Saigon Railway to add trains for National Day

The Saigon Railway Passenger Transport Company is scheduling additional trains to meet the increased travel demand for the upcoming National Day holiday (September 2).

Five extra trains, coded SN3, SN4, SN5, SN6 and SN8, will operate on the Saigon-Nha Trang route from August 29 to September 2.

The SPT1 and SPT2 Saigon-Phan Thiet, SQN1/2 Saigon-Quy Nhon and SE21/22 Saigon-Hue trains, as well as trains along the Saigon-Hanoi route will all have additional carriages.

Students will also enjoy a 10% discount on tickets for all domestic routes. The promotion, which also applies to relatives of students, will run until December 31.

Bike adventure marks responsible tourism

A two-day cycling trip in the northern mountainous province of Hoa Binh is to take place this weekend to raise awareness of responsible tourism.

Anyone who is interested in the trip, named ‘Recycle’ will be shuttled to Luong Son district, when they start their 30km bike ride. Participants will have a change to enjoy cycling while contemplating the beautiful natural landscapes.

They will also join community activities including picking up waste, repairing a local school and building for it a water tank.

Sleeping in still houses by the Hoa Binh Reservoir and sampling ethnic local dishes are also included in the trip’s programme.

According to organiser Footprint Vietnam Travel, the annual trip is to support and to network among responsible tourism stakeholders such as tour operators, tour guides from Footprint and friends in the tourism industry.

To register, send an email to [email protected]

Festival to promote Hanoi’s craft village tourism

More than 400 stalls will be set up to present tourism programmes, culinary culture and products of traditional craft villages of Hanoi and Red River Delta provinces during a festival in the capital city from October 9–12.

Visitors have the chance to observe artisans at work and try their hand at making some products.

Several forms of folk culture like water puppetry, calligraphy and “ca tru” singing will also be introduced along with tours around craft villages in Hanoi.

Apart from these activities, the Hanoi city People’s Committee will discuss measures to develop craft village tourism in Hanoi with participating scientists, artisans, travel agencies and representatives of international organisations.

As part of the 2013 National Tourism Year of the Red River Delta–Hai Phong, the event aims to honour, conserve and develop traditional craft villages in the region.

Visa exemption for three-day transit in China

Visitors from Vietnam and 44 other nations are subject to entry visa exemption when visiting China within 72 hours before going to a third nation, according to China’s Hangzhou Tourism Promotion Department.

At a press briefing on Hangzhou tourism in HCMC on Monday, Hangzhou Tourism Promotion Department said passengers from 45 nations including Vietnam were allowed to visit China within 72 hours without an entry visa when making transit at Beijing and Shanghai airports from July 1. The passengers, however, are required to present their entry visas, air tickets or train tickets to a third nation to Chinese relevant authorities to be subject to the special treatment.

Along with the new policy, Chinese enterprises also encourage Vietnamese tourism companies to directly apply for entry visa for group visitors in China to save time and expenses. To perform procedures on entry visas for groups, Vietnamese tour operators need to send the applications to their partners in China five to seven days before the visitors get on the plane.

“The time is long enough for us to apply for entry visas and send them to travelers in Vietnam. At present, tourists will have to pay more than US$60 each to apply for an entry visa to China in Vietnam but by this way, they will pay some US$32 a person only,” an executive of Beijing Cosmos Travel International Co. Ltd, told the Daily on Monday.

Beijing Cosmos Travel International welcomes from 20,000 to 30,000 Vietnamese visitors annually with more than 30 Vietnamese-speaking tour guides. The firm reported a decline in the number of Vietnamese tourists at present, which was also confirmed by many other Chinese tour operators at the press briefing.

Vietnam Airlines opens new terminal in Tuy Hoa city

The newly-built terminal in Phu Thach ward, east of Tuy Hoa airport, Phu Yen province, opened on August 20th, the national flag carrier Vietnam Airlines announced.

Accordingly, passengers flying to and from Tuy Hoa city will check-in and board their aircraft at this terminal, instead of the old airport.

From August 20th-31st, the carrier’s staff will be on duty at the old terminal to assist passengers who might not have gotten updated information about the change of terminal.

At present, Vietnam Airlines operates 12 flights per week from and to Tuy Hoa, including 5 Hanoi – Tuy Hoa flights, the rest being Ho Chi Minh City – Tuy Hoa flights.

All flights are on 68-seat ATR72 aircraft.

Source: SGT/SGGP/VNA/VNS/VOV/ND