Visitors swarming into Vietnam via Huu Nghi bordergate

Since the beginning of the year, nearly 111,000 tourists have crossed into Vietnam through Huu Nghi (Friendship) bordergate in northern Lang Son province.

The figure, which is substantially higher than that reported in the previous year at this time, included about 62,000 foreign tourists from 60 countries around the globe.

Despite the large number of arrivals, Huu Nghi bordergate staff provided favourable conditions for them and ensured safety and security in the border area.

Cua Lo aims to increase tourist traffic

Cua Lo town in the central province of Nghe An expects to welcome 2.2 million tourists, this year and increase tourism revenue by 19.9% compared to last year.

The town is focusing on drawing more visitors by promoting its pristine and relatively undisturbed landscapes and coastal areas along with increasing the number of village tours and festivals.

The town is also investing heavily in expansion of its western travel spaces, improving service quality, and upgrading tourist sites, healthcare centres and restaurants along the beach.

Visitors travelling to Cua Lo primarily come from northern provinces of the country, China and other ASEAN countries.

The town is located on established tour routes and plans to capitalise on this feature by boosting advertising in business kiosks and billboards at the centres, roads and major projects serving tourism, says Doan Tien Dung, Vice Chairman of Cua Lo Town People's Committee.

The major tour routes include Cua Lo - Vinh City, Cua Lo - Kim Lien relics, Cua Lo - Cuong Temple, Cua Lo - Pu Mat National Park, Cua Lo –Cui temple- - Dong Loc T-junction and Cua Lo –Huong Son Hot Spring- Vietnam-Laos border market.

Cua Lo has much to offer tourists in attractive destinations including Mat (Eye) Island, Ngu (Fish) Island, Lan Chau Island, Cua Hoi eco-tourism tour, Lo Son Pagoda and pledges that  travellers will not be bothered by beggars evils, thefts at tourist spots, Dung said.

Dien Bien capitalises on past

Dien Bien aims to welcome 440,000 tourists this year during celebrations to mark the sixtieth year of the nation's victory over colonial French troops.

Up to 75,000 foreigners are expected to visit the northern mountain province where the French were defeated in the famous battle of Dien Bien Phu on May 7, 1954.

Provincial leaders said at a seminar yesterday in Dien Bien that the number of visitors to the province, either local or foreign, had more than doubled in the past 10 years - from 178,000 to 380,000.

Tourism Department statistics also show that the number of foreign tourists increased sixfold in the same period – from 10,000 in 2004 to 66,000 last year.

Revenue from tourism leapfrogged to nearly VND434 billion (almost US$20.4 million) from VND30 billion ( $1.4million).

The province is now seeking ways to promote tourism even further.

Tourism leaders from eight regional provinces yesterday agreed that Dien Bien's tourism development had much more potential.

Tourists admire handicraft products made by the Thai ethnic group as they visit an exhibition yesterday at the Dien Bien Culture and Tourism Week. The number of visitors to Dien Bien has more than doubled in the past 10 years. — VNA/VNS Thanh Tung

This could be overcome by improving co-ordination among regional provinces and with other regions in the country, according to the leaders at the seminar.

The province has been chosen as one of 46 places to become a national tourist destination.

According to the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism and international organisations at the seminar, there is some conflict between preserving the historic battle site and developing public infrastructure.

The problem has developed since provincial headquarters were moved to the valley where the battle took place.

Dien Bien was created by dividing the former Lai Chau Province in early 2004. Dien Bien Phu, where the famous battle took place, is the province's capital city.

Seminar participants proposed the organisation of festivals to attract more tourists from countries such as Thailand, Laos and Myanmar that have people related to the Thai minority in Dien Bien's Muong Then.

They also suggested the introduction of more diverse traditional goods and souvenirs. At present, cheap imitation Chinese products are dominating the souvenir market in Dien Bien, the seminar heard.

The province will hold a number of cultural activities throughout the year to celebrate the anniversary. It expected to earn VND540 billion ($25.4 million) this year from tourism.

Cua Lo Tourism Festival to offer cultural spectacle

The Cua Lo Tourism Festival will be organised on April 30 and May 1 in Cua Lo Town in the central province of Nghe An, according to the town's People's Committee.

The festival will have many programmes with the theme of "Cua Lo Dawn". Fireworks will be held as well as a traditional boat race. There will also be many other sport and cultural events such as golf and tennis competitions.

Second free tourism information centre opens in Da Nang

The central city of Da Nang has opened its second tourism information centre at the Da Nang International Airport's national arrival station. Total investment was VND200 million (US$9,500).

Tran Chi Cuong, deputy director of the city's Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism, said that in July the city would open two new flights from Da Nang to Japan and to Hong Kong so that the volume of foreign visitors would increase.

With the new tourism information centre, visitors can receive a free map, brochures and information on hotels and tour operators. The first centre was opened at the domestic arrival station at the beginning of last year.

Millions flock to marvel at Marble Mountain

Ngu Hanh Son (Marble Mountain), a famous tourism area in the central city of Da Nang, has welcomed 5.5 million visitors during the last 15 years.

Each year, the volume of visitors has risen 15 per cent on average, according to the management board of the tourism area.

This year, the board targets receiving 600,000 visitors. To reach the goal, the board has proposed that night tours should begin at Thuy Son Mountain, the biggest mountain in the area. This is to attract more visitors to spend the night in the area.

Hung King Temple Festival set to attract 5 million visitors

The Hung King Temple Festival, to be held from April 5-9, is expected to welcome 5 million foreign and domestic tourists this year.

