To promote fruit exports, meeting phytosanitary requirements to prevent the spread of diseases and ensuring food safety are prerequisites, insiders said.

Fresh fruits such as durian, longan, lychee, mango, dragon fruit, coconut, banana, pineapple, and passion fruit are being favoured in markets like China, Japan, the Republic of Korea (RoK), the US, and the European Union (EU), they said, noting most import markets require products to be cultivated from certified growing areas and be processed at approved facilities before packaging, with the Chinese market as a typical example.

In addition to meeting the above-mentioned requirements, exporters must also comply with the General Administration of Customs (GAC)’s Decree 248 regarding administrative provision on registration of overseas manufacturers of imported food and Decree 249 on measures for the safety administration of imported and exported food, Deputy Director of the Vietnam Sanitary and Phytosanitary Notification Authority and Enquiry Point (SPS Vietnam) Ngo Xuan Nam said, adding that both of them took effect in January 2022.

The EU market has stringent requirements on traceability and product quality standards, particularly food safety, he said. The European Commission (EC) frequently updates maximum pesticide residue levels, especially for fresh and frozen fruits. Therefore, cooperatives and businesses must thoroughly research and understand market information, consumer preferences, and regulations regarding rules of origin and food safety standards, he noted.

For instance, thanks to its good quality, Thanh Ha lychee from the northern province of Hai Duong has been exported to high-end markets such as China, Japan, France, the US, the RoK, and Malaysia.

Last year, Vietnamese lychee imported to Australia by air was sold for about 400,000 - 500,000 VND (15.6 USD-19.5 USD) per kg. Meanwhile, lychee shipped by sea was sold at about 260,000 VND per kg. This is a very high price compared to 70,000 - 100,000 VND per kg in the domestic market.

This year, Thanh Ha lychee is purchased by Red Dragon Co. Ltd and sold at Australian Market Place supermarket at nearly 600,000 VND per kg.

According to the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MARD), the building and granting growing area and packaging facility codes help orient production in line with market demand and enhance the reputation of Vietnamese agricultural products. To date, 56 localities have granted 7,344 growing area codes and 1,629 packaging facility codes for products exported to China, the US, Australia, New Zealand, RoK, Japan, and the EU.

This is a result of long-term efforts, said Dang Phuc Nguyen, Secretary General of the Vietnam Fruit and Vegetable Association. He elaborated that Vietnamese products must also be inspected and accepted by the importing markets after receiving approval by Vietnamese authorities.

Huynh Tan Dat, Director of the Plant Protection Department under MARD, stressed that for agricultural produce, especially fruits, to be eligible for export, businesses must fully meet import markets' requirements.

Sharing his view, Deputy Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Hoang Trung said that the ministry has instructed relevant agencies to promptly set up quality standards for harvested fruits to ensure their quality./.

Efforts made to boost exports to Northeast Asia

In the remaining months of 2024, the Ministry of Industry and Trade will continue implementing concerted solutions to develop Vietnam's foreign trade, in which Northeast Asia with important markets will be identified as the focus, according to the ministry’s Asia - Africa Market Department.

Each year, over 100 billion USD of goods made in Vietnam are exported to Northeast Asian markets, including such big importers as China, the Republic of Korea (RoK), Japan, and China’s Taiwan and Hong Kong.

To date, all important partners in Northeast Asia have signed and participated in both bilateral and multilateral free trade agreements (FTAs) with Vietnam such as the Vietnam-RoK FTA (VKFTA), the Vietnam - Japan Economic Partnership Agreement (VJEPA), and the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (RCEP).

Notably, these FTAs are a factor that supports the development of trade and investment exchanges with regional countries and also helps Vietnam participate deeply in the regional and world supply chains.

Deputy Minister of Industry and Trade Phan Thi Thang said that to promote exports to this region, many new cooperation mechanisms have been built to create favourable conditions for the business community.

So far this year, Vietnam has implemented an action plan to carry out the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between the Ministry of Industry and Trade and Guangxi on strengthening cooperation in economics and trade in the 2024 – 2026 period with the Chinese province; set up the Vietnam-RoK centre for essential minerals supply; and continued to build new cooperation mechanisms such as an MoU on strengthening cooperation in agricultural trade with the Ministry of Commerce of China.

