The number of visitors to Hanoi on the New Year holiday from December 30, 2023 to January 1, 2024 is 402,000, up 65% year-on-year.

According to the municipal Tourism Department, in the period, the capital city served 72,000 foreign tourists, a 2.1-fold increase, and 330,000 domestic holidaymakers, up 59% year-on-year.

Total revenue from tourists is estimated at nearly 1.5 trillion VND (61.8 million USD), a year-on-year surge of 73%, and the hotel average occupancy rate is about 60%, up 7.8% year-on-year.

Destinations that attracted large numbers of tourists include Hoan Kiem lake and its surrounding areas and the Hanoi Old Quarter, the Temple of Literature, the Thang Long Imperial Citadel, and the Ba Vi National Park.

President witnesses hand-over of 1,400 houses in Hau Giang

President Vo Van Thuong attended a ceremony to hand over 1,400 houses, worth more than 70 billion VND (2.88 million USD), to poor families in the Mekong Delta province of Hau Giang on January 1.

Expressing his delight at Hau Giang’s achievements after 20 years of establishment, Thuong hailed the province’s efforts to take care of the impoverished, families with difficulties, and people who rendered services to the nation.

He described the house construction for the poor as an important move to help the province eradicate dilapidated and temporary houses in the locality.

The houses are meaningful gifts for local people, giving them more hope for a brighter future, he said, asking the province to pay more attention to checking, repairing and upgrading houses that were already built for the needy.

On the occasion, President Thuong, Standing Vice Chairman of the National Assembly Tran Thanh Man, and a working delegation from the northern port city of Hai Phong presented gifts to policy beneficiary families and poor households in Hau Giang province.

The province is now home to 9,736 poor and 7,426 near-poor households, many of whom are facing housing difficulties.

PM urges consideration of building border economic zone in Cao Bang

Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh on January 1 suggested considering the possibility of building a border economic zone in the northern border province of Cao Bang.

He visited Tra Linh border gate in the province’s Trung Khanh district after its upgrade.

The Tra Linh – Longbang (China) border gate pair was upgraded into an international one on December 28, which is expected to help expand the flows of people, vehicles and goods from third countries, contributing to promoting economic and trade cooperation between Vietnam and China and in the region, and further deepening the friendship between the two countries.

The Government leader stressed the need to develop the economy, including border gate and border trade economies, in accordance with Vietnam's laws and international practices; ensure security, social order and safety; promote vigilance; prevent and combat crimes such as smuggling, drugs; and ensure safety for people passing through border gates.

He ordered relevant authorities to continue building and perfecting the planning, investing in upgrading infrastructure, and researching appropriate policies and mechanisms to create favourable conditions for import and export activities, attract more investment, and promote comprehensive cooperation and development in all fields, particularly investment, trade, intermodal transportation, and tourism.

On the same day, PM Chinh paid a New Year visit and presented gifts to forces on duty at Tra Linh international border gate.

He also attended a ground-breaking ceremony of the first phase of a project to build an expressway connecting Dong Dang border gate in Lang Son province and Cao Bang’s Tra Linh.

Vietnam Airlines carries year's first visitors

The first domestic and international visitors to Vietnam in 2014 received a special welcome ceremony with bouquets and special gifts held by the national flag carrier Vietnam Airlines in collaboration with localities nationwide on January 1.

Ho Chi Minh City welcomed its first foreign tourists on a Vietnam Airlines’ flight from Paris while Da Nang city greeted the first visitors on flights from Tokyo and Hanoi.

In the meantime, the central provinces of Thua Thien – Hue and Nghe An had their first visitors from Hanoi, and Binh Dinh and Quang Binh welcomed their first visitors from Ho Chi Minh City.

Those from Ho Chi Minh City to Ca Mau and Con Dao were also accorded to effusive welcomes.

This year, Vietnam aims to welcome 17-18 million foreign visitors, the same number recorded in 2019-the time before the COVID-19 pandemic broke out, and 110 million domestic ones. Tourism revenue is expected at some 840 trillion VND (34.61 billion USD).

