Vietnam to continue launching tours to world’s largest cave

Quang Binh People’s Committee announced on Friday that the central province will continue to launch tours to its Son Doong Cave - the world’s current largest- which is part of the UNESCO-recognized Phong Nha – Ke Bang National Park.

Within one year, 243 tourists were taken safely into the cave on tours launched on a piloting basis.

Recognizing the tour’s success in drawing international tourists to Phong Nha – Ke Bang Park and contributing massive revenues to the province’s budget, the provincial People’s Committee decided to allow Oxalis, the tour provider, to launch more such tours.

The committee added that they will help develop the tours on a larger, professional scale.

The tours to Son Doong Cave, which last five days and four nights, offer adventure-seeking tourists opportunities to do trekking on an average of 10km a day and scale mountains at a height of at least 500m.

Tourists will also learn how to cross swift-flowing rivers and springs, climb rocky mountains with kits, explore grottos and master survival skills in extreme conditions.

New tours will be conducted from January to August in 2015, which means before and after the rainy, stormy season.

Son Doong Cave, which has a large fast-flowing underground river inside, was found by a local resident named Ho Khanh in 1991.

The cave became public after a group of British scientists from the British Cave Research Association, led by Howard and Deb Limbert, conducted a survey in Phong Nha-Ke Bang, a UNESCO World Heritage Site in April 2009.

According to the Limberts, Son Doong Cave is five times larger than the Phong Nha Cave, previously considered the biggest cave in Vietnam. The biggest chamber of Son Doong is more than five kilometers long, 200 meters high, and 150 meters wide.

With such large dimensions, Son Doong overtakes Deer Cave in Malaysia to grab the title of the world's largest cave.

First high-class tourism complex in North Central Coast

The Vietnam National Administration of Tourism has recognized Sun Spa Resort as the first five-star resort in the North Central Coast.

Sun Spa Resort is tourism complex in Quang Binh province. The entertainment spot has nearly 300 rooms, beautiful beach, an international standard swimming pool and high-standard facilities.

From the beginning to date in this year, the resort has welcomed more than 32,000 tourists who traveled to Quang Binh to visit famous destinations and the grave of General Vo Nguyen Giap in the Vung Chua-Dao Yen area.

First resort in Quang Binh province to earn five-star rating

The Sun Spa Resort has become the first catering establishment in central Quang Binh province to receive the five-star rating.

The rating was given by the Vietnam National Administration of Tourism and is valid for three years.

The resort, run by Truong Thinh Tourism Company, covers 24 hectares on the Bao Ninh peninsula in Dong Hoi city, about 50 kilometres from UNESCO-recognised caves of Phong Nha.

Boasting a dedicated beach, the resort consists of 234 rooms overlooking the sea with high quality equipment to bring the maximum comfort to the guests.

The resort also features international standard restaurants, bars, swimming pools and other sporting facilities.

Truong Thinh Company Director Vo Thi Phuong Anh said after 10 years of being put into use, the resort has gradually strengthened its position in Vietnam’s hospitality industry thanks to its effort to bring excellent services to tourists.

Tiger Airways expected to launch Danang-Taiwan service

Authorities of Danang City are cooperating with foreign low-cost carrier Tiger Airways in a plan to open an air route linking the central coastal city with Taiwan.

Tran Chi Cuong, deputy director of the Danang Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism, said the two sides are working toward launching the air route next month in order to attract more visitors from Chinese-speaking markets, which are important to the city’s tourism and hospitality industry.

Chinese visitor arrivals in Danang have shown signs of improving as eight out of 13 chartered flights between China and Danang have resumed after an interruption caused by China’s illegal deployment of a giant oil rig and a large number of escort ships in Vietnam’s waters.

Cuong said each chartered flight brought 150-160 Chinese tourists to Danang before suspension. Currently, Chinese passengers on chartered flights to the city are 60-70% of the number and are on the rise.

“More chartered flights have been restarted,” Cuong stressed and added that the tourism sector of Danang expected the Shanghai-Danang route would be reopened soon.

China is the biggest foreign visitor-generating market of Danang City, contributing more than 100,000 arrivals last year, and most of them traveled to the city on chartered flights.

After the East Sea tensions, the number of Chinese visitors to the city tumbled, leading to sharp declines in room occupancy at the local hotels serving Chinese tourists.

AirAsia resumes flights to Danang

In addition to resumption of more chartered flights from China, Asia’s leading low-cost airline group AirAsia has reopened its service between Malaysia and Danang after more than a year of suspension.

The Civil Aviation Administration of Vietnam (CAAV) said AirAsia is the only foreign carrier to operate direct flights between Malaysia’s Kuala Lumpur and Danang International Airport. As scheduled, the airline’s aircraft lands at 1:30 p.m. and takes off at 2 p.m. on Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays and Sundays.

Spencer Lee, head of commercial at AirAsia Berhad, said Danang is the third destination in Vietnam that the airline flies to after HCMC and Hanoi. “Danang is the fast-growing economic center of central Vietnam and located near two UNESCO-recognized cultural heritage sites – the ancient town of Hoi An and the former imperial capital of Hue.”