In addition, the ministry has provided market information and guidance on access to Northeast Asian markets; organised conferences on FTAs to increase support for the business community to seize and exploit advantages from these deals; and coordinated with and assisted localities to step up trade promotion, remove difficulties at border gates, and expand the export of key and seasonal agricultural products such as lychee, rice, durian, and dragon fruit to China, Japan and the RoK.

As a result, the total export revenue to this region neared 50 billion USD, of which 22.6 billion USD was from China, up 10.2%, 10.4 billion USD from the RoK, up 12.8%, and 9.5 billion USD from Japan, up 4.7% against the same period last year./.

Vietnamese farm produce seeks to enter global distribution networks

The Ministry of Industry and Trade hosted a seminar in Ho Chi Minh City on June 7 to explore opportunities for Vietnamese farm produce and processed food to enter global distribution networks.

Deputy Minister of Industry and Trade Phan Thi Thang highlighted Vietnam's resilience in the 2023 global economic downturn, saying that despite a challenging year, Vietnam's agro-forestry-fishery exports surpassed 53 billion USD, driven by rice, fruits and vegetables, coffee and cashew nuts. This positive trend continued in the first five months of 2024, with export of those goods up 21% year-on-year to 24.14 billion USD. Major markets like the US, China and Japan all experienced positive growth of 23.9%, 8.6% and 6.6%, respectively.

However, Thang acknowledged that raw products with minimal processing account for 70-80% of the total exports, which is a great challenge to sustainable export. It limits value and competitiveness, hindering sustainable growth.

Vietnamese agricultural products also face stricter quality standards and origin requirements in import markets. Protectionism is on the rise globally, and a growing emphasis on sustainable development, carbon emission reduction, and environmental protection necessitates swift adaptation and compliance from Vietnamese firms, she said.

Le Thanh Hoa, Deputy Director of the Department of Quality, Processing and Market Development under the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MARD) underlined the benefits of Free Trade Agreements (FTAs) in lowering tariffs and boosting the competitiveness of Vietnam's strategic farm produce. He further noted a disparity: while processed food, vegetables, and fruits see rapid export growth, livestock and poultry exports remain stagnant despite high production capacity. This is attributed to limitations in meeting disease control and food safety requirements.

Vietnamese Commercial Counsellor in Belgium and the EU Tran Ngoc Quan said the EU spends over 160 billion USD annually on agricultural products, but Vietnam currently captures only about 4% of this market share.

To improve the situation, Quan emphasised the need for Vietnamese firms to stay abreast of market trends and adapt to evolving consumer demands for sustainability throughout the production-transportation-consumption chain. He called on them to establish integrated supply chains and maintain strict quality control measures to mitigate risks and ensure product traceability.

Vietnam is now the world's leading supplier of cashew nuts and pepper, the second largest exporter of coffee, and the third largest exporter of rice. Vietnamese aquaculture has also made remarkable progress by meeting the highest quality standards to join supply chains in the United States, the EU, Japan, and the Republic of Korea./.

Ninh Binh harmonises heritage conservation with economic development

To promote the value of cultural heritage, the northern province of Ninh Binh, which is home to Trang An Landscape Complex – a UNESCO-recognised World Cultural and Natural Heritage Site, has been implementing strategic solutions to harmoniously solve the relationship between restoration and conservation and sustainable development.

The province has had many projects, programmes, and plans for both tangible and intangible cultural heritage restoration and conservation that have been implemented effectively, thus raising community awareness in preserving and promoting local heritage.

Boasting rich cultural heritage, Ninh Binh has consistently implemented for decades the goal of sustainable development, and harmonising the relationship between culture, economy, the environment and society.

The provincial Party Committee’s Resolution No. 03-NQ/TU on tourism development to 2010, dated December 18, 2001, was the province's first thematic resolution on tourism development which determined the strategic direction of economic development from "brown" to "green", and shifted from the construction material industry to tourism development.

Determining culture as the most important resource and tourism as an outstanding strength, in recent times, Ninh Binh has continuously invested in repairing, restoring, preserving and promoting the value of cultural heritage. Since 2021, it has spent more than 136 billion VND (5.35 million USD) on restoring and promoting the value of relic sites, thus helping to increase cultural and educational values on the tradition and history, and attracting more visitors.

