Ethnic heritage gets ready for 2014

Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism Hoang Tuan Anh has asked Central Highlands region localities to hasten the categorising of ethnic minority groups' tangible and intangible cultural heritages.

The valuable cultural heritages of the region will come into sharp focus during the 2014 National Tourism Year, which is scheduled to kick-off from late December.

A meeting of the steering committee for the 2014 National Tourism Year chaired by Anh was held in Lam Dong Province on Saturday to prepare for the event.

Themed "High Mountains and Thick Forests of the Central Highlands", the event will be held in the province and other provinces in the region throughout next year. It will comprise 44 events organised jointly by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism and the provinces of Lam Dong, Dak Lak, Dak Nong, Gia Lai and Kon Tum.

Dak Lak's charming lake in the Central Highlands attracts interest

Along with Buon Don tourist village and Draysap and Trinh Nu waterfalls, Lak Lake is the pride of the Central Highlands province of Dak Lak.

Located 50km south of Buon Ma Thuot City on National Highway 27, the 550-hectare lake is the largest body of freshwater in Lien Son Township.

One surprising feature is that the way to the lake is not surrounded by coffee plantations or pepper farms but by immense rice fields.

The best times to admire the lake's stunning landscapes, as testified by scores of photographers, are during sunrise and sunset.

Visitors can hire bicycles to go around the area. In Jun, a village 2km away, they can clamber on the back of elephants.

A ride costs VND250,000 (US$22) for 30 minutes per couple.

Preparations underway for National Tourism Year 2014

The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism (MCST) has asked five Central Highlands localities to collect and inventory both tangible and intangible cultural heritage of ethnic minority groups for next year’s tourism year.

The valuable cultural heritage of the Central Highlands will be the centerpiece of the 2014 National Tourism Year which is scheduled to kick off from late December 2013.

Themed “High Mountains and Thick Forests of the Central Highlands”, the event will be held in Lam Dong, Dak Lak, Dak Nong, Gia Lai and Kon Tum provinces in the region throughout the following year.

Major activities will include the first Vietnam-ASEAN Heritage Festival, a festival marking the 120th founding anniversary of Da Lat, the capital city of Lam Dong, the fifth Da Lat Flower Festival and a ceremony to launch the 2014 Central Highlands-Da Lat National Tourism Year.

A festival of brocade arts, a Central Highlands fashion show, a fiesta of regional wooden statues, and an international Gong festival will be held during the year.

A host of sporting events such as an elephant race, a boat race and several folk games will be made available for visitors to take part in.

Special tours will be launched during the event to give tourists an insight of the local life and culture.

Savannakhet, Da Nang flights to resume schedule

The central city of Da Nang and Savannakhet province in Laos plan to restart direct flights to boost investment and trading.

In March, Laos airlines inaugurated the Pakse-Savannakhet-Da Nang flight every Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday using an ATR-72 aircraft.

At a meeting with Da Nang City's People's Council, Souphanh Keomixay, the Secretary of the Party's Provincial Committee and Governor of Savannakhet called for more investment from Da Nang City in the provinces' agriculture, mining, trading and tourism sectors.

He said that Savannakhet province would create the best possible conditions for businesses from Da Nang to invest in Laos.

Da Nang will also help Savannakhet by offering students university and post-graduation courses.

VietJetAir opens ticket sales for latest raft of routes

Budget carrier VietJetAir on Wednesday opened sales of tickets for its new domestic routes, including flights on the Ha Noi – Hue and Ha Noi – Buon Me Thuot routes.

Flights on these routes begin on October 15, with each route having an initial seven flights per week.

The HCM City – Hai Phong, HCM City– Vinh and HCM City– Phu Quoc routes are set to include three additional return flights per day.VietJetAir operates about 500 flights per week.-

RoK lures Vietnamese visitors

Groups of Vietnamese tourists numbering 10 people and above are being offered financial incentives to visit the Republic of Korea (RoK) from August to December this year.

The Korean Tourism Organisation (KTO) in Hanoi is offering such groups 15,000 won (13.50 USD) for each member to spend in the country in a bid to attract more Vietnamese tourists to visit.

According to the KTO, in addition to receiving the money, the groups will be welcomed at airports and presented with gifts.

They will also be taken to watch artistic performances, visit attractive destinations in the country and experience making traditional cakes, practicing taekwondo and wearing a traditional hanbok.

In order to participate in the programme, travel agencies are required to send information on the groups’ schedules, numbers and the KTO’s application form to the office in Hanoi no later than 15 days before the date of departure.

New Vinh-Vientiane flight route planned

Nghe An province and the Civil Aviation Administration of Vietnam on August 9 examined the possibility of opening a new air route servicing flights between Vietnam’s Vinh city and Laos’ Vientiane capital.

Around 160,000–180,000 passengers travel by road annually between Vietnam’s northcentral region and the Laotian capital, passing through the Nam Can (Nghe An), Cau Treo (Ha Tinh), and Na Meo (Thanh Hoa) border gates.

A Vinh-Vientiane flight route has become increasingly necessary as annual averages continue to grow, experts said.

Following a test operated out of Vinh Airport, the Civil Aviation Administration of Vietnam and the Nghe An Provincial People’s Committee agreed on a roadmap for opening the Vinh-Vientiane route.

The first flight is scheduled for December 1, 2013.  

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