French cruise ship visits Viet Nam

French-flagged cruise ship Princess Danae arrived in Ha Long Bay on Tuesday with 500 passengers and crew members on board for a six-day trip around Viet Nam.

Saigontourist said the visitors went to popular destinations like Ha Long Bay, Hon Gai fishing village, and Bai Tho Mountain besides attractions in Ha Noi.

On Wednesday Princess Danae berthed at Tien Sa Port in Da Nang for passengers to go around the central coastal city and the neighbouring provinces of Quang Nam and Thua Thien-Hue.

The tourists will also visit HCM City and the Mekong Delta city of My Tho before leaving Viet Nam on Sunday.

Cheap holiday tours snapped up

More customers are booking tours during Liberation Day (April 30) and May Day thanks to discounts and promotions.

Vietravel said there is a flat discount of VND2 million for tours to the north, VND1 million for central provinces, and VND500,000 for coastal destinations like Phu Quoc and Nha Trang.

Vitour has rolled out a programme called "Central Paradise" targeting people who want to travel to ecological spots in the central region such as Ba Na, Bach Ma, and Cu Lao Cham Island. Cao Tri Dung, deputy director of Vitour, said the programme has become popular.

Doan Thi Thanh Tra, marketing director of Saigontourist Travel Service Co, said the number of bookings for outbound tours has been rising significantly since Saigontourist offered more than 50 low-priced overseas tours for the holidays. The company hopes to sell 15,000-16,000 tours during the four-day holiday.

Country seeks to attract Russians

The Viet Nam National Administration of Tourism (VNAT) has unveiled a plan to triple the number of Russian visitors last year to 300,000 by 2014.

To achieve this, the VNAT plans to participate in a series of fairs in Russia and organise road shows and publicity campaigns there, Nguyen Thi Thanh Huong, deputy head of its markets department, said.

The national tourism authority will also arrange FAM (familiarisation) trips to Viet Nam for Russian journalists.

Human resources and services will be improved in some favourite destinations for Russian visitors such as Binh Thuan, Khanh Hoa, Da Nang, and Quang Nam.

Tourism Day fest promotes local trips

The eighth annual HCM City Tourism Day Festival, which opened yesterday, April 12, aims to promote more domestic tours.

The event, held in the 23/9 Park in District 1 until Sunday, is co-organised by the Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism and the HCM City Tourism Association.

According to La Quoc Khanh, deputy director of the department, the main purpose of the festival is to act as a bridge between travel companies and customers.

The highlight of this year's event is the Sac Mau Le Hoi Viet Nam (Colours of Vietnamese Festivals), which honours city tourism brands.

The festival features a tourism fair with more than 150 booths set up by 80 travel companies.

Vietnamese and international cuisine is showcased at 20 other booths.

A photo exhibition titled "Anh Dep Le Hoi Viet Nam" (Beautiful Photos of Vietnamese Festivals), highlights landscapes around Viet Nam.

A performance of don ca tai tu (southern amateur music) is another major attraction of the event.

Also included in the event this year is the International Tourism Exhibition and the "HCM City – 100 interesting things" programme.

People making tour bookings at the event are expected to win prizes and freebies.

Trinh Cong Ly, director of Soc Trang Province's Tourism Promotion Centre, said this event was a good opportunity for travel businesses in the city and other provinces to exchange experiences and call for investment and cooperation to better exploit the tourism potential and improve tourism services.

Nguyen Minh Man of Vietravel Company, said the festival was being held close to the budget tourism area on Pham Ngu Lao Street in District 1.

Around 300,000 visitors are expected to participate in the festival this year, up from 200,000 last year, according to the organisers.

Last year HCM City raked in revenues of VND56 trillion (US$2.7 billion) from tourism, or 11 per cent of the country's total, according to the city's Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism.

It welcomed 3.5 million international visitors and 14 million domestic visitors.

VietNamNet/Viet Nam News