Vietnam holidays

Central province unite to attract Japanese tourists

huyen — Sat, 05 Nov 2011 03:52:27 +0000

The three central provinces and cities of Thua Thien Hue, Quang Nam and Danang are striving for closer cooperation to jointly attract more Japanese travellers to the region, said Deputy Director of the Quang Nam Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism Ho Tan Cuong. He said a plan, including the creation of new tourism products and cooperation in trade promotion, human-resources training and the establishment of representative offices in Japan, had been agreed on by the three localities.

The extra efforts would better meet the demands of Japanese visitors, a promising market, said the department

director Dinh Hai.

These localities are home to well-known heritage sites such as Hue, Hoi An and My Son, and special festivals like the Hue Festival, the Quang Nam Festival – Heritage Journey and the Danang International Fireworks Festival.

However, they have failed to attract large numbers of Japanese tourists. Out of 2.1 million foreign travellers to the three localities last year, Japanese visitors only made up 4%.

Iijima Yukichika, former director of Yokohama Bay Sheraton Hotel&Towers, Yokohama, Japan, emphasised the need for an adequate understanding of the travel expectations and habits of Japanese visitors in order to develop suitable tourism products.

Work commitments for many Japanese people could affect their travel habits. They tended to limit their travel to a maximum of one week at a time, said Yukichika.

Yoshiaki Noguchi, chairman of the board of HRI Institute Co, called on stronger links among hotels and restaurants to create a greater attraction for visitors from the entire region. Only with this co-operation could they work to improve the quality of tourism products, he said.

One hundred giant posters showing images of the Vietnamese countryside and people will be hung in 45 Tokyo subway stations this year, according to the Vietnam National Administration of Tourism (VNAT).

Nguyen Thi Thanh Huong, Deputy Director of Department of Market under VNAT, said that in addition to the subway ads, Vietnam would also hang a big poster at the Vietnamese consulate in Osaka.

Vietnam welcomed about 147, 000 Japanese visitors in the first four months of this year, a 14% year on year increase, according to VNAT statistics.

Bac Ninh sets Vietnamese Guinness record for collage

huyen — Sat, 05 Nov 2011 03:44:28 +0000

The provincial Communist Youth Union in Bac Ninh Province said that a collage themed One Thousand Years of Spirit of Thang Long-Hanoi which is 120m long and 3m high and was made by over 1, 200 local children and teens had set a Vietnamese Guinness record.

The collage describes the image of King Ly Thai To, incense offering, traditional cultural activities, folk games and

sports. The province’s Dau Pagoda, But Tower, Do Temple and activities of children and teens are also represented.

A movement to make collages has been underway since January at Youth Unions at all levels in Bac Ninh Province. Most have diversified and creative themes and use newspapers, magazines, posters and even dried leaves, tree bark and egg shells.

On this occasion, the provincial Communist Youth Union also organizes an exhibition of over 200 paintings made by staff, Youth Union members and children at the provincial library from May 16 to 20.

Thai AirAsia stops HCMC – Phuket service

huyen — Sat, 05 Nov 2011 03:36:04 +0000

A source from Thai AirAsia’s office in HCMC confirmed with the Daily on Wednesday that the airline had stopped flying between Phuket and Vietnam over the weekend as business had not fared as well as expected.

Operated by Thai AirAsia (a member airline of Malaysia’s low-cost AirAsia Group), the Phuket-HCMC flight was the newest air route that directly connected Thailand and Vietnam.

Thai AirAsia began the HCMC-Phuket service last December to bring foreign tourists to Vietnam and offer

Vietnamese connecting flights to Bangkok, Chiang Mai, Hong Kong, Jakarta and other holiday destinations.

Currently, Thai AirAsia operates normal daily flights from Bangkok to Hanoi and HCMC, and vice versa despite unrest in the Thai capital.

In related news, Vietnam Airlines (VNA) said on its website that its flights to and from Bangkok were operating as scheduled.

However, the national carrier had to temporarily shutdown its office in Bangkok until further notice due to the blockade in the city’s center.

Vietnam Airlines advised passengers to call +66 21342001/ 002 or email doanphuminh bkk@vietnamair.com.vn if they required assistance during the office’s closure.

Foreign airline representatives told the Daily that the situation in Bangkok had directly affected flights from Vietnam.

* AirAsia Group is providing passengers with an option to pay in their preferred currency when booking low fares online to 65 destinations including Vietnam.