Attention has also been paid to intangible cultural heritage such as Hoa Lu Festival, Xam singing (blind wanderers' music), practices related to the Vietnamese beliefs in the Mother Goddesses in Three Realms, and Rang Thuong singing of the Muong ethnic people.

In particular, based on the value of heritage, many new and unique products have been built associated with tourist sites, destinations and tours, helping Ninh Binh become an attractive destination to both domestic and foreign tourists.

Last year, the province served more than 6.5 million visitors and earn over 6.5 trillion VND (255.7 million USD), doubling that of 2022. In the first four months of this year, it drew over 4.9 million holiday-makers and pocketed more than 4.6 trillion VND from tourism services, according to the provincial Statistics Office.

Tong Quang Thin, Vice Chairman of the provincial People's Committee, said that in the coming time, the locality will work to develop tourism into a spearhead economic sector so as to become a major tourism centre of the whole country and the region.

To that end, Ninh Binh will innovate the way of thinking about restoring and preserving cultural heritage associated with socio-economic development; build a strategy for developing the cultural industry with a focus and roadmap on a professional and modern direction, and promoting local advantages in accordance with the basic rules of the market economy.

In addition, Secretary of the provincial Party Committee Doan Minh Huan also affirmed the importance of building a millennium heritage city on a time axis of more than 1,000 years associated with the three dynasties of Dinh, Early Le, and Le of the Dai Co Viet State - the first centralised feudal state in Vietnam's history./.

Vietjet launches Hanoi-Sydney route

Vietjet on June 7 inaugurated a new route connecting Hanoi with the Australian port city of Sydney.

For its seventh route to the Oceanian country, the Vietnamese airline uses the wide-body Airbus A330 aircraft for two round-trip flights on Wednesday and Saturday each week.

A Vietjet representative said that the new route facilitates travel, tourism, investment, economic and trade exchanges, education, and family visits between the two cities. Additionally, it expands the carrier’s extensive flight network.

Earlier, the first flight from Hanoi to Melbourne by Vietjet landed on June 4. On this route, two round-trip flights using the wide-body Airbus A330 aircraft are operated weekly on Tuesday and Saturday.

Vietjet Vice President Nguyen Thi Thuy Binh said since the carrier’s first flight to Australia in April 2023, it has continuously expanded the network, linking Ho Chi Minh City to the five largest Australian cities of Melbourne, Sydney, Brisbane, Perth, and Adelaide.

Forum promotes linkages between Vietnamese firms and with foreign retailers, importers

Vietnam has transformed itself to emerge as a major global production hub capable of supplying a wide range of products at competitive prices and with improving quality, Deputy Minister of Industry and Trade Phan Thi Thang said at the Export Forum on Connecting International Supply Chains in Ho Chi Minh City on June 6.

“Additionally, after the COVID-19 pandemic and amid current geopolitical - economic uncertainties, many corporations and retail/wholesale channels are stepping up diversification to ensure supply chain sustainability, and Vietnam has been chosen as a strategic destination in their global supply chains,” Thang said.

Vietnam’s total import-export value reached over 681 billion USD last year, with exports accounting for 354.7 billion USD. Exports were worth over 10 billion USD in the first five months of the year, a year-on-year increase of 15%, she said.

The forum, together with specialised seminars, business matching activities and Vietnam International Sourcing Expo co-organised by the ministry’s European-American Market Department and the Investment and Trade Promotion Centre of HCM City (ITPC), aims to effectively support businesses to participate more deeply in global production and supply chains, adapt to intensive international economic integration trends, as well as promote linkages between foreign distribution channels and foreign importers and domestic manufacturing and exporting enterprises, she said.

She added that the event this year received unprecedented participation from nearly 300 leading global distribution channels and importers, including Aeon, Uniqlo (Japan), Walmart, Amazon, Safeway (USA), Carrefour, Decathlon (France), Falabella (Chile), Coppel (Mexico), Central Group (Thailand), Lotte (the Republic of Korea), Miniso (China), IKEA (Sweden), and LuLu (UAE).

She expected that several agreements and commercial transactions will be signed at the event to help Vietnam International Sourcing 2024 become a prestigious business meeting place for enterprises, contributing to bringing Vietnamese goods to the global market.

