As perhaps Ha Noi’s most tranquil spot, it is difficult to think of many ways to improve the experience of wandering around the West Lake.

VietNamNet Bridge – After experiencing a tough year 2012, Vietnamese travel firms have decided to find a new way to follow to survive the economic recession and develop.

In 2013, the tourism sector expects to further gain better performance when Viet Nam continues to be a friendly and attractive destination for international tourists.

With little money from part-time jobs, a Hanoian man - Nguyen Van Thai, has traveled to the little known lands of Europe, North Africa and the Middle East, during the 8 years of study in France.

Nine months of traveling with electric bikes, Nguyen Thuy Anh and her Spanish husband went through many countries. Their journey around the world had to stop in Italy because Thuy Anh was pregnant.

Currently, all the foreigners entering the Vietnamese territory are counted as “foreign travelers.”

 Wanderlust, the UK's leading travel magazine, has declared Hoi An the world's top city destination in its latest Readers' Travel Awards.

Travel firms have decided to spend big money to upgrade railroads in an effort to persuade more people to travel by railways.

Apart from the increase of international visitors, the release of new slogan and emblem of the tourism sector, 50 percent of tourist sites having standardized toilets for tourists is one of the boasts of the tourism sector in 2012.

VietNamNet Bridge – Travel firms complain that the current laws do not protect them from the rivals who illegally use their brands.

VietNamNet Bridge - Vung Tau, Ha Long, Dong Thap or Ca Mau are beautiful in video clips by foreign tourists.

 VietNamNet Bridge – It will be easier for foreign people to travel to Vietnam by up-to-nine-seat cars and motorbikes if a draft decree on managing foreign visitors’ vehicles of the Ministry of Transport is approved by the Government.

“Instead of giving us money, please give us forests. We will help elephants reproduce,” said an elephant breeder in Dak Lak.

VietNamNet Bridge – The government has decided that tourism is one of the key industries of the national economy. However, the current policies don’t support the development.

VietNamNet Bridge - Vietnam on BBC has a rustic but fascinating beauty with rivers, mountains, sidewalk tea shops, street vendors and flows of motorbikes.

VietNamNet Bridge – For nearly a month many tour operators in the central region have complained of the increase of the ticket prices to cultural heritage sites in the provinces of Quang Nam and Thua Thien Hue.

Though the year 2012 would come to an end in a couple of weeks, a lot of people have been hunting for cheap air tickets for their tourism plans in 2013. In order to obtain low cost tickets, they have to book tickets many months in advance.

The gloomy picture of the development of the tourism industry of Vietnam has been defined at the consultation meeting on the state management of tourism recently.

VietNamNet Bridge – A luxury resort with 60 rooms and 24 bungalows will be built next to the famous Ban Gioc Waterfall in Cao Bang Province. It is expected that the resort will open in late 2013.

The two best resorts of Viet Nam will be honoured at the Viet Nam Tourism Awards 2011 on Saturday at the Ha Noi Opera House.