NZ picks Jennifer Pham as honorary tourism envoy

Vietnamese American Jennifer Pham, Miss Asia USA in 2006, has been selected as the New Zealand Embassy’s Honorary Tourism Envoy in Vietnam for 2014. She will travel to New Zealand in June to get a 100% Pure New Zealand Tourism experience and will share her New Zealand stories with Vietnamese audiences.

Her appointment came as New Zealand Minister of Foreign Affairs Murray McCully announced a nationwide New Zealand tourism themed contest jointly held by the New Zealand Embassy and VNExpress online newspaper.

The contest will run for three weeks, and feature a grand prize of an all-expenses-paid trip for two to New Zealand, arranged by Saigontourist.

Contestants should describe their sense of New Zealand in the most creative way possible with topics including the people, unique culture, education, exciting adventure, fresh food, spectacular natural landscapes, cosmopolitan cities and any other New Zealand item that impresses them the most.

Entries can be in words, photo or video and should be uploaded onto VNExpress website at www.vnexpress.net.

There are other prizes for entries posted on the New Zealand Embassy’s Facebook page, including those receiving the most ‘likes’ or ‘shares’.  People can visit www.facebook.com/nzembassyvietnam for more information.

Following these two tourism initiatives, New Zealand will participate in Vietnam International Travel Mart which will take place in Hanoi from today until Sunday.

Three localities ink tourism promotion program

Tourism associations from Ha Noi, Thua Thien-Hue and Ho Chi Minh City in three different regions of Viet Nam on April 5 sealed a cooperation programme to stimulate national tourism development.

The signing ceremony was held on the sidelines of the ongoing Viet Nam International Travel Mart (VITM) in Ha Noi.

The joint program targets to support the travel agencies’ steady business and sustainable development in the three regions.

The parties agreed to implement price incentives, use each other’s services, and cooperate in the organization of tours for visitors.

They encouraged tour operators, hotels, restaurants, and resorts to join the stimulus programme with the aim of increasing the number of tourists visiting the three regions by air, road, rail and sea.

The three sides will jointly cooperate in popularizing tourism products, developing human resources, sharing experiences in business activities and promoting the development of the ”Made in VietNnam” brand.

Two international luxury cruise ships arrive in Chan May Port

Two international luxury cruise ships docked at Chan May Port, Thua Thien-Hue Province with 5,000 foreign tourists and crew members on April 6.

Both modern cruise ships, the Crystal Symphony and Diamond Princess, were from the Bahamas. The Crystal Symphony brought more than 1,000 passengers and crewmembers. The Diamond Princess brought over 3,800 passengers and crewmembers.

The passengers were led on various tours through the central provinces upon arrival at port.

Chan May port is expected to receive 33 international cruises ships with a total of 50,000 foreign visitors this year. The ships will arrive during the Hue Festival 2014.

The Singapore cruise ship, Ocean Drover, docked at Vung Ang Port in Ha Tinh Province on the same day. This ship has capacity of 29,770 tons and is 176.8 meters long.

The ship imported 2,092 cows from Australia for farms in Nghe An Province.

Dining out on Hung Kings’ Death Anniversary holiday

The many tourist destinations and restaurants under Saigontourist Holding Company in HCMC are rolling up their sleeves to put on their food programs and entertainment shows for diners on the occasion of Hung Kings’ Death Anniversary holiday on the 10th of the third lunar month, which falls on April 9 this year.

Binh Quoi 1 Tourist Park, 1147 Binh Quoi Street, Binh Thanh District

A buff et highlighting more than 65 southern specialties will be organized in an airy garden from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. on April 9. Diners will also be entertained by live traditional southern music and folk games, and will have the opportunity to win a lucky draw. The buff et ticket is priced at VND240,000 per adult and VND120,000 per child.

Binh Quoi 2 Tourist Area, at the end of Binh Quoi Street, Binh Thanh District

The park will serve buffets with more than 70 select seafood dishes from 11 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. and from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. on April 9. Diners can watch circus and music show by Latin Eyes music band. Admission costs VND240,000 per adult and VND120,000 per child.

Van Thanh Tourist Park, 48/10 Dien Bien Phu Street, Binh Thanh District

‘Hung King’s Death Anniversary’ dinner buff et with more than 40 signature dishes, including northern specialties, will be served from 5 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. on April 9. While having dinner, customers can enjoy

a live violin and guitar concert. The buff et costs VND250,000 per adult and VND140,000 per child. For every 10 tickets bought, customers get one free.

