Hanoi promotes trade village tourism

Hanoi is developing tours to six selected local trade villages as part of efforts to promote this type of tourism in the capital city.

Destinations include Van Phuc silk, Bat Trang pottery, Phu Vinh rattan and bamboo, Son Dong fine art sculpture, Du Du sculpture, Quat Dong embroidery and Ngo Ha mother-of-pearl inlay villages.

The city is planning to develop this type of tourism in 14 other traditional trade villages.

With 1,350 trade villages, including 207 recognised ones, they create much potential for tourism in Hanoi .

Among those, only Bat Trang pottery and Van Phuc silk villages are capable of attracting visitors. However, the number of tourists travelling to these sites is declining due to several internal factors.

Van Phuc silk village in the city’s Ha Dong ward used to have 1,000 silk weaving looms. However, only 250 still operate, with 400 households involved due to the impacts of urbanisation.

According to statistics from Gia Lam district’s Bat Trang commune People’s Committee, the Bat Trang pottery village welcomes about 60,000 visitors both from home and abroad who come to buy pottery products, bringing in 9.52 million USD a year.

However, the tourists have not had a chance to experience the village’s cultural and historical values and participate in making pottery products.

Officials said this is the common situation in other trade villages in Hanoi due to the lack of synchronous coordination among tourism managers, travel agents and local authorities.

The Vietnam National Tourism Administration said the authorities of localities with trade villages should be more involved in tourism development and offer favourable policies and conditions to encourage local people to participate in tourism activities.

Tourism sector busy during Tet holiday

Vietnam’s tourism sector experienced busy days during the traditional Lunar New Year (Tet) festival.

In the first three days of the Year of the Horse, 31,628 people entered and exited Hanoi’s Noi Bai International Airport.

They are mainly overseas Vietnamese returning home to welcome Tet with their family and visitors from Japan, China, and the Republic of Korea.

Da Lat, “the city of flowers”, in the Central Highlands province of Lam Dong served about 10,000 tourists each day.

Phong Nha – Ke Bang National Park, a World Natural Heritage Site in central Quang Binh province, welcomed 3,000 visitors on these days, representing a year-on-year increase of more than 30 percent.

Meanwhile, nearly 4,500 people chose Dong Van karst plateau in the northern mountainous province of Ha Giang as the place to enjoy their holiday. It was recognized as amember of the Global Network of National Geoparks in 2010.

Tens of thousands of people also flocked to Tran Temple in northern Nam Dinh province to pray for health, wealth and luck for themselves and their relatives.

In the southern region, tourism sites including Giang Dien and Da Han waterfalls and Cat Tien national park in Dong Nai province, as well as Soc Trang province’s Phat Hoc,

Mahatup and Sro Lon pagodas, have proven to be attractive destinations for holidaymakers.

Thua Thien-Hue welcomes nearly 41,000 foreigners during Tet

The central province of ThuaThien-Hue received about 60,000 tourists,including 41,000 foreigners, during the first three days of the Lunar New Year (Tet).

The whole province now has 526 guest houses and hotels with 10,000 rooms, and the room occupancy rate reached 90% on February 1 and even 100% on February 4-5.

Warm weather over the past few days has favoured outdoor activities, luring more visitors to its tourist attractions. Restaurants and hotelshave delighted visitors with imperial artistic performances, Hue cuisine and various souvenirs. They have also organized tours of Hue relics during the Tet holiday.

According to the provincial Department of Culture, Sports, and Tourism Director PhanTien Dung, the province offers a variety of Tet festivities including huge floral displays, lion dances, art and martial performances, Sea God worship demonstrations and art exhibitions.

Thousands of foreign visitors visit Danang, Khanh Hoa

Thousands of sea and air travellers have visited the central coastal city of Danang during the past few days, heralding a bonanza year for the local tourism industry in the Year of the Horse.

The city’s Tien Sa port is expected to have received 25 five-star cruise ships in February, the first lunar month of 2014, according to international tour operators.

Defined as one of its five key economic sectors, the local tourism industry has boosted promotion, upgraded infrastructure, and diversified typical tourism products.

The city aims to receive 3.6 million foreign visitors in 2014.

Nguyen Xuan Binh, director of the Municipal Centre for Tourism Promotion, believes the target is within reach, citing Danang’s potential for tourism development, including distinctive products and tours, and strong support from municipal leaders.

The tourism industry also receives strong response from businesses and the public in developing tourism products and creating a friendly environment.

More than 60 flights will bring foreign visitors to the central coastal city of Nha Trang during the current nine-day lunar New Year (Tet) festival.

The newly-built Cam Ranh International Terminal plans to welcome 42 flights from Russia, 17 from China and 2 from the Republic of Korea.

This is the first time Khanh Hoa has received charter flights from China – a new tourism market of the province.

Visitors are scheduled to stay between three to five days to explore traditional customs of Vietnam’s Tet holiday.