103 million visitors targeted for 2019

Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism Nguyen Ngoc Thien has proposed the Vietnam National Administration of Tourism set a target to welcome 103 million travelers in 2019, including 18 million international arrivals, aiming to develop the tourism sector into a spearhead industry, Nguoi Lao Dong newspaper reported.

Speaking at a recent conference held by the administration in Hanoi City to summarize the 2018 performance and draw up a plan for 2019, the minister asked the administration to promptly address shortcomings; tighten controls on destination management, quality of services and discounted tours; enhance competitiveness of tourism attractions; and focus on training tour guides.

Additionally, the Vietnam National Administration of Tourism was required to complete a report on the growth in the number of tourists in 2018, point out strengths and weaknesses of the country’s tourism sector; boost tourism promotion activities in targeted markets and expand into new markets; and cooperate with enterprises to develop the sector in 2019.

Vietnam enjoyed impressive results from the tourism sector this year, welcoming some 15.6 million international tourists and serving 80 million domestic travelers. Its total revenue was posted at VND620 trillion this year.

Sun World to offer 1,000 free entrance tickets during Tet

Sun World, the entertainment brand of Sun Group, are to offer 1,000 free entrance tickets to all its park nationwide during the upcoming Lunar New Year festival (Tet).

The promotional program applies to all customers who book tickets at a specific time, with some being lucky enough to pay the price of zero VND from the website www.ticket.sunworld.vn.

Accordingly, during the golden hours of 14:00-16:00 between January 6-10, 2019, 200 tickets to Sun World Parks will be sold at zero VND to lucky customers. Customers who log in to the website and fill out their personal information will receive tickets through email.

sun world to offer 1,000 free entrance tickets during tet hinh 1 They have to hand out identity cards or passports at customer care counters to receive their entrance tickets to Sun World’s parks such Sun World Ba Na Hills, Sun World Danang Wonders in Da Nang, Sun World Fansipan Legend in Sapa, Sun World Halong Complex in Ha Long, and Sun World Hon Thom Nature Park in Phu Quoc.

All tickets are valid from the day of booking until April 30, 2019.

In addition, a wide range of programs and festivals will be held for visitors during Tet at all Sun World Parks nationwide including a tulip festival in Sun World Ba Na Hills, flower festivals at Sun World Da Nang Wonders, Sun World Halong Complex, and Sun World Hon Thom Nature Park.

 

A pan-pipe festival will be organised at Sun World Fansipan Legend in Sa Pa in the northern province of Lao Cai.

Hanoi promotes tourism

Hanoi organized a ceremony on the first day of 2019 to welcome the first air travelers of the year. One of them was Timo Kux, a German national. He expressed his fondness for Vietnam’s beauty after visiting various local tourist sites.

Last year Hanoi welcomed more than 26 million visitors, 6 million of them were foreigners. The ceremony to welcome the first visitors of 2019 to the city is one of series of activities that Hanoi is holding to promote its tourism potential.

Speaking at the event, Director of the Hanoi Tourism Department Tran Duc Hai, said “Hanoi is a national political administrative center with rich tourism resources and attractive, high-quality tourist products. Local people’s hospitality and friendliness are also the city’s attraction.”

Hanoi has been selected as a favorite destination by foreign tourists during the past several years. The World Travel Award nominated Hanoi among other 17 cities for the award “The world’s leading city destination in 2018”.

This year the city hopes to receive more than 28 million tourists including 6.6 million foreigners, a growth of 9.8% against last year. The city is accelerating a project on upgrading the My Dinh Sports Complex to host the first Formula 1 racing by 2020.

The 7-day event would also include parades, a showcase of racing cars, and other events. The city also plans to build a US$500 million multifunctional entertainment complex with a horse racing course in Soc Son district. With its increasing investment in tourism infrastructure and promoting local attractions, the city expects to make a breakthrough it its tourism development in the near future.

Over 300 pavilions register for ASEAN Tourism Forum on Travel Exchange

Over 300 stalls have been registered for the upcoming ASEAN Tourism Forum on Travel Exchange slated for January 14-18 in Ha Long City in the northern province of Quang Ninh, according to the organising board of the 2019 ASEAN Tourism Forum (ATF).

The 3-day fair is the largest tourism event held in Southeast Asian, attracting the participation of businesses from across Vietnam and other ASEAN member states.

Organisers of the 2019 ATF said as of January 5, a total of 122 media agencies have registered for the event.

This year’s forum will draw more than 300 international delegates as well as including 30 official and sideline activities.