PM attends ground-breaking of Lang Son - Cao Bang expressway

Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh on January 1 attended a ground-breaking ceremony of the first phase of a project to build an expressway connecting the two northwestern border provinces of Lang Son and Cao Bang.

The 121km expressway will have four tunnels through the mountains and several bridges over valleys, and its total investment for the two phases will be nearly 23 trillion VND (947.6 million USD).

The first phase has a length of 93.35km, with the starting point at Tan Thanh border gate intersection, Van Lang district, Lang Son province, and the ending point at National Highway 3 intersection in Chi Thao commune, Quang Hoa district, Cao Bang province. Total investment for this phase is 14.3 trillion VND, and the implementation period is 36 months.

The 17m-wide road will allow vehicles to  travel at a speed of 80kmph.

PM Chinh said that this is the biggest transport infrastructure project invested in Cao Bang province to date.

The project will help boost socio-economic development, and national defence and security, maintain national border sovereignty, and create a new vital international expressway for goods trading from Lach Huyen International Port (Hai Phong) to Chongqing - Urumqi (China) - Khorgos (Kazakhstan) and then to European countries, thus contributing to increasing the competitiveness of the economy, and motivating socio-economic development of Cao Bang, Lang Son and the entire northeastern region, he stressed.

On the same day, PM Chinh visited and presented gifts to workers of Cao Bang Cast Iron and Steel Factory in Chu Trinh commune, Cao Bang city.

First New Year visitors to Thua Thien – Hue receive effusive welcome

The central province of Thua Thien – Hue accorded its first 200 visitors on New Year day to a special welcoming ceremony at Phu Bai International Airport on January 1.

Besides bouquets and souvenirs, passengers on Vietnam Airlines’ Flight VN1541 from Hanoi enjoyed an art performance and received New Year wishes from local authorities.

Particularly, two luckies passengers were presented Vietnam Airlines’ round-trip tickets and special gifts from the provincial Department of Tourism.

The ceremony is part of the activities to kick off the series of festivals in Thua Thien – Hue throughout the year, helping popularise local tourist destinations and standout products, as well as develop the brands of “Hue – the city of festival”, “Hue – the city of typical cuisine”, and “Hue – the city of Ao dai”.

Hue, the imperial capital in Vietnam for over 100 years, has been a unique destination in central Vietnam with its five UNESCO heritage: the ancient citadel relic complex, Hue royal court music, Nguyen Dynasty’s wooden blocks, Nguyen Dynasty’s royal administrative documents, and literature on Hue royal architecture

This year, Thua Thien - Hue eyes to welcome up to 4 million tourist arrivals, with domestic visitors accounting for 60-70%, and earn some 8 trillion VND (329.6 million USD) from them.

Diversifying tourism products and improving customer experiences are important measures for Thua Thien - Hue to carve out its goals. Besides, the province has plans to branch out high-end tourism offerings, with a focus on culture-heritage tourism, eco-tourism, resort and healthcare tourism, and MICE tourism, among others.

It will continue developing smart tourism on the basis of digital transformation and green and sustainable transition.

Lao Cai, China’s Yunnan province step up cooperation

Localities in the northern mountainous border province of Lao Cai and Hekou district in China’s Yunnan province will bolster collaboration in the areas of economy, trade, and industrial parks in the time to come, heard a working session held in Lao Cai city on December 31.

Expressing their delight at the sound cooperation and exchange between Muong Khuong, Bat Xat and Bao Thang districts and the Chinese district in 2023, participants agreed to enhance friendship exchange, promote economic cooperation, and strengthen connectivity and cooperation in investment, culture-tourism, education-sport and cross-border labour, among others.

Regarding collaboration in economy, trade and industrial parks, the localities reached consensus on bolstering connectivity in terms of policy, smooth circulation of labour, goods, and capital, and  the organisation of trade promotion activities.