Tan Cang Tourist Area, A 100 Ung Van Khiem Street, Binh Thanh District

A “Hotpot and Grill’ food program will be held to serve diners with more than 60 grilled and hot pot dishes

from 5 p.m. on April 9. Th e dinner will be rocked along with entertainment shows in a garden by the Saigon River. Adults pay VND290,000 and children VND160,000 for admission.

Saigon Restaurant Ship, Bach Dang Wharf on Nguyen Hue Boulevard, District 1

from 10:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. on April 9. Diners will also be entertained with Vietnamese songs performed live by a local band. Gourmets can also have a chance to witness vegetable artistic demonstrations of an artisan. Tickets are priced at VND230,000 for an adult and VND120,000 for a child. Customers buying 10 tickets each before April 9 can get one free.

HCM City sees 2,600 apartments sold in Q1

Around 2,600 apartments in HCMC were sold in the first quarter of this year, up 9.8% compared to the previous quarter and up to 92.2% over a year ago, the property service provider CBRE Vietnam reports.

Among the sold apartments, budget and high-end units accounted for 40.5% and 36.2% respectively. This indicated that buyers were returning to the market, CBRE Vietnam said.

The first quarter saw more than 1,800 apartments of new projects sold, a whopping year-on-year increase of over 140%. Notably, the new property projects on offer in this period were of medium- and high-level ratings.

CBRE Vietnam said that after many quiet quarters, the market had got bustling with many new projects introduced one or two months before official sales, including Galaxy 9, Hung Ngan Garden and Topaz Garden.

“Such a move of the developers is aimed at gauging the market,” said Duong Thuy Dung, head of research and consulting at CBRE Vietnam.

The report also pointed out that apartment prices on the secondary market have steadily dropped since 2011 with the high-end segment seeing the strongest fall of 2% from the previous quarter and 5% from last year’s first quarter.

Joint program launched to stimulate tourism

Tourism associations from Hanoi, Thua Thien-Hue and Ho Chi Minh City representing the three regions of Vietnam signed a cooperation program on April 5 to stimulate national tourism development.

The signing ceremony was held on the sidelines of the ongoing Vietnam International Travel Mart (VITM) in Hanoi.

The program is designed to support the travel agencies’ steady business and sustainable development in the three regions.

The parties agreed to implement price incentives, use each other’s services, and cooperate in the organization of tours for visitors.

They encouraged tour operators, hotels, restaurants, and resorts to join the stimulus program with the aim of increasing the number of tourists visiting the three regions by air, road, rail and sea.

The tourism alliance will jointly cooperate in popularizing tourism products, developing human resources, sharing experiences in business activities and promoting the development of the ”Made in Vietnam” brand.

Nguyen Thi Khanh, Vice President of HCM City's Tourism Association, said cooperation programs bring about encouraging results, citing an agreement between the tourism associations of HCM City and Hanoi in 2013 resulting in a twofold increase in the number of booked airfares.

The country’s airlines are highly appreciative of the tourism stimulus programs as they have facilitated increasing the number of air routes from 7 in 2013 to 13 in 2014.

Quang Ninh tourism week to attract 500,000 visitors

The 2014 Quang Ninh Tourism Week, slated for the end of April in the northern province, is expected to attract around 500,000 visitors, a press briefing was told on April 4.

Vice Chairman of the provincial Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism Hoang Quoc Thai said that the event will take place across the whole province with various cultural activities, the highlight of which will be the 2014 Ha Long Carnival on the evening of April 30.

The carnival, the eighth of its kind in the province, will include a wide range of activities such as fireworks and art performances by local and foreign art troupes. The event aims to celebrate the province’s culture, tourism and cuisine, particularly in Ha Long Bay, a UNESCO-recognized World Natural Heritage site.

A cherry blossom festival, a Ha Long trade and tourism fair and other art programs are included in the tourism week.-

Vietnam attends trade, tourism festival in South Africa

The Vietnamese Embassy in South Africa participated in a festival held in Johannesburg city from April 5-6 to promote economics and tourism.

Highlighting the trade potentials in Vietnam, Ambassador Le Duy Hoang introduced to participants a tourism program that features myriad national wonders, cultural festivals, and traditional cuisines.

The Vietnamese pavilion showcasing a number of fine arts, handicrafts and books on local popular tourist destinations and gastronomy drew much attention from the festive goers.

Ambassador Hoang told reporters from the Vietnam News Agency that there has been much potential in developing the nation’s tourism industry, which needs more investment and popularization.

Through their visits, tourists not only help Vietnam popularize its images, but also introduce various services and products as a way to help push global trade ties forward, Hoang said.

He suggested making effective use of the nation’s historical and cultural values besides focusing on the high-quality services to lure more visitors to Vietnam.