Lee noted that adding Danang to AirAsia’s flight network will help bring more foreign travelers to Danang, particularly those who book the carrier’s Fly-Thru service as it is convenient for them to board the carrier’s connecting flights to the central city of Vietnam.  

AirAsia terminated its weekly Kuala Lumpur-Danang flights on Monday, Wednesday, Friday and Sunday in mid-June last year, less than two years after it commenced the route as part of its network re-alignment plan.

AirAsia now operates some 160 planes for its flights to 95 destinations in and outside Malaysia, including ASEAN, China, India and Australia.

Jetstar Pacific launches promotional deals for travelers

Budget carrier Jetstar Pacific has launched a series of promotional deals for travelers in Vietnam to travel to their favourite holiday locations in Asia.

The promotion coincides with the airline’s participation in an international travel expo ongoing in Ho Chi Minh City – ITE-HCMC 2014.

Customers visiting their pavilionat the expo from September 11-13 can get huge discounts on ticketson a wide selection of deals.

Tickets for flights on routes from Ho Chi Minh City to Thailand start at VND199,000 and from Ho Chi Minh City to Singapore at VND299,000.For domestic routes, a ticket from Ho Chi Minh City to Buon Ma Thuat, Cam Ranh or Phu Quoc range from VND180,000 to 210,000.

The Ho Chi Minh City-Hanoi fare is as low as VND580, 000.

The airline is also giving away tickets on some international routes to lucky customers for participating in games at the airline’s booth at the expo.

Vietnam promotes tourism in Belgium

The national flag carrier Vietnam Airlines presented Vietnam as a tourist destination to Belgian and Asian officials and travel agents at an event in Brussels on September 9 aiming to promote tourism in the Southeast Asian nation.

Le Chi Quan, Manager of Vietnam Airlines’ Marketing and Sales Department in Europe, spoke of the airline’s fleet, domestic and international flight routes, as well as its customer services and promotions.

The airline also launched promotional fares for return flights booked by December 31, 2014 for the Brussels-Hanoi and Brussels-HCMC routes.

According to Le Dung, chief representative of Vietnam Airlines in Europe, the airline plans to open a new routes to Europe in 2015.

The International Travel Expo Ho Chi Minh City 2014 (ITE HCMC), themed ‘Five countries, one destination’, officially opened at the Saigon Exhibition and Convention Centre (SECC) in District 7 on September 10.

The opening ceremony was attended by Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism, Hoang Tuan Anh; Chairman of the Ho Chi Minh City People’s Committee, Le Hoang Quan; leaders in the tourism industry of Cambodia, Lao, Myanmar, Thailand; and the mayors of Phnom Penh, Vientiane, Yangon and Bangkok.

The event, co-organised by Vietnam National Administration of Tourism and the Ho Chi Minh City Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism, attracted the participation of businesses from 26 Vietnamese provinces and 18 other countries and territories.

The ITE HCMC, initiated by the Mekong Tourism Alliance, which groups Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, Thailand and Vietnam, aims to tap into the region’s tourism potential and strengthen co-operation between the Mekong countries regarding tourism development.

Under the framework of the ITE HCMC 2014, a lantern boat festival themed ‘Ho Chi Minh City - brimming with life’ will take place along the Saigon River for the first time.

On the occasion, the exhibition’s organising board presented Mekong Tourism Alliance Awards to businesses excelling in tourism in each of the five countries.

This year’s event runs from September 11 to 13.

Thailand offers longer visa-free stays for Vietnamese

Thailand has allowed Vietnamese passport holders to extend their visa-free stays to 30 days apart from the current visa exemption of 30 days.

According to the Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) office in HCMC, the new policy of Thailand has taken effect since late last month and is applicable to visitors from Vietnam and 47 other countries and territories which contribute half of annual international arrivals in Thailand.

The cost of extending the visa-free period is 1,900 baht (around US$54.9).

Thailand is a popular destination for Vietnamese travelers. But Thai political unrest in previous months caused Vietnamese arrivals to drop in the first months of this year as travel agencies suspended their tours and had not reopened such tours until two months ago.

Figures of TAT showed more than 371,000 Vietnamese people visited Thailand in the first half of this year, down over 13% year-on-year. To attract Vietnamese travelers, the tourism sector of Thailand is running a host of promotions in Vietnam.

Thailand’s eastern provinces of Chonburi, Rayong, Chanthaburi and Trat will be joining a road show in HCMC on September 10 to promote their tourism products and services.

Whale worshipping festival in Can Gio

The annual Nghinh Ong (whale worshipping) festival attracts thousands of tourists to Can Gio around this time of the year. Nghinh Ong Festival is a significant festival for fishermen to pray for good weather, prosperity and safety.

The festival has been taking place from last Friday with many folk games such as a net casting contest, a fishing net mending contest, stilt racing, boat racing and many other exciting activities.

The official ceremony of Nghinh Ong festival was held on Tuesday with hundreds of boats in different sizes, decorated with colorful flags and flowers, setting sail on the sea from Can Gio to Vung Tau port to greet the sacred god of the sea.

VNS/SGT/VNA/SGGP