Additionally, they will work to promote the export of high-quality farm produce and food while developing cross-border e-commerce, with focus sharpened on the formation of long-term linkage mechanism on customs clearance and measures to facilitate cross-border e-commerce.

The localities also concurred to take turns to organise sessions on Party building and governance work.

An art programme to welcome the New Year 2024 was held on the December 31 night to enhance cultural exchange, tighten solidarity and friendship, and promote comprehensive and sustainable development of Lao Cai city and Hekou district.

President attends event to sum up construction of houses for the poor in Soc Trang

President Vo Van Thuong on January 1 attended an event to sum up the implementation of a campaign to build 1,200 houses for poor households in the Mekong Delta province of Soc Trang.

The campaign has been jointly implemented by the Ministry of Public Security and Soc Trang provincial authorities.

As Soc Trang is a border province with Khmer ethnic people accounting for one-third of its population, and often affected by natural disasters such as drought and saltwater intrusion, people's lives still face many difficulties, and the number of poor and near-poor households remains high. Statistics show that there are currently 15,139 poor and 26,242 near-poor households, accounting for 12.4% of the total number of households in the province, mainly in border and Khmer ethnic-inhabited areas. Notably, 6,972 households are in particularly difficult situations in terms of housing that need attention and support to stabilise their lives.

Therefore, the Ministry of Public Security has mobilised and supported the construction of the 1,200 houses for poor people with housing-related difficulties in the province with a total cost of over 60 billion VND (2.47 million USD).

On the same day, the State leader visited and presented gifts to Heroic Mother Le Thi Thanh whose husband and two children are martyrs in My Xuyen district.

Festival spotlights Hue’s cultural heritage

A kaleidoscope of festive activities will be held throughout 2024 in the central province of Thua Thien – Hue in the framework of the Hue Festival 2024, the provincial People’s Committee said on January 1.

Themed “Cultural heritage with international integration and development”, the event will feature an array of standout festivals, including Spring Festival from January to March, Summer Festival from April to June, Autumn Festival from July to September, and Winter Festival from October to December, and hundreds of response activities.

Director of the Hue Monuments Conservation Centre Hoang Viet Trung said that the festival will continue capitalising on the royal, religious and traditional festivals while aiming at developing the new ones, turning them into local tourism products that help promote the province’s socio-economic development.

The province debuted the Hue Festival 2024 by performing the Ban Soc (royal calendar delivery) ceremony – the event that kings under the Nguyen Dynasty organised to distribute calendars for royal mandarins at Ngo Mon (Noon Gate). Ordinary people received the calendar in their localities.

Hue Festival, held for 24 years, is one of the key international art event in Vietnam.

The local administration has been reviving the wearing of traditional ao dai (long dresses) in the community on festivals and special days of the year to promote the beauty and value of the Hue-based 300-year-old dress.

Hue, the imperial capital in Vietnam for over 100 years, has been a unique destination in central Vietnam with its five UNESCO heritage: the ancient citadel relic complex, Hue royal court music, Nguyen Dynasty’s wooden blocks, Nguyen Dynasty’s royal administrative documents, and literature on Hue royal architecture.

Hoi An welcomes tens of thousands of visitors on New Year holiday

Hoi An ancient city, UNESCO-recognsied world cultural heritage, in the central province of Quang Nam served tens of thousands of tourists on the occasion of the New Year holiday from December 30, 2023 to January 1, 2024.

Representatives of the authorities of the province and the city on January 1 welcomed and presented flowers and lanterns, a symbol of Hoi An, to the first foreign visitors to the ancient city.

Truong Thi Ngoc Cam, Director of the city’s Centre for Culture, Sports, Radio and Television, said that to welcome the new year, municipal authorities have organised a series of cultural events to attract tourists such as Quang culinary festival, Hoi An Youth - Countdown Party 2024, and a ceremony to announce Hoi An’s admission to the UNESCO Creative Cities Network.

Hoi An was recognised as world cultural heritage in 1999 by UNESCO. The city is also famous for its Ho Tram which was recognised as a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve in 2009.

