UNESCO hails famous ancient house as ‘impressive'

Close-up to 120-year-old Huynh Thuy Le house in Can Tho

The Viet Nam Federation of UNESCO Association has listed a 119-year-old house called Huynh Thuy Le Ancient House in Sa Dec Town in the Mekong Delta province of Dong Thap as one of Viet Nam's most impressive destinations.

Huynh Thuy Le was the inspiration for the protagonist in French writer and Le's lover Marguerite Duras's novel L' Amant. His house is famous for its unique architecture blending southern Vietnamese, French, and Chinese styles.

The wooden house was built in 1895. In 1917 his father rebuilt the house like a French villa, using both eastern and western architectural elements.

Last year more than 30,000 people visited the house, with the number from EU countries increasing by 20 per cent year-on-year.

Vietnam Airlines increases Tet flights

The national flag carrier Vietnam Airlines will add more flights to meet the increasing passenger demand during the 2014 Lunar New Year (Tet) holiday.

It plans nine more flights between HCM City and Hanoi from January 24 to 26 and between HCM City and Danang from January 24 to 28.

The number of flights on these two routes has so far increased by 45% compared to the normal schedule.  

The airline is launching promotion campaigns for passengers on several domestic routes.

Especially, the company offers a 20% airfare discount to passengers flying from February 11 to March 31 on domestic and Southeast Asian routes if they book the ticket online from January 31 to February 3.

This year’s Tet holiday starts on January 30 and lasts several days.

A direct flight service from the Da Nang Airport to Narita, Japan, will be launched in July, the deputy director of the foreign affairs department, Mai Dang Hieu, confirmed to Viet Nam News yesterday.

The flight will provide a conducive environment for boosting tourism, trade and investment between Da Nang, Viet Nam's central region and the cities of Japan.

The central city has an industrial zone covering 100ha for Japanese companies interested in investing in the city.

A 1.2-ha Viet Nam-Japan Cultural Exchange Centre will also be built in the popular tourist centre of Ngu Hanh Son District. There are 16 international flights operating to and from Da Nang Airport.

Danang targets Japanese tourists

In addition to its popular tourism markets which include China, the Republic of Korea and Russia, central Danang city will focus on attracting more Japanese tourists in 2014.

Danang is emerging as an attractive destination for Japanese tourists thanks to its healthy environment, friendly residents, and the many similarities in cultural values.

Sakai Jiro from Tokyo said that he had booked a New Year tour to this beautiful seaside city because of its safe tourism environment and linking tours to the central region’s World Heritage Sites of Hue citadel, Hoi An town and My Son sanctuary.

Another Japanese tourist, MomoseKatsusuke, said that during her first visit to Danang she was very impressed by its beautiful beaches, delicious dishes and peaceful life, unlike the hustle and bustle in other urban areas in Vietnam.

Thanks to effective tourism promotion strategies, the number of Japanese tourist arrivals to the city last year increased by 53% year-on-year to 41,000.

Japan ranked third among Danang’s tourism markets, after China and the Republic of Korea.

Director of the HIS Song Han Vietnam Tourist Company, Ha Tan Vinh, said that local travel agents are expecting a bumper year thanks to an increasing number of young Japanese tourists to the city.

He added that many travel companies are launching a wide range of new tourism services for young tourists with a focus on offering 3-day/2-night tours which depart at weekends.

In an attempt to attract more Japanese tourists, the city’s tourism sector is giving top priority to launching tourism promotion programmes as well as developing new tours.

In addition, special attention will be paid to training tourist staff who can speak the Japanese language fluently to make Danang more attractive to visitors from this country.

Tien Giang taps eco-tourism potential

The Mekong Delta province of Tien Giang will spend 430 billion VND (20.476 million USD) on developing the tourism sector this year to tap its eco-tourism potential and achieve a high tourism growth rate.

Specifically, it will strengthen tourism infrastructure, launch new tours and diversify tourism products while mending shortcomings and dealing with violations in the tourism business.