Echoing Thang, Nguyen Van Dung, Vice Chairman of the HCM City People’s Committee, said the forum also offers “an opportunity for HCM City businesses to promote their strong products directly to international buyers, and directly acquire information about consumption trends of export markets and changes in consumption habits to be able to research and develop suitable products for their targeted markets.”

Addressing the forum, Aly Ansari, senior director, Walmart Global Sourcing, said “Vietnam is one of Walmart’s most important sourcing markets in Asia. Our sourcing teams facilitate the export of Vietnamese products around the globe, including to the United States, Canada, Mexico, Chile and China.”

He said top exports from Vietnam include apparel, and electronics, among others. It also sources products in other categories, such as toys and food, from the country.

“We see potential in many product categories in Vietnam. We look forward to speaking with many of you and exploring opportunities to source more products from Vietnam whether that’s for our own label or for our marketplaces around the world,” Ansari said.

Regarding cross-border e-commerce, Gijae Seong, head of Amazon Global Selling in Vietnam, said: “We have seen the number of products sold by Vietnamese businesses on Amazon jump over 300 per cent in the past five years. Thousands of Vietnamese SMEs are now exporting through our store, with the count of those achieving over $1 million in annual sales skyrocketing nearly 10-fold.”

He highlighted that: “Vietnamese sellers are not just exporting products, but actively investing to build strong global brands. The number of Vietnamese sellers enrolled in Amazon's Brand Registry has surged an incredible 35-fold, demonstrating their ambition to unlock long-term international growth.

"The product selection from Vietnam has also evolved tremendously, with key categories like health and personal care, home, kitchen, apparel, and beauty seeing the highest growth rates.

“The Vietnam International Sourcing Expo 2024 presents a valuable platform for us to deepen our engagement with Vietnamese manufacturers and suppliers. By connecting directly with this vibrant business community, we aim to discover new product potentials and empower even more enterprises to expand their reach through cross-border e-commerce,” he said.

Jennifer Yuriko Patton Inukai, Asia sourcing director, Coppel, a distinguished Mexican nationwide department store, said: “Looking ahead, we are planning to expand our operations in Asia by exploring more of Vietnam and what this amazing country is offering. This strategic move underscores our dedication to the region and our enthusiasm for seeking new opportunities for collaboration and growth in this dynamic market.”/.

Pioneering sustainability reporting increases value for businesses

Sustainable development has become an inevitable trend so enterprises need to build and disclose information about the issue to increase their value and optimise the benefits of sustainable business, experts said.

During a workshop on reporting practices held on in Hanoi on June 6, Deputy Governor of the State Bank of Vietnam (SBV) Dao Minh Tu said international organisations and governments of countries are increasingly interested in a company's Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) standards. So the bank wants to promote standardisation of regulations and policies within agencies, financial institutions and banks and get them to publish such information within a sustainable development report.

In Vietnam, organisations and businesses have gradually realised the importance of building a sustainable development report, so they have pioneered preparing such reports even before there was a mandatory legal requirement to do so.

The banking industry is also aiming to open up many opportunities related to sustainable business. Information related to sustainable development will support analysis and decision-making to help banks comply with regulations and identify factors that promote more sustainable business operations.

Deputy Director of the SBV’s Department of Credit for Economic Sectors Pham Thi Thanh Tung said that since 2022 the SBV has added content on the activities of the banking industry towards a green economy and sustainable growth in its annual reports.

Several banks have so far published a separate sustainable development report such as BIDV, ACB and HDBank, while some others integrate the report in their annual reports.

As a bank that identifies the need for sustainable development, Le Ngoc Lam, General Director of BIDV, said BIDV has established a steering committee and a project management board to build and implement a sustainable development strategy and ESG overall practices to strongly promote the implementation of sustainable finance operations. The year of 2023 marked the seventh consecutive year that BIDV has implemented a sustainable development report according to a comprehensive plan in accordance with guidelines of Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) standards.

BIDV is the country’s first bank to issue a sustainable loan framework according to international standards. The bank implements its risk management appraisal according to SBV’s regulations on 100% of investment projects with the environmental affecting factors.

Thanks to the work, BIDV has made many important contributions in the sustainable development journey of the Vietnamese economy, Lam said, noting green projects, which received BIDV’s funding in 2023, increased by 24.1% compared to 2022.