The festival will be held in the northern province of Phu Tho, with participation of Bac Ninh, Quang Binh, Vinh Long and Long An.

Along with events honouring and paying tribute to the contributions of the Hung Kings, the founders of the nation, many other cultural programmes and exhibitions will be organised during the five day festival.

Many contests, including the cooking of chung cakes, will be held.

Organised annually to honour Hung Kings, the main day of the festival is March 10 in the lunar calendar. Since 2007, this has been a public holiday in Viet Nam.

Vietnam Airlines kicks off summer promotion

Vietnam Airlines is launching a promotion “Hello Summer Vacation 2014” for domestic and international routes.

Special rates will be given for flights departing April 1 to October 31, excluding holidays and peak hours. Tickets are only available to purchase on March 15-31.

One-way tickets will cost VND 333,000-999,000 for local routes with return tickets VND 190,000.  International routes are offered as low as VND 8.4 million not including tax.

No letup in travels to bird flu-hit regional destinations

Local demand for tours to Hong Kong, Taiwan, China, Korea and Malaysia remains high despite rising avian flu deaths, according to travel firms.

Nguyen Van My, director of Lua Viet Travel Company, told the Daily via telephone on Thursday that the firm has yet to receive an advisory against travel from the Ministry of Health over risks of transmission of the bird-flu virus to humans.

Customers still book tours to bird flu-hit destinations although Lua Viet staff give them warnings on the ongoing bird flu outbreaks in the region, My said.

A representative of travel firm PerfectToursTravel also said tours to Asian destinations such as China, Hong Kong and Taiwan are on offer as usual.

Lien Phuong, a customer in HCMC who has booked a trip to China, said she is hesitant at the rising bird flu deaths in the neighboring country. However, she will depart as scheduled since she has paid for the tour.

“I have searched for information about bird flu. There has been no case of human-to-human transmission so far. In addition, it will be safe if I avoid contacting with live poultry,” Phuong said.

China has reported nearly 360 A/H7N9 cases so far with 73 persons killed. Recently, Malaysia has also announced the death of a Chinese tourist attacked by the virus.

However, the World Health Organization (WHO) has not issued an advisory against travels to or from China. In addition, it is almost impossible for the virus to transmit among air passengers.

According to the Vietnam National Administration of Tourism, China was Vietnam’s biggest source market in January with over 180,000 Chinese tourists arriving in Vietnam, accounting for 23.3% of the nation’s total.

HCMC-Thanh Hoa flights still put on hold

National flag carrier Vietnam Airlines has announced to continue halting flights between HCMC and Thanh Hoa Province from March 12-14 due to bad weather conditions.

Vietnam Airlines in a statement released on Tuesday said that it will increase flights to Hanoi City to serve passengers affected by the problem.

Ha Minh Quang, head of communications of Vietnam Airlines, said that technical infrastructures of Thanh Hoa Airport fail to secure safe landing in the cloudy conditions. For passengers of canceled flights, the air carrier will give them priority in booking new flights, changing itineraries or canceling tickets.

Passengers are recommended to get updated on HCMC-Thanh Hoa flight schedule at the website www.vietnamairlines.com.

Earlier, Vietnam Airlines cancelled flights between HCMC and Thanh Hoa Province from March 5-11 for the same reason. Another local carrier, VietJetAir, has also suspended some flights on HCMC-Haiphong route due to bad weather.

At present, Hanoi City-based Noi Bai International Airport is the only airport in the north with an instrument landing system (ILS), which can secure safe take-offs and landings in bad weather. Other airports such as Cat Bi in Haiphong City, Vinh in Nghe An Province and Tho Xuan in Thanh Hoa Province are not yet equipped with such a system.

Ha Long Bay – a must-go destination

Ha Long Bay of Viet Nam was named by the US magazine Business Insider in the list of“100 trips you must take in your lifetime.”

The US magazine proposed visitors spend a night on a junk boat in the bay.

Covering a total area of 1,533 square meters in Viet Nam’s north-east, Ha Long is recognized by UNESCO as a World Natural Heritage Site.

Ha Long Bay includes some 1,600 islands and islets, forming a spectacular seascape of limestone pillars. Because of their precipitous nature, most of the islands are uninhabited and unaffected by a human presence. The site's outstanding scenic beauty is complemented by its great biological interest.

It was voted one of the Seven New Natural Wonders of the World in 2011.

Earlier, it was cited as a vision of outstanding beauty and one of the world’s top ten Valentine’s Day getaways by US-based National Geographic magazine.

Nho Que River – a sleeping beauty

Those conquering the Ma Pi Leng mount in the northern upland province of Ha Giang shall be amazed by a river like a silky fillet in fog as it brings them a pleasant feeling of a naturally romantic masterpiece. That river is called Nho Que.

Nho Que River flows from Nghiem Son Mountain at the height of 1,500 meters height. It is  about 46 kilometers long, with its upstream stretching more than five kilometers in the border between Vietnam and China and the rest flowing through Ha Giang and Cao Bang provinces. Running through rugged rocks, it creates a waterfall in the middle of the valley.

The river flows through Tu San canyon and Ma Pi Leng Pass of Meo Vac District, about 15 kilometers from Lung Cu Peak.

Having a narrow path with a limestone mountain on one side and deep valleys on the other side, the terrain makes people scary if they look down at the abyss. However, visitors can enjoy a splendid view of terraced rice fields on the mountainside, ethnic villages scattered in the valleys and Nho Que River.

Source: SGT/SGGP/VNA/VNS/Nhandan