This year, the province targets 1.386 million visitors, a year-on-year increase of 8.5 percent, of which 633,900 are foreigners, a yearly rise of eight percent, and a revenue of over 376 billion VND (17.904 million USD), up 15 percent over last year.

In its 2012-2015 orientations with a vision to 2020, Tien Giang aims to take advantage of the fresh water ecosystem along the river Tien, the Dong Thap Muoi wetland ecosystem and the Go Cong sea ecosystem.

Last year, Tien Giang welcomed over 1.278 million visitors, including nearly 587,000 foreigners, generating 327 billion VND (15.571 million USD).-

New Khanh Hoa hotels aim to draw more travellers

Central Khanh Hoa province, home to world-known Nha Trang Beach, is set to get 10 four-star and five-star hotels with nearly 3,000 rooms in 2014 and the next few years as the province hopes to attract more well-heeled travellers.

The Provincial Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism said there are currently 550 hotels and guest houses with nearly 15,000 rooms.

Of them, seven are five-star hotels with over 1,200 rooms, six are four-star with more than 1,100 rooms, and 35 are three-star with nearly 2,700 rooms.

Vietnam airlines offers discounted fare on Ho Chi Minh City – Con Dao route

The Vietnam Airlines Corporation has decided to offer a 25% discount on fares between Ho Chi Minh City and Con Dao for residents of the islands, effective from January 21.

Under the promotion, passengers can still make date changes and cancel tickets.

Before the discounts, the one-way tickets were sold for VND1.45 million, VND1.2 million and VND1 million (excluding tax and fees).

The route is run by the Vietnam Air Service Company (VASCO), a Vietnam Airlines member. The company services four flights per week on ATR72-500 aircraft.

Con Dao is an archipelago belonging to the southern province of Ba Ria – Vung Tau. Covering a total area of 76 square metres, the archipelago includes 16 mountainous islands and islets, and has a population of about 5,000.

The People's Committee of the northern province of Dien Bien has said it will co-operate with the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism to organise many cultural events this year to celebrate the 60th anniversary of the Dien Bien Phu victory over the French colonialists.

One of the main programmes will be the Dien Bien Culture and Tourism Week planned to be held from March 13.

The event will feature many events showcasing local culture and see the participation of the 21 ethnic peoples living in the province. A parade with cultural tableaux will be held to promote local tourism.

The week is aimed at helping develop Dien Bien as one of three key tourism spots in the northern mountainous region. 

Ninh Thuan to become key tourism area by 2020

The central coastal province of Ninh Thuan will be developed into a key national tourism area by 2020.

The target was set in the master plan on tourism development in the locality until 2020 with a vision towards 2030, which was announced on January 21 by the provincial Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism.

Under the plan, Ninh Thuan will build a number of national and regional-standard tourism sites with the aim of attracting 1.4 million domestic and foreign visitors by 2015. It expects to earn about 55 million USD from tourism activities and generate jobs for 34,000 labourers.

Ninh Thuan also set a target of receiving about three million tourists by 2020, bringing in 335 million USD in revenue and creating jobs for 44,000 people.

To realise the goals, the locality will focus on attracting foreign arrivals from Vietnam’s traditional markets, including Russia, France, Germany, the United Kingdom, the United States, Southeast and Northeast Asian nations.

It will also pay attention to developing the domestic market, while working with other localities across the country to diversify tourism products such as marine-based tourism, cultural-historical and adventurous tourism, and open new tourism routes.

Tourism infrastructure, especially in transport, electricity and water systems to the tourism projects, will be upgraded to serve the locality’s tourism development.

Ninh Thuan, which is blessed with untouched white sandy beaches, holds potential for developing luxurious tourism models.

The Amanoi Resort invested by Belgian businesses was inaugurated in the locality in October last year.

In 2013, the province received 1.1 million arrivals, an increase of 15.7 percent from the previous year. Of the total, the number of foreign visitors increased by 6.2 percent.