as they are able to mitigate low seasons with Meeting, Incentive, Conference and Events (MICE) and corporate business from Ho Chi Minh City and Hanoi.

Nguyen Duc Quynh, deputy executive assistant manager of Furama Resort Danang, a 5-star hotel, told VIR that organising events was one way to attract visitors.

Quynh added that the hotel’s convention facilities featured the largest grand ballroom in central Vietnam. Revenue from events in eight months of this year accounted for 35 per cent of the hotel’s total revenue.

Danang authorities planned to brand the coastal city as the “city of events”, with it hoping to host APEC and ASEAN meetings and public events such as fireworks performances.

According to Quynh, hotel supply in Danang had rapidly increased in recent years.

According to Alternaty, the city hotels were dominated by one to three stars properties, offering value for money at very low price points, with average room rates in the range of $15 to $35 per night.

Upmarket hotels were setting room rates at around $45 per night and had so far succeeded in justifying a contained price premium over local products.

However, rates remain far below that of the resort segment. Local beachside resorts and particularly internationally managed and high end boutique resorts were achieving average room rates in the range of $140 per night with the lowest being below $110 for the newly opened or newly rebranded properties with the upper level being $170 - $180 for the more established names.

Rates typically fall by 20-25 per cent in the low season.

Vietnam Airlines offers cheap tickets

The national flag carrier of Vietnam (Vietnam Airlines) will launch a ticket sales programme called “Welcoming International Travel Expo 2013” with preferential prices.

Accordingly, passengers can buy cheap return tickets on 31 outbound flights  from Hanoi, HCM City, Danang and Nhatrang to 28 international destinations exploited by Vietnam Airlines from VND199,000(US$9) to VND8.5 million ( US$399).

For instance, a return flight ticket costs VND199,000 (US$9) from HCM City to Thanh Do and VND838.000 (US$39) from Hanoi, HCM City to Bangkok, Singapore, Kuala lumpur, Phnompenh and Yagon.

The return flight between Nhatrang and Moscow is most expensive at VND8.5 million (US$399).

Besides, Vietnam Airlines also offers cheap tickets for individual passengers on inbound flight and cheap package tour tickets for both inbound and outbound flights.

Thua Thien-Hue’s tourism revenue rises 14%

The central province of Thua Thien-Hue has welcomed 1.8 million tourists so far this year with revenue increasing 14% from 2012 to VND1.65 trillion (US$78.8 million).

Foreign arrivals, at 690,000, accounted for 18.5% of the total visitors. Almost one fifth among them (18%) are from Thailand, 2% higher from a year earlier. Tourists from the Republic of Korea were the second largest group, followed by those from France, Germany, Australia, the UK, the US and Japan.

The rise in the number of Thai tourists is attributable to the improved road system in the East-West Economic Corridor, which connects Vietnam, Laos and Thailand.

According to Director of the provincial Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism Phan Tien Dung, the province’s tourism is expected to enjoy growth in the coming time when the Phu Bai airport reopens on September 20 after upgrading.

This September, the province is carrying a tourism promotion programme to celebrate the 20th year since the recognition of Hue ancient imperial relics as part of the world cultural heritage. The programme also marks the 10th anniversary of Nha Nhac (Court Music)’s inclusion in the world intangible cultural heritage.

A ceremony to celebrate the two anniversaries will be held on September 29.

In addition, Hue city will host a conference of world heritage sites in Vietnam on the occasion.

Vietnam urged to upgrade tourism services

UK-based auditing and business advisory services firm Grant Thornton has warned in a recent report that Vietnam needs to take urgent action to end poor quality hospitality and tourism services.

Grant Thornton Vietnam’s general director Ken Atkinson said Vietnam’s tourism growth was lagging behind neighbouring countries, and urgent action needed to be taken by the Vietnamese government to ensure that the sector, which contributes significantly to the country's GDP, does not get left behind.

Atkinson, chief of the Vietnam Business Forum Working Group for Hospitality and Tourism, and vice chairman of the Vietnam Tourism Advisory Board, expressed his concerns as he announced Grant Thornton’s second quarter International Business Report results last week.

He added urgent action needed to be taken in reviewing the policy on visas on arrival and visa exemptions, as well as investment into tourism marketing campaigns.

According to the report, Asia Pacific continues to see strong tourism growth, with Myanmar experiencing a 30 per cent increase, Cambodia 18 per cent and Thailand 20 per cent growth in the first seven months of the year.

Vietnam in contrast experienced a 1.4 per cent fall in the first five months, according to Grant Thornton. However, due to improved performance in June and July, Vietnam achieved a 5.9 per cent increase in the first seven months.

Atkinson added Vietnam was now seeing strong growth in the number of arrivals from Russia, South Korea and Japan.

“We believe in large part this is due to the visa exemption policy. But we are seeing a decline in visitors from Europe and North America.”

According to the report, the BRIC economies (Brazil, Russia, India and China) continue to drive global tourism thanks to their burgeoning middle classes who are increasingly able and willing to spend their new wealth.

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