To further encourage Vietnamese businesses to practise sustainable development reporting, experts suggest that Vietnam need to perfect the legal framework and develop detailed standards for the disclosure of sustainable development information, in accordance with laws and socio-economic conditions of the country to help increase transparency and evaluate effectively the reporting information.

Besides promoting supporting policies on training to help enterprises improve knowledge and skills in practising sustainable development reporting, the Government should also issue clear incentive policies, such as tax incentives and financial support, to encourage businesses to promote the preparation of sustainable development reports.

In addition, it is also necessary to strengthen the cooperation between Vietnamese agencies and international organisations in building the sustainable development data framework to ensure it is comprehensive and transparent./.

Belgium workshop discusses logistics opportunities in Vietnam

A workshop was held in Anvers city, Belgium, on June 6 to update participants about the logistics industry of Vietnam and suggest measures for turning challenges into business opportunities for Belgian firms.

Roger Chantillon, CEO of Ahlers Logistics, said his company opened a representative office in Ho Chi Minh City on May 29, which is part of its strategy for continuous growth in Southeast Asia.

The new office affirms its commitment to providing suitable and high-quality logistics solutions for customers in the region. With its expertise in complicated markets, it is well-positioned to assist the developing industries in Vietnam, he noted.

Talking to the Vietnam News Agency, Tom Van Weereld, Director Strategic Platforms at Ahlers Logistics, said supply chains are shifting to Vietnam because this is a highly dynamic market with many attractive macro-trends, which is why his company recently opened an office in HCM City to step up marketing its brand and expand operations.

The emergence of Vietnam as a new manufacturing hub and its evolving e-commerce has contributed significantly to the importance of logistics services in its economy. Vietnam’s logistics industry is assessed as one of the fastest-growing sectors. It accounts for about 4.5% of gross domestic product (GDP) and is predicted to post a faster pace than the country’s GDP growth in coming years.

Despite many challenges, Vietnam is believed to hold numerous advantages for developing the logistics industry, including its strategic location, robust economic growth, the Government’s favourable policies, and an abundant workforce. It is among the 30 best performers in the World Bank’s Logistics Performance Index.

The workshop, themed “Logistics and Supply Chain Management”, was held by the Belgian Vietnamese Alliance and Ahlers Logistics. It attracted representatives of both Vietnamese and Belgian businesses and organisations./.

Seminar shares insights about export market trends

An insightful seminar titled "Market Trends and Export Opportunities for Vietnamese Agricultural Products and Processed Foods in International Distribution Systems" was held in HCM City on Friday.

The seminar, jointly organised by HCM City’s Investment & Trade Promotion Centre, the Ministry of Industry and Trade’s European-American Market Department, and relevant agencies, is part of the ongoing “Vietnam International Sourcing Expo 2024” (VIS 2024) in HCM City.

During the seminar, experts shared market insights, changing consumption trends in key export markets, and specific recommendations for Vietnamese export enterprises to enhance their involvement in the global value chain, as well as to adapt to new standards for sustainable development.

In her opening speech, Deputy Minister of Industry and Trade Phan Thị Thắng highlighted the resilience of Việt Nam's agricultural exports despite global economic challenges in 2023.

She noted the impressive growth in exports of agricultural, forestry, and aquatic products, such as rice, fruits, vegetables, coffee, and cashew nuts, which contributed positively to the trade surplus.

Leveraging geographical advantages, natural conditions, and benefits from free trade agreements like the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) and EU-Việt Nam Free Trade Agreement (EVFTA), Vietnamese agricultural products and food exports have maintained double-digit growth, Thắng emphasised.

Acknowledging Việt Nam's positive achievements in agriculture, Thắng pointed out the need to move beyond exporting raw commodities with low processing content, emphasising the importance of sustainability and competitiveness in the sector.

She also highlighted the challenges faced by Vietnamese agricultural exports, particularly in meeting quality standards and addressing market demands.

In addition to the seminar, experts provided insights on critical areas including needs, trends, opportunities, standards, regulations, and challenges in global markets for businesses participating in international supply chains.

Recently, alongside the efforts of businesses, the Government has approved and implemented several essential policies and initiatives to boost the production, processing, and export of Vietnamese agricultural products.

