Hue kicks off Gold Tourism Month”

A special tourism promotion program “Gold Tourism Month” has been kicked off in Hue city on National Day, September 2 by the Hue Monuments Conservation Center.

During the event, tourists can use one entrance ticket, that they can buy from the Royal Palace, Hieu Lang (Minh Mang) Tomb, and Ung Lang (Khai Dinh) Tomb to enter other monuments in the city.

Groups of 30 or more who arrive at the site will be awarded a free presenter. Students enjoy free ticket at any sites.

Tourists also get a free electric bus on the Royal Palace - Artefact Museum route. Discounts of 50 per cent will be applied to royal court music performances and 10 per cent for other services like royal costume wear and drink.

The Hue Monument Conservation Centre will also organize music performances and put collections of royal artifacts on show in several exhibitions to introduce items donated and lent by local collectors.

Thua Thien –Hue province expects to receive 2.8-3 million visitors in 2014, including 1.2-1.3 million foreigners, and account for 54-55 percent of the local GDP.

The tourism promotion program will run until September 30.

New tourist products attract holidaymakers

Holidaymakers have chosen domestic destinations on Vietnam’s national holidays this year instead of foreign beaches and cities because managers of country’s landscapes have launched new tourist products and travelling operators have offered attracting discounts.

Since the central city of Da Nang invested in new tourist products, the number of holidaymakers arrived in the city increased much on National Holidays.

Tran Chi Cuong, deputy director of Da Nang Province’s Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism told SGGP reporters yesterday that there had been more flights including Da Nang-Narita, Da Nang-Can Tho, Da Nang- Kuala Lumpur.

New tourist products including Sun Wheel, Flower Garden and Bell Tower in Ba Na Hill; Son Tra 800-year-old banyan in Son Tra Natural Preservation Zone recognized as national heritage tree; annual international marathon; Han-river international yacht race and street music attracted travelers.

Ba Na Hills Tourist Park August 31 stopped selling tickets to ensure the service quality as a large number of holidaymakers flocked to the park. Over 7,000 tickets were sold only in the morning of the day.

Meantime, Hue Monuments Conservation Center announced Tourist Golden Month Program at Hue Heritage Site from September 2 to 30. Under the program, if visitors buy tickets into Hoang Cung, Khai Dinh and Minh Mang imperial tombs, they will be exempted from these other tombs.

In addition, visitors  will get  50 percent discount for a ticket of Nha Nhac (royal music) performance at Duyet Thi Duong royal theater; free of charge for tour guides at the Citadel  for a group of 20 or more; free of charge for groups of student within and beyond the province; 15 percent discount for services of royal costume photo taking in the Imperial City; 10 percent discount for electronic buses of the Imperial City, free of charge for water; 10 percent discount for Tu Phuong Vo Su performance space (an important relic in Hue ancient citadel), service of Royal Boat on Huong River and every kind of service in Hue Heritage Site.

Dang Quang Son, director of the management board of Sa Ky Port under Quang Ngai Transport Department, said that on the occasion of the Independence Day (September 2), nearly 1,4000 tourists arrived in Ly Son Island that is located in Paracel Islands.

Accordingly, the management board of the island has to arrange more high-speed boats to serve tourists and most of hotels are full of travelers, he said.

Tourists from Ho Chi Minh City and Southern provinces have also flocked to Da Lat, the city of love in the southern highlands province of Lam Dong. Weather in these days is quite comfortable. Phan Thiet city of central province of Binh Thuan is also a choice of holidaymakers. 

Kuala Lumpur-Danang flights resumed

Malaysia-based budget carrier AirAsia has resumed an air route between Kuala Lumpur (Malaysia) and Danang city (Vietnam), operating four flights per week, starting on August 29.

The first flight with 180 passengers on board arrived at Danang international airport at 1.30am on August 29, kick-starting the re-opening of the direct route which had been interrupted for one year.

Danang is AirAsia’s third destination in Vietnam after Hanoi and HCM City, raising its total number of flights from Kuala Lumpur to Vietnam to 21 per week. Airbus A320s will be used for this third direct route.  

Commercial Director of AirAsia Spencer Lee said that the airlines decided to resume flights to Danang due to an increasing demand of passengers.

AirAsia suspended Kuala Lumpur-Danang flights in June 2013.

Phu Quoc plans golf course, eco-tourism resort

Phu Quoc island in the southern province of Kien Giang, is planning to implement a 28 trillion VND (1.3 billion USD) project for the construction of the Bai Vong international golf course and eco-tourism complex.

The plan is contained in the proposal that the island's Investment and Development Management Board has submitted to the Kien Giang provincial People's Committee.

Construction for the project, which covers a land area of around 560 ha, is expected to begin by the end of this year and is to be completed in five years.

The complex will include modern infrastructure such as a five-star resort and hotel, entertainment area, water park and pagoda. A golf course, restaurant system, convention centre and helicopter services area will likewise be built.

Ho Chi Minh City ensures safety for tourists

Safety for tourist in Ho Chi Minh City, the southern region’s economic hub, has been improved as a result of great efforts made by the local authorities over recent years.

Facing complaints of tourists about snatching incidents on the street or nagging vendors, the municipal People’s Committee in 2006 assigned the Voluntary Youth Public Benefit Service Company Limited (VYPBS Co.) to ensure safety for tourists, turning the city into a safe and friendly destination.

Over the past eight years, the young volunteers have worked alongside the police to patrol the streets and deal with incidents involving tourists.