The carrier’s new multi-currency online sales platform gives guests instant pricing choices in pounds or in the U.S., Singaporean, Hong Kong, and Australian dollars when they purchase from.

According to Tony Fernandes, AirAsia Group’s CEO, the objective is to ease passengers’ concerns about fluctuating exchange rates when reserving seats on one of the 600 plus flights the airline operates daily.

“The enhanced online sales platform will take away the uncertainty of fluctuating exchange rates for our guests, making the purchase of flights more convenient, straight-forward and transparent, ” said Fernandes in a statement obtained by the Daily.

AirAsia launched the platform using the RBSFX micropay solution that supports more than 60 currencies and can handle up to 3, 000 transactions per second.

Passengers can use their credit cards issued for the aforementioned currencies to purchase AirAsia flights from anywhere in the world via the carrier’s website.

In addition, AirAsia is offering one million free seats on its website and via mobile.airasia.com until May 23 for flights to India, Thailand, Indonesia, Laos, Singapore, the Philippines, Vietnam and other destinations.

The free-seat fares apply to AirAsia flights from January 3 to May 8, 2011 within the carrier’s network of more than 130 routes.

Under the promotion, guests are only required to pay airport taxes starting at RM6 for domestic flights from Kuala Lumpur in Malaysia, and from RM25 for international flights.

All-in fares from HCMC will start from as low as BM25 (US$7.6), and flights from Hanoi will begin at RM49 (US$15).

Some long-haul routes are also included under the promotion. Inclusive fares for flights to the Gold Coast and Perth in Australia are available from RM149 and to Melbourne, New Delhi or Mumbai from BM199. Guests planning a European getaway can fly to London from RM699.

National Fine Arts expo to be held in capital city

huyen — Sat, 05 Nov 2011 03:26:57 +0000

About 700 best fine arts works will be selected to be displayed at the National Fine Arts Exhibition 2010 in Hanoi. The exhibition is held every five years by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism to review the work of Vietnamese artists over the last five years.

Vietnamese artists both domestically and foreign-based will be encouraged to send their paintings, graphics,

sculpture and installation works created since 2006 to the organisation board.

Each artist can be send three examples of their work in photos measuring 18cm by 24cm. Three dimensional sculpture works need to have photographs taken from all four perspectives. Installation works need to be snapped from five angles (panorama, front, right, left and behind).

Jury members will select the works by photograph in the first round. After the first round the works will be viewed in Hanoi, Danang and HCMC by the judging board with a view to select the best ones for award and display.

Paintings, graphic works and reliefs should measure 60cm by 200cm. Works larger than 200cm should be able to be disassembled for ease of transportation.

Sculptures should measure 40cm by 200cm not including pedestal and weigh not over 200kg. The artists will be responsible for paying for transportation and display fees for their larger works.

Installation artists have to send a map of space and a short introduction which will be displayed at size 300cm by 400cm by 400cm.

Gold, silver, bronze and consolation prizes will be awarded to three categories painting, graphic works and sculpture and installation.

“There are regulations for new categories such as installations in this exhibition. It is a good sign for artists. I remember that last time there was one installation displayed at the National Fine Arts Exhibition 2005, ” said Nguyen Do Bao, Chairman of Hanoi Fine Arts Association.

The national exhibition was first held in 1946 to display painting and graphic works. After the end of the anti-French war in 1954, first sculpture appeared at the exhibition. Last time, about 3, 000 works were sent to the organisers to select 739 works for display, according to Tran Khanh Chuong, Chairman of Vietnam Fine Arts Association.

“After exhibitions to display works by the artists of the Indochina Fine Arts School and artists during the French and US wars, now we will display works by artists during the period of renewal, and I hope the artists continue to develop, ” Chuong said.

Photos of the works can be sent to Department of Fine Arts, Photography and Exhibition, 38 Cao Ba Quat Street, Hanoi, before August 25.

Inaccurate tourism statistics frustrate officials, managers

huyen — Sat, 05 Nov 2011 03:21:07 +0000

In April 2010, the Vietnam National Administration of Vietnam (VNAT) quoted the report by the General Statistics Office as saying that in the first four months of the year, Vietnam received 16, 000 foreign tourists by sea, a decrease of 36.4 percent from the same period of 2009.

The statistics released by the state management agency are far different from the numbers cited by travel firms

Vietnam now has three big travel firms receiving cruise passengers, including Saigontourist, Tan Hong – Du Ngoan Viet and OSC Travel (SMI). Other travel firms also sometimes receive tourists from cruises.