These initiatives have yielded tangible results, contributing to the development and diversification of export and import markets, ensuring sustainable long-term growth, encouraging Vietnamese enterprises to actively participate in the global production, supply, and distribution chain, directly exporting to foreign distribution networks based on maximising the strengths and leveraging the significant competitive advantages of Vietnamese exports.

Thanks to these efforts, total export turnover of agricultural, forestry, and aquatic products exceeded US$53billion in 2023, with many agricultural commodities increasing both in value and quantity, such as rice, fruits and vegetables, coffee, and cashew nuts.

IPSC supports Vietnamese companies at VIS 2024

At the VIS 2024, the Vietnam Improving Private Sector Competitiveness Project (IPSC) – an USAID-funded programme managed by the Agency for Enterprise Development (AED) under the Ministry of Planning and Investment (MPI) – has supported 12 Vietnamese enterprises to enhance their competitiveness, access markets, and promote exports.

The 12 enterprises sponsored by USAID IPSC to participate in the expo operate in the production and import-export of agricultural and forestry products, and are located in HCM City and Mekong Delta provinces. These enterprises have clear goals and enthusiasm, having actively participated in the IPSC project's support activities in previous years.

They include HSC Investment Corporation, Green Powers (Vua Bưởi), Hoàng Phát Fruit, Kokofi Coconut Cosmetic, VICOSAP - Cau Ke Coconut Processing, SOKFARM - Trà Vinh Farm, Real Bean Coffee, Hygie & Panacee, Sumofood Vietnam, Thiên Thành Tea, Nhơn Hải Purple Onion Agricultural Cooperative and Ông Thọ Rice.

Recognising the importance of international economic integration for the development of Vietnamese enterprises, USAID IPSC has chosen VIS 2024 as one of the events aligning with its goals of helping businesses enhance their competitiveness, access markets, and promote exports.

USAID IPSC believes that VIS 2024 will be an excellent opportunity for Vietnamese enterprises to assert their position in the international market, attract investment, and promote exports. The programme is committed to continuing to support Vietnamese enterprises in enhancing their competitiveness, achieving sustainable development, and contributing to the country's economic growth. 

Summer travel trend: Vietnamese tourists opt for nearby destinations

In 2024, Vietnamese are more likely to travel within the country by road or to neighboring countries in Southeast Asia due to increased domestic airfares.

Nguyen Huu Cuong, an expert at the UNESCO Hanoi Travel Club, says the cost of air tickets has increased by 150-200% this year compared to 2023. Only on routes costing VND3.5 million (US$145), such as Hanoi-Danang, are travel agencies willing to invest in ticket distribution. Popular destinations such as Phu Quoc have lost their appeal as airfares to the island have risen from VND4-VND6 million ($166-$250) to VND6-VND8.5 million ($250-$355) this year.

Travel agencies also focus on destinations accessible by car and train, such as Thanh Hoa (Sam Son, Hai Hoa beaches); Nghe An (Cua Lo, Cua Hoi beaches); Ha Tinh (Thien Cam Beach); Quang Binh (Nhat Le Beach, Phong Nha-Ke Bang National Park); Lao Cai (Sapa); Haiphong (Cat Ba Archipelago); Quang Ninh (Ha Long Bay, Co To Island).

"If every year road trip were not at the forefront of our marketing program, this year tour packages by car within a radius of 500 km, lasting 2-5 days at an affordable price is our trump card," said Cuong.

Hanh Tran, travel director of My Phuc Happy Travel, echoed the same sentiment when commenting on this year's domestic market trends, predicting that Ha Long Bay and the Cat Ba Archipelago will be attractive destinations this year, as these places meet the criteria for road travel within a 300km radius.

"Travellers only need a budget of about VND2.5 million ($100) each for a two-day trip," Hanh said.

Nguyen Hong Nhat, CEO of APC Corporation, the cruise operator Ambassador, said the Ha Long Bay cruise is very popular during the summer holidays among domestic and international tourists.

In addition to the night tour in the bay, the Ambassador cruise offers a day tour, with additional offers to see fireworks every night from the boat, combined with art performances on the deck at night, transforming the cruise into a floating stage in Ha Long Bay. 

In addition to domestic destinations, Vietnamese also travel abroad in the summer because airfares are cheaper than domestic flights. Popular destinations include Singapore, Thailand, Malaysia, South Korea, and Taiwan (China), according to Vitratour Deputy CEO Le Tan Thanh Tung.