To enhance the capacity of its staff, Vice Director of VYPBS Co Nguyen Huu Quy said the company will open courses on English language and martial art for them.

According to Deputy Director of the municipal Department for Culture, Sports and Tourism La Quoc Khanh, the number of international tourists visited the city accounts for 55 percent of the national figure, and has been growing at between 15-20 percent each year.

HCM City international travel fair marks 10 years

The 10th International Travel Expo HCM City will take place from September 11 to 13 at the Sai Gon Exhibition and Convention Centre in HCM City's District 7.

Around 100 outbound travel agents from the five countries in the Mekong Sub-region – Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, Thailand, and Viet Nam and 200 travel agents from 18 other countries and territories will take part in event.

The event will feature destinations and tourism products in 28 cities and provinces around Viet Nam.

"After 10 years, ITE HCM City has proved to be a prestigious brand on the regional and international platforms for travel firms to introduce their products and services," Deputy Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism Ho Anh Tuan told the media last Friday.

The event is organised by the HCM City Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism in co-ordination with the Viet Nam National Administration of Tourism, the HCM City Tourism Association, Vietnam Trade Fair & Advertising JSC, and Informa Exhibitions.

Domestic tours favoured during National Day holiday

Vietnam’s National Day brings a bargain holiday bonanza as tour operators slash prices to offload unsold flights and hotel rooms.

The number of tours booked during this year’s National Day holiday is much lower than that recorded in the same period of 2013, despite a plethora of bargain basement holiday specials on offer from tour operators.

While holidaymakers may be happy, it is not necessarily good news for the tourism industry.

Some of the larger tour operators report that tourists are choosing domestic tours to Con Dao, Phu Quoc and destinations in the central region, or short tours to Southeast Asian countries in lieu of outbound tours, which historically have been favoured during the National Day holiday.

Road tours to Da Lat city in the Central Highlands or to the beautiful beaches in Phan Thiet and Nha Trang are at the top of tourists’ list, apart from some venues in the north-western region, which are opting for more scenic tours through the infamous terraced rice fields.

The He Tre (Young Generation) tourism company reports tours to the northern region during the National Day holiday are massively discounted, by about VND500,000/tour/visitor lower than the regular summer prices.

Saigontourist, Vietnam’s leading tour operator, is offering huge 10% - 15% discounts, while another agent, Fiditour, also has monumentally cut-back the price for domestic tours by VND570,000-VND3 million/tour/visitor.

According to tour providers, the sale prices of domestic tours are at the lowest levels of the year. Hotels, restaurants and entertainment service providers are also proffering huge special discounts in a bid to invigorate last minute demand.

Tran Thi Bao Thu, Marketing and Communication Director of Fiditour, says the number of domestic tours offered during the2014 National Day holiday is about 20% higher than the same period last year.

The conflux of increased domestic tour packages on offer and reduction in the number of tours booked has created a last minute buyer’s market as the industry moves to offload the excess capacity and kindle demand with highly lucrative deals.

The strategy appears to be working, at least to some limited extent, as numerous tourists are scheduling last minute tours to the south-western region and north-western provinces.

Vietravel reports that in prior years there were large numbers of holidaymakers booking expensive outbound tours during the National Day holiday to the chagrin of domestic tours. However, this year’s trend is just the reverse.

Thousands flock to Nha Trang on National Day

Thousands of local and foreign visitors flocked to the coastal city of Nha Trang on August 31 to celebrate the National Day (September 2) holiday and partake in cultural and scenic tours of the Nha Trang Bay area.

Nha Trang is expected to welcome some 37,000 visitors, including 10,000 foreign arrivals during the holiday, up 38% compared to last year, according to the central Khanh Hoa province’s Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism.Some  of the most favourite destinations in Nha Trang Bay are Mun and Mot islands, Ca Tri Nguyen Lake, fishing village, and Bai Tranh.

Meanwhile, the central province of Thua Thien Hue on September 2 announced local visitors  can visit the Hue Heritage site for free during the holiday.

From now till the end of September, the Hue Relics Conservation Centre is also carrying out a special promotional campaign offering discounts of up to 50 % on tickets to attend Royal Court Music performances at the Hue Heritage Complex.

The Hue Relics Conservation Centre is additionally featuring an exhibition on the rickshaw of Tu Minh grand empress that was achieved from the auction in France at Diem Tho residence.

Over the past eight months, Hue has welcomed 1.5 million visitors including 633,000 foreign tourists, generating revenues of VND104 billion.

Malaysia eyes Vietnam tours

Representatives of Malaysian travel agencies are taking familiarisation tours in some central localities of Vietnam on August 30 to link tourist destinations there to Malaysia.

The tours, a first for the country's central region, aim to boost tourism in Quang Ngai province, Da Nang city and Hoi An city in Quang Nam province. The visitors will experience the newly-introduced tourist services of kayaking and snorkeling in the coral reefs of Son Tra Peninsula, located 10km from Danang.

They will explore Hoi An and experience a night of lanterns there. Also in the itinerary are Sa Huynh Museum in Quang Ngai and centuries-old houses in Quang Nam.

Visitors to Quang Ninh province nears 6m

The northern province of Quang Ninh welcomed 5.75 million tourists in the first eight months of this year, according to the provincial department of culture, sports and tourism.

Of those, international tourists reached 1.58 million, while the remainder were domestic visitors.

The total revenue from tourism was valued at US$165 million, up 3 per cent compared to the same period last year.

In the last months of the year, the province will increase tourism promotions and expand the provincial tourism sector's development.

VOV/VNS/VNN