According to the Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry (VCCI), two-way trade between Vietnam and South Africa hit 920 million USD last year from 722.6 million USD in 2012.

Japan considers tourist site for its elderly in Dong Thap

Japan is considering investing in a convalescent tourist site for its elderly citizens in the Mekong Delta province of Dong Thap, according to the provincial People’s Committee.

The Hakko Corporation from Japan and the Japan–Asia Exchange Association presented the project at their recent working session with local authorities.

They said if the project is viable, Japan will provide Dong Thap with medical devices to help a local hospital meet international standards so as to serve the above mentioned project.

At the session two other projects, regarding a thermal power plant and farm produce trading, were also introduced to local officials.

Tourism companies nationwide reach cooperation deal

Tourism companies in the country’s northern, central and southern regions have reached a deal on cooperation to promote business at the on-going second Vietnam International Travel Mart (VITM) in Hanoi.

The deal was signed on April 5 by representatives of the three regions’ tourism organisations, which are the Hanoi Tourism Association, the Thua Thien-Hue Tourism Association and the Ho Chi Minh Tourism Association.

Under the deal, participating companies will use each other’s services and work together to offer tours. Groups of member travel agents, hotels and restaurants will be set up to offer discounts, thus stimulating demand.

The three regions’ tourism sectors will also collaborate to develop and advertise new products, as well as assist each other in personnel training.

The agreement was part of the 2013-20 national tourism promotion programme approved by the Prime Minister last year.

The 2014 VITM opened in Hanoi on April 3 with the aim of promoting tourism products and stimulating tourist demand. It has 508 booths, including 154 manned by travel agents from 22 countries and territories worldwide.

Vietnam’s tourism sector plans to receive 8 million international visitors, serve 37.5 million domestic tourists and earn 230 billion VND (10.8 million USD) this year.

In 2013, Vietnam received 7,572,352 international tourists, a 10.6 percent rise over 2012, bringing 200 trillion VND (9.4 billion USD) for the state coffer.

Festival Hue tours attract buyers

A large number of people have registered for tours of the upcoming Festival Hue 2014 in only some weeks after travel agencies started to promote the event slated to take place from April 12 till 20 in Hue City.

Tran Thi Bao Thu, media director of Fiditour, said by March 28, the number of customers buying the Festival Hue 2014 tour reached over 80% of her company’s plan.

Vietravel has also seen tour bookings during the festival time in the central province of Thua Thien-Hue reaching more than 70% of its target.

Travel companies are pinning high hopes that tour registrations for the upcoming event keep growing fast. The tours of the Festival Hue and elsewhere are usually sold for VND4.5-12 million (US$213-569) but customers were offered discounts when they made bookings at the 10th HCMC Tourism Festival at the September 23 Park in HCMC’s District 1 last week.

This year, the festival will be held at the start of summer holiday, so the tours organized during the festival will take in not only the attractions in Hue City but also others in neighboring localities like Danang, Hoi An Town and Phong Nha Cave in Quang Binh Province.

Thu forecast that the festival, held every two years, would attract more participants this year thanks to an effective publicity campaign and interesting shows with more than 60 delegations from nearly 40 countries and territories taking part, up by 27% compared to the Festival Hue 2012.

Organizers of the festival expect that this event will attract 200,000 visitors with 90,000 of them from abroad.

Joint effort needed to improve tourism image: Deputy PM

Deputy Prime Minister Vu Duc Dam has called on ministries, sectors, agencies, associations and every Vietnamese citizen to help develop Vietnam’s tourism brand and make the country an attractive, safe and friendly destination.

Deputy PM Dam, who is also the head of the National Steering Committee for Tourism, made the request at the opening ceremony of the 2014 Vietnam International Travel Mart (VITM) held in Hanoi this morning.

He praised the Vietnam Tourism Association; the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism; and the Hanoi municipal People’s Committee for hosting the event, calling it a useful platform for the development of Vietnam’s hospitality sector.

The deputy PM detailed the robust development of the sector, which recorded a 30% year-on-year increase in revenue in the first quarter of the year.

He asked tourism sector staff to consider the improvement of tourism products and increased customer satisfaction as their main objectives, and to fulfill their assigned tasks with enthusiasm and professionalism.

Under the theme ‘Tourism Demand Stimulation, New Destinations - New Opportunities, Responsible Tourism - Sustainable Growth’, the four-day fair features 508 booths run by 665 tourist businesses from 22 countries and territories.

Participating airlines are also offering visitors 15,000 discounted tickets priced from VND190,000 (US$9) for international flights and VND330,000 (US$15.5) for domestic flights, as well as thousands of tours discounted up to 60%.

Source: SGT/SGGP/VNA/VNS