Saigontourist reported that the firm received 25, 000 tourists at ports along the coast of Vietnam, including HCM City, Da Nang and Ha Long, in the first four months of 2010. In February alone, Tan Hong – Du Ngoan Viet also received thousands of cruise tourists. These high numbers still do not include tourists received by OSC.

When asked about the big gap in statistics, a representative of the travel department under the Vietnam National Administration of Tourism (VNAT) commented that, to date, all figures on the number of travelers, sources of travelers and purposes of traveling have been provided by the General Statistics Office (GSO). VNAT has been using these figures as estimates for development planning.

“We will check the figures and discuss this with GSO, the agency which specializes in calculating the number of tourists, ” the representative added.

When asked why VNAT does not do the statistics so that it can have more accurate and reliable figures for development plans, the representative replied that theoretically travel firms must submit reports about the number of clients to VNAT every six months. Since companies have not strictly followed this regulation, it is impossible to provide accurate numbers.

As such, government agencies have been drawing up development plans based on inaccurate figures. Travel firms and government agencies always complain about the false figures.

At a tourism conference held in HCM City in March 2010, La Quoc Khanh, Deputy Director of the Culture, Sports and Tourism, lamented how the number of international tourists to HCM City released by VNAT was much lower than the real figure.

Also at the conference, Ngo Minh Duc, Director of Huong Giang (a booking agent for American Airlines), observed that government agencies do not provide reliable figures to travel firms.

Duc added that Huong Giang has been receiving very accurate figures from American Airlines, which helped them overcome difficulties in 2009.

According to Nguyen Van My, Director of Lua Viet travel firm, neighbouring Cambodia, a country which receives less tourists than Vietnam, has been doing very well with its statistics. Every six months, travel firms are provided a report with figures and analysis, which helps them accurately assess the market, whereas, Vietnam remains unable to do that.

Nhat Tu Son – world of rocks

huyen — Sat, 05 Nov 2011 03:15:17 +0000

For people who think of abrasion of time when they see giant worn rocks, Nhat Tu Son, an island of millions of giant rocks in diverse shapes formed by breaking waves, would be an amazing place to admire some masterpieces of nature.

Belonging to Xuan Dai Bay and about three kilometers from Song Cau Township in Tuy Hoa City, Phu Yen Province,

Nhat Tu Son is a must-see destination in the province. As, the island is not too far from shore it takes about ten minutes on a wooden boat to get there.

Once leaving the boat for the island, visitors enter another world, distinct from the outside world by its stillness and primitiveness. After several minutes of crossing through the trees, excursionists feel as if they were on a planet of rocks. Millions of rocks in various shapes lie along the beach for about one kilometer. These rocks have gradually changed their shape over the centuries as the ocean continues its game of tag with them.

Some rocks here are piled up and others stand imposingly, awesome for visitors to pose for photos to show off the journey to family and friends. However, some rocks are moss-covered and slippery, so be careful.

The island, although surrounded by mountains and covered with trees, gets hot so tourists should bring plenty of water to prevent the harsh summer sun from ruining the trip. There are no houses, no residents and no tourist services, just a deserted island, so good preparation is necessary.

Even if you are not a petrographer or geologist, Nhat Tu Son is a wonderful option. From HCMC, take a train to Tuy Hoa City, then a taxi for about 30 kilometers on National Highway 1A to Song Cau Township. Then talk to local fishermen where to hire a boat and the way to get there.

Activities mark President Ho Chi Minh’s birthday

huyen — Sat, 05 Nov 2011 03:08:33 +0000

A meeting to mark President Ho Chi Minh’s 120th birthday was held in his home province of Nghe An in central Vietnam on May 16.

Addressing the ceremony, Secretary of the Nghe An Provincial Party Committee Tran Van Hang highlighted President

Ho Chi Minh’s great contributions to the country, saying that his thoughts and moral example will encourage the Vietnamese people, under the leadership of the Communist Party of Vietnam, to build Vietnam into a strong country with wealthy people and an equitable, democratic and civilised society.

Also on May 16, delegates burnt incense and offered flowers at the Kim Lien relics.

Earlier on May 15, the Sen (Lotus) Village Festival 2010 opened in Nghe An Province for the same purpose.

The festival also aims to mark 20 years of UNESCO recognition of President Ho Chi Minh as a national liberation hero and Vietnam’s preeminent culturist.

The festival will include a flower offering at President Ho’s monument in Vinh City and the procession of his portraits all the way from Vinh to Sen Village.