These include the ASEAN Tourism Ministers’ Meeting, related meetings with dialogue partners, a series of meetings, and surveys of Vietnam’s tourism products conducted by businesses and media agencies.
Diverse tourism promotion activities held across Khanh Hoa during 2018

Throughout 2018, the Nha Trang-Khanh Hoa Tourism Association coordinated alongside relevant agencies to organise a wide range of trade promotion activities that worked towards elevating the image of tourism in Khanh Hoa to both local and foreign visitors.

The association for example,cooperated with the Khanh Hoa Department of Tourism to participate in Vietnam International Travel Mart, VITM Hanoi 2018, which was held in late March and contained content focusing on the trend of online tourism.

Additionally, a gala dinner was also held in March under the framework of the VITM Hanoi to promote the image of Nha Trang to domestic and foreign travel companies.

Two important events were jointly held together by the Nha Trang-Khanh Hoa Tourism Association and more than 50 tourism and service businesses of Khanh Hoa. 

These include the participation in pavilions at the International Travel Expo (ITE-HCM City 2018), Business Matching and a gala to introduce the National Tourism Year and Sea Festival 2019.

Furthermore, the association has also called on tourism businesses in Khanh Hoa to take part in a wider range of international travel expos and trade promotion conferences in nations such as Russia, France, Germany, and the UK organised by the Vietnam National Administration of Tourism.

In 2019, the association will continue to coordinate with relevant agencies to organise training courses focusing on human resources, foreign languages such as Chinese and Korean as well as tourism management and tour guides.

This year, it also plans to make its debut at the Nha Trang-Khanh Hoa Tour Guide Association. 

Last year, Khanh Hoa province grossed more than VND20 trillion in tourism revenue, up 20.7 per cent compared to the same period last year.

Da Nang museum launches multilingual voice-over system

The Da Nang museum held a press conference on January 8 to launch its very own multilingual voice-over system for mobile applications, the data bank for Da Nang’s cultural heritages and tourism identification manual for Da Nang museum.

The multilingual voice-over system on mobile will help visitors gain insights into the museum’s information by using smartphones to scan QR Codes attached to the labels of artefacts. The system can support several visitors at a time.

The launch of the data bank for Da Nang cultural heritages has been an urgent requirement of the city as it aims to promote the use of information technology in collecting, preserving, and conserving the city’s cultural heritages.

Through the system, the museum can introduce the public to all manner of intangible and tangible aspects of Da Nang’s cultural heritages and the country in general. 

At present, Da Nang’s data bank system has preserved over 3, 300 documents regarding the city’s cultural heritages. It will officially open to the public on Tuesday and Thursday every week.

Huynh Duc Trung, head of the Travel Management Office of the Danang Tourism Department, said the launch of the multilingual voice-over system will contribute to spreading knowledge about the Dien Hai citadel, as well as other historic relics found in Da Nang city.

Mui Ne set to become national sea tourism centre in 2025

The well-known tourist attraction of Mui Ne in the south central province of Binh Thuan will be developed into a national hub for sea resort and sport tourism.

Under a master plan for the development of Mui Ne National Tourism Site in 2025 with a vision to 2030, which has been approved by the Prime Minister recently, Mui Ne’s infrastructure will be completed to attract strategic investors, making it an important site in the tourism industry of the coastal south central region and the whole country.

In 2030, Mui Ne National Tourism Site is envisioned to become one of the top destinations in the Asia-Pacific region.

The site is hoped to welcome about 9 million visitors, including 1.5 million foreigners in 2025. The respective figures are expected to reach 14 million and 2.5 million in 2030.

Tourism revenue of the site is set to hit about VND24 trillion (US$1.03 billion) in 2025 and about 50 trillion in 2030, according to the planning. The local tourism industry is expected to create 24,000 direct jobs in 2025 and more than 45,000 jobs in 2030.

The plan makes clear that traditional markets such as Russia, European and Southeast Asian countries will continue to be developed, while necessary steps will be taken to tap into the high-end section of the Chinese and Northeast Asian markets such as the Republic of Korea and Japan.

Major products of Mui Ne include sea-based tourism, eco-tourism and sport tourism.

Alongside, Mui Ne will also develop cultural tourism, community-based and urban tourism.

Mui Ne beach, with its warm and windy climate, has been favoured by surfers from the UK, France, Russia, Germany, and Australia. It also consists of massive sand dunes, suitable for activities such as sand-boarding. 

Mui Ne boasts many attractive landscapes such as Hon Rom, Hon Lao Cau and Bai Rang. Coming to this beach, travellers also have the chance to witness the daily life of fishermen in a humble fishing village. 

Last year, Phu Quoc island in Kien Giang and Mui Ne beaches of Vietnam have been listed among 20 most idyllic beaches in Asia by CNN travel.