"In summer, tourists choose to go abroad to enjoy the cool weather and, more importantly, cheap airline tickets make the total cost of overseas tour better than domestic travel," he said.

Hanoi tourism companies offer package tours from Hanoi to Shanghai, Beijing, Chengdu, Jiuzhaigou (China), and destinations in Southeast Asia such as Thailand, Malaysia, and Singapore (flying with Vietnam Airlines, VietJet Air, and Vietravel Airlines).

The increase in prices of certain products can be attributed to fluctuations in foreign currency exchange rates and changes in airport fees and surcharges, but it is not significant, Tung said.

The report "Vietnamese outbound travel trends - Summer 2024", published by The Outbox Company, a renowned market research and data analysis firm specializing in hospitality and tourism in Asia, notes that Vietnamese travelers prefer short breaks, with 71.5% choosing trips of less than a week. This year's peak months for summer outbound travel are expected to be June and July.

Travel is becoming an increasingly important activity for Vietnamese. Of those surveyed, 31% said they would be willing to spend more on travel experiences and 45.6% decided to keep their travel budgets unchanged.

The survey results indicate that Vietnamese travelers intend to venture abroad in the next 12 months, with 79.7% of trips planned for this summer.

Intraregional travel remains a dominant trend, with 64.4% of Vietnamese tourists opting for nearby destinations within Asia for their next trips. Traditional favorites like South Korea, Japan, Thailand, and Singapore remain popular options, while China emerges as a remarkable newcomer in the top five favorite destinations.

Energy, oil, gas – pillar in Vietnam-Russia cooperation

Within the framework of the 27th St. Petersburg International Economic Forum (SPIEF 2024) in Russia, a Vietnamese delegation on June 6 held working sessions with representatives from the Russian Ministry of Economic Development, St. Petersburg’s foreign affairs committee and Russian companies – Novatek and Sistema.

At the meeting with Deputy Minister of the Russian Ministry of Economic Development Vladimir Ilychev, the two sides discussed economic and trade cooperation between the two countries as well as their coordination in the Vietnam-Russia Inter-Governmental Committee on Economic, Trade and Scientific-Technological Cooperation.

Both sides agreed that the inter-governmental committee is an important mechanism to promote the implementation of high-level agreements, remove obstacles, and contribute to strengthening the comprehensive strategic partnership between Vietnam and Russia. The two countries’ ministries and sectors are actively preparing for the 25th meeting of the committee that will be held this year.

Ilychev highly appreciated the participation of the Vietnamese delegation in the SPIEF 2024, adding that it contributes to strengthening the two countries’ economic cooperation in general and creates an opportunity for the two sides to discuss responses to global challenges.

The two sides agreed that there remains large room for their bilateral cooperation and affirmed that energy and oil and gas are a pillar of their cooperation.

They agreed to create favourable conditions for their businesses to cooperate effectively and expand their partnership towards new areas such as clean, green energy transition and sustainable development.

At the meeting between the delegation and the St. Petersburg authority, the two sides appreciated the cooperation between Vietnamese localities, especially Ho Chi Minh City and St. Petersburg.

They agreed to jointly organise celebrations of several major anniversaries of Vietnam and Russia in 2024 – 2025.

On this occasion, the Vietnamese side thanked St. Petersburg for organising people's diplomacy activities such as the Vietnam Week and scientific seminars on relations between the two countries.

Meanwhile, the St. Petersburg authority wanted to expand and deepen cooperation with Vietnamese localities such as Hanoi, Khanh Hoa, and the Vietnam Union of Friendship Organisations in people-to-people exchanges.

At the meeting with executives of Novatek and Sistema, the Vietnamese delegation was informed that the groups hope to seek cooperation opportunities in Vietnam including liquefied natural gas production, offshore wind power, textile and garment export, electric ship production, pharmaceutical industry, tourism, and hotels.

The Vietnamese side affirmed that Vietnam always creates favourable conditions for foreign businesses, including Russian ones, to seek investment and business opportunities in Vietnam, based on compliance with the law and the Vietnam - Russia comprehensive strategic partnership.

Source: VNA/SGT/VNS/VOV/Dtinews/SGGP/VGP/Hanoitimes