New strategy shapes plant cultivation growth to 2030

Deputy Prime Minister Tran Luu Quang has signed a decision approving a strategy to develop plant cultivation until 2030 with a vision to 2050, aiming to turn plant cultivation into a complete and professional technical-economic sector with highly competitive products, meeting requirements in food safety, national food security and other needs of the economy, securing high export values.

Other objectives of the strategy are to effectively use resources, protect the ecological environment, efficiently prevent and control natural disasters, and adapt to climate change, while creating jobs, improving income and quality of life for farmers, contributing social stability, ensuring national defence and security.

Specifically, the growth rate of plant cultivation production is expected to reach 2.2-2.5% per year by 2030, while the average growth rate of added value in the crop processing industry is 8-10% per year.

The rate of crop product value produced under the cooperative and linkage forms is hoped to reach 30-35% of the total value of the sector, while export turnover of crop products per hectare of farming land is expected to hit 150-160 million VND (6,181-6,593 USD).

At the same time, the area of rice farm will be kept stable at 3.56 million hectares with an expected output of over 35 million tonnes of rice.

In 2025, the country will have 107,000 hectares of high-quality coffee, while the area of specialty coffee will be increase to 11,500 hectares by 2030 with an output of about 5,000 tonnes. Meanwhile, rubber yield will be raised to 1.8-2 tonnes per hectare, while that of peppercorn will be increased to 1.5-1.7 tonnes per hectare.

The structure of fruit farms will also be re-organised to form production areas of major kinds of fruits based on advantages of particular regions, processing facilities and market demand, according to the strategy.

Preserving cultural heritage, generating sustainable development

Engaging the community in the preservation of natural resources and cultural heritage values has an important role to play in boosting sustainable development since it will bring substantial benefits to the national economy.

According to Dr. Nguyen Thi Thu Trang from the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism’s Department of Cultural Heritage, cultural heritage could meet the development requirements of the cultural industry, especially cultural or heritage tourism.

However, cultural heritage is only preserved when it is fully tapped for comprehensive development of the Vietnamese people, she said, adding the heritage must be safeguarded, and able to create sustainable livelihoods for the community.

Ninh Binh is the first and the only locality in Vietnam possessing “double” UNESCO titles with its Trang An Scenic Landscape Complex – mixed Cultural and Natural Heritage of the World.

The management board of the Trang An complex said that since the complex received the UNESCO’s recognition on June 25, 2014, its standout values have been honoured and preserved. There is an increasing awareness from the community of the significance of the heritage site, while the popularisation of the heritage’s values has been enhanced

The province has organised the Ninh Binh – Trang An Festival - a national cultural tourism event to promote cultural exchange and honour cultural heritage in tandem with tourism development.

Director of the provincial Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism Nguyen Manh Cuong said that a story of Hoa Lu ancient capital’s history and culture was highlighted at the the second Ninh Binh – Trang An Festival taking place on December 26-31, with a real scene show meticulously arranged on the background of Trang An complex’s mystical space.

Thanks to the province’s initiatives to promote its heritage, Ninh Binh has enjoyed robust tourism growth. The number of visitors to the province has risen 39%, while tourism revenue has surged 39% since 2015.

During January – September, the province hosted more than 5.5 million visitors, up 99.1% year-on-year, and gained an estimated 5 trillion VND (205.6 million USD) from tourism services. Tourism revenue has made significant contributions to preserving and renovating cultural heritage items within the Trang An complex.

Over the past time, Ninh Binh has made a transition from agriculture-based economy to service-based economy with green and sustainable growth. The move has helped promote the vitality, potential and values of local heritage items, making them an asset of the community.

More than 7,000 local women have contributed to the local preservation efforts by engaging in boat riding and cleanup activities at the complex.

Director General of the Vietnam National Administration of Tourism at the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism Nguyen Trung Khanh said that tourism has bolstered the development of other sectors and restored traditional festival and crafts, while promoting economic restructuring.