There will be photo and painting exhibitions, film screenings on the nation’s beloved leader as well as the traditional martial arts performance.

On May 16, almost 10, 000 people, including foreigners who are living and working in the city named after Uncle Ho, joined in a walk to mark President Ho Chi Minh’s birthday.

The walk also looks towards the grand ceremony to the mark the 1, 000th anniversary of Thang Long-Hanoi.

Le Fruit Triathlon 2010 comes to Mui Ne

huyen — Sat, 05 Nov 2011 03:04:30 +0000

The departure of Le Fruit Triathlon 2010 will be on Suoi Nuoc Beach in Mui Ne, a well-known tourist destination in Binh Thuan Province, combining sea swimming in the fairly lively East Sea, mountain biking crossing famous sand dunes, and trail running on the wet, steep and narrow white beach. The run is a scenic out and back, mostly flat along the beautiful tropical beach.

With the ninth edition of Le Fruit Triathlon, Viet Adventure is creating a family sport event, focusing on children.

Following the race there will be a post-race meal and refreshments provided at the awards ceremony. Trophies will be awarded to winners. In addition, there will be a raffle drawing with many gifts, such as airplane tickets and luxury resort vouchers.

The organizer will be visiting the school of the fishermen village Suoi Nuoc next to Mui Ne to offer bicycles and pay for the scholar fees of orphans and single-parent children.

“A group of representatives of 14 travel agents from Novosibirsk City in Russia last week came to Phan Thiet and made a survey on local resorts and hotels to promote the image of Phan Thiet as well as local hospitality services to Russian tourists for the tourist season 2010-2011.

“The group is really satisfied with tourist services, splendid landscapes, historical and cultural relics as well as courteous serving manner of the staff in resorts, hotels, restaurants as well as tourists areas in Phan Thiet, ” said Mariya Votchel of S7 Tour Company. She also added that 90% of Russian tourists to Vietnam visited Mui Ne in Phan Thiet City.

The authorities and heads of resorts, hotels and tourist agents are preparing promotions for tourists this summer season.

The survey of the group is one of the activities of the Farm Trip program organized by Nhat Minh International Travel Company from May 9 to 23.

Vietnam – Laos friendship highlighted at Vientiane exhibition

huyen — Sat, 05 Nov 2011 02:56:24 +0000

120 photos were showcased at an exhibition entitled “Vietnam-Laos relations in the Age of Ho Chi Minh” in the Lao

capital city of Vientiane on May 14. The exhibition focuses on three topics: Nguyen Ai Quoc – Ho Chi Minh, the person who laid the foundation for Vietnam-Laos friendship, the relationship between Vietnam and Laos during the two struggles for independence, and their relationship since 1975.

Addressing the exhibition, Pham Hong Toan, Director of the Vietnam-Laos Cultural Centre, said the event acknowledges and praises the flesh-and-blood relationship between Laos and Vietnam.

Vietnamese people will do their best to preserve and develop this great friendship, the solidarity and comprehensive cooperation between the two countries. They will strive to improve mutual cooperation, and respect the sovereignty of both countries, said Toan, adding that this exhibition is one of the activities to celebrate the birthdays of President Ho Chi Minh, President Kaysone Phomvihane, and President Souphanuvong.

The exhibition will last until May 30.

“Friendship Connections” programme on international children’s day

huyen — Sat, 05 Nov 2011 02:52:57 +0000

Vietnamese and foreign children in Hanoi will have a chance to show their cultures at the “Friendship Connections” programme to be held at the Vietnam Museum of Ethnology in Hanoi on May 29-30 on the occasion of International Children’s Day (June 1). They will involve in costume shows, dances, singing, and play musical instruments, games and toys.

The programme aims to help children to find out the diversity, similarities, differences as well as cultural

integration between countries, between East and West, between tradition and modernity, as well as to enhance the mutual understanding among young people from different countries.

The programme will include shows of traditional costumes from Vietnam, India, Japan, the Republic of Korea, Indonesia, Austria and Russia as well as songs and dances from India, Russia and Germany.

The participants will play various traditional games, including cat chases mouse (Germany, Vietnam), rabbits in the forest (Russia), walking on stilts (Vietnam), walking on coconut shells (Thailand) and tug of war (Vietnam).

They will learn how to make Vietnamese traditional toys from leaves, flower and fruit.

Additionally, children will be able to enjoy the films of Vietnamese and world legends and try on and make traditional costumes of Vietnam and other countries in the world.