The non-smoke industry has generated a number of jobs, contributing to alleviating poverty, giving a facelift to the rural areas, and improving local livelihoods, he said. Developing tourism in tandem with preserving the environment and the value of cultural heritage is important to boost local socioeconomy, and sustainable tourism development, he explained.

Khanh highlighted that Vietnam, boasting more than 40,000 relic sites and 15 UNESCO intangible cultural heritage, has huge potential to build cultural tourism offerings.

Many localities have capitalised on their cultural heritage values to form diverse tourism products, including a tour connecting ASEAN countries’ heritage, Hue Festival, Nha Trang Sea Festival, Ha Long Carnival, culinary festivals, and stellar art shows such as Hoi An Memories and the Quintessence of Tonkin.

Vietnam has been honoured as a leading destination in Asia for many years. Most recently, the country won the World’s Leading Heritage Destination at the World Travel Awards in 2023 for the fourth time so far.

Together with the title obtained in 2019, 2020, and 2022, this time’s award shows the globally outstanding values and attractiveness of the country’s cultural heritage to the international community.

Several destinations of Vietnam were also granted different awards this year. Among them, Hanoi won the World’s Leading City Break Destination title while Phu Quoc in the Mekong Delta province of Kien Giang was named the World’s Leading Nature Island Destination. Moc Chau in the northwestern province of Son La was listed as the World’s Leading Regional Nature Destination, Ha Nam province the World’s Leading Regional Cultural Destination, and Tam Dao in the northern province of Vinh Phuc the World’s Leading Town Destination.

The awards and titles are a vivid illustration for the country’s efforts to promote heritage values in tourism and socioeconomic development.

Hoi An joins UNESCO Creative Cities Network

The central Quang Nam province hosted a ceremony on December 31 to reveal that its ancient city of Hoi An has joined the UNESCO Creative Cities Network (UCCN).      

The official admission has created favourable condition for Hoi An to elevate its brand, attract greater investment, focus on educational development programmes, and host cultural and creative events towards achieving sustainable development.

Hoi An currently boasts five traditional craft villages with nearly 658 small businesses and 1,710 business households operating in the field of crafts and folk arts.

In line with, 4,000 direct workers are estimated to earn an average income ranging from VND85 million and nearly VND100 million per year from crafts and folk arts.

Upon addressing the ceremony, leaders of Hoi An municipal People's Committee affirmed that the city has always paid close special attention to the preservation of traditional craft villages, noting that these craft  villages have contributed to creating jobs and generating high income for workers.

According to Nguyen Van Lanh, vice chairman of the Hoi An municipal People's Committee, joining the UNESCO Global Creative Cities Network is the process in which Hoi An has demonstrated its commitment to sustainable development based on indigenous resources.

Lanh emphasised that this is also an opportunity for Hoi An to further integrate into the world.

Nearly 4,000 foreign tourists arrive in Quang Ninh on last day of 2023

Ha Long International Cruise Port in the northern province of Quang Ninh welcomed two super cruise ships on December 31, with the vessels bringing nearly 4,000 European and American tourists to the UNESCO-listed Ha Long Bay world heritage site.      

The Vasco Da Gama cruise ship from Portugal docked at Ha Long for the first time, carrying nearly 650 German tourists on board, while Malta-flagged cruise ship Celebrity Solstice arrived in Ha Long city five times this year, bringing with more than 3,000 European and American tourists. This also marked the arrival of one of the largest tourist groups since October.

The visitors are expected to explore popular destinations around Ha Long city such as Quang Ninh Museum, as well as taking a city tour to gain greater insights into local culture and cuisine.

On the New Year occasion, Quang Ninh is anticipated to launch a diverse range of activities to attract tourists, including the 30th anniversary of the establishment of Ha Long city and countdown programmes to welcome in the New Year.

In particular, during the two-day holiday, more than 25,200 people completed immigration procedures through Bac Luan I and Bac Luan II border gates in Mong Cai city, including about 11,800 people entering Vietnam.

Source: VNA/SGT/VNS/VOV/Dtinews/SGGP/VGP/Hanoitimes