Vietnam Tourist Articles
Vietnam travel information, holiday ideas and travel advice including hotel reviews and our latest Vietnam articles.
Wednesday 11 December 2013
Beautiful Ha Giang
Friday 31 May 2013
Vietnam tourism experts call for marketing push
Leaders and experts from the tourism industry met yesterday in Hanoi for an in-depth Tourism Promotion Conference, where they debated how Vietnam can become more successful in the lucrative and fast-growing sector.
Such a move would promote the industry in some of Vietnam's key partner markets, said Tuan, who also called for further co-operation with important partners Japan, China, Thailand, Malaysia, Australia and France.
He reported to the conference on the marketing initiatives since the year 2000 and submitted a strategy for tourism development until 2020, which he said would be a long and challenging process requiring a methodical strategy.He said that important long-term initiatives included joining tourism fairs, organising culture-tourism weeks and inviting foreign travel agents and media to Vietnam.
"In my opinion, Vietnamese tourism is integrating with the region and the world and we should promote it professionally," Tuan said."We can no longer be vague when advertising Vietnam. We need to focus on our strengths and sufficiently implement all stages of marketing and promotion, including market research, advertising and building a brand name.
"As a seller, we need to be proactive. In addition to showing customers what we can offer, we also need to introduce them clearly to the product and offer them special deals if necessary."He pointed out some advantages created in the development of Vietnamese tourism thanks to the support of international partners. These include a project with Luxembourg in developing human resources, a Spanish project for the empowerment for Vietnamese tourism in the period 2011-20, and the European Union (EU)'s Environmentally and Socially Responsible Tourism (ESRT) Programme.
Franz Jessen, head of the EU delegation, at the conference praised the partnership between the EU and Vietnam in the last 10 years.
He said tourism was one of the fastest growing and most crucial sectors in the world, and contributed substantially to Vietnam's growth and job creation. However, he warned that some key challenges are putting the potential of the sector at risk.
"International tourist numbers are going down, and the competition from neighbours is fierce," he said. "Marketing is one of these key areas where improvements are needed. If there is one single message on tourism marketing I would like to convey, it's that it needs funding," he said.Jessen said that the spending on marketing per every arrival in Vietnam is around 1 euro (US$1.3) per year, three times less than Malaysia.
"Through the ESRT we have facilitated the development of a Tourism Advisory Board, bringing together some of Vietnam's representatives from the tourism private sector to help provide advice and guidance on the development of tourism in Vietnam," he said."I truly hope that the work and resources we have invested through the ESRT can become a building block to market Vietnam as an attractive tourist destination in the future. From a European perspective, I know that Vietnam represents great potential."
Participants at the conference included representatives from the national and local government, travel companies and international tourism organisations.Representatives of tourism departments from around the country shared their experiences in promoting tourism in their localities.
Nguyen Xuan Binh, director of Da Nang City's Tourism Promotion Centre, expressed his ambition to build up a brand name for Da Nang as a city of events.
"We have had some success in promoting tourism through organising international events. For example, now when talking about firework competitions, people immediately think of Da Nang," he said. "Through our events we have introduced tourists to an image of a beautiful, friendly and peaceful city."
Similar conferences will be organised in other big cities to canvas more opinions from leaders and experts in the tourism industry.
Clean up tour of Ha Long Bay
Handspan Travel Indochina will run a non-profit Ha Long clean up tour targeted at environmentally conscious travelers late this June.
This is the seventh consecutive year this tour will be organised on Lan Ha and Ha Long bays.
According to the company's products & marketing manager, Guilhem Cavaill, tourists will use non-carbon emitting means of transport to visit the lagoons and sandy beaches which few tourists to these bays get a chance to see. The purpose, he said, is not only to have fun, but to clean up the environment and spread environmental awareness among locals and authorities.
"The increasing volume of tourism to Halong and the recent surge of litter, such as plastic and styrofoam products and soap, among floating communities is a great risk to the environment," he said. The maritime biosphere has a lack of environmental consciousness among residents and visitors and inadequate conservation efforts. Important and irreversible damages has already been done, and now is the time to change this."
This year, this tour will be hosted on Treasure Junk and supported by several companies and organistions. The tour will be held on the 22nd and 23rd of June, and will include a barbecue dinner party and an overnight stay on boat. The tour costs USD 90 per participant.
Thursday 30 May 2013
Vietnam Airlines adds more than 3,600 summer flights
The national flag carrier Vietnam Airlines (VA) will add 3,641 flights or 700,000 seats on 12 routes, including eight domestic and four international, from June 1 to August 31 to meet passengers’ demands during this summer peak season.
The airline said in a recent statement that it will thus be able to provide service for as many as 5.53 million seats during this period, an increase of 16 percent compared to the normal capacity, and 22 percent from the same period last year.
An average of 39 flights will be added on a daily basis, while during the peak time, between June 15 and August 15, VA will offer 333 flights per day, it said.
The number of services between Ho Chi Minh City and Da Nang will be increased by 64 percent, while the respective figures for the Hanoi – Da Nang and Hanoi – Cam Ranh routes are 39 percent and 29 percent.
Other domestic routes to have more flights include those between Hanoi and Phu Quoc, Cam Ranh, Da Nang, and HCM City, and between HCM City and Cam Ranh, Da Nang, Hai Phong, and Thanh Hoa.
Services on the above routes will be increased by 19 to 64 percent.
Four international routes with additional flights are Hanoi-Bangkok and HCM City-Bangkok, HCM City-Taipei and HCM City-Kaohsiung.
Meanwhile, budget airlines Jetstar Pacific has offered cheap tickets between May 27-30 to welcome its 5th anniversary, and passengers can pay only 399,000 VND on Ho Chi Minh City-Buon Ma Thuot flights, 449,000 VND on Ho Chi Minh City/Hanoi-Da Nang and Vinh-Buon Ma Thuot, 779,000 VND on Ho Chi Minh City-Vinh/Hai Phong and 749,000 VND on Ho Chi Minh City-Hanoi, departing from September 10 to October 24.
Besides, Jetstar will also provide tickets with only 499,000 VND on Ho Chi Minh City-Singapore, 1.85 million VND on Ho Chi Minh City-Indonesia and 3.18 million VND on Ho Chi Minh City- Darwin (Australia) between September 3 and November 11.
Source: VNA
Two more Asian records recognised for Vietnam
The statue of Buddha belongs to Hoi Khanh pagoda in southern Binh Duong province. It stands 22.5 metres high and weighs 620 tonnes. It is decorated with 20 reliefs on its base, depicting Lord Buddha’s life from birth to the moment he entered Nirvana and 840 lotus petals made of cement around the statue.
The painting titled “Nine dragons fighting for a pearl” (“Cuu Long tranh chau”) is made from a precious stone block weighed more than 2 tonnes imported from Pakistan . It measures 1.83 metres high, 2.1 metres wide and 0.35 metres thick, depicting nine Asian dragons competing for a pearl, which symbolises spiritual strength, power, prosperity and success.
Five Vietnamese records have been recognised as Asian records recently, including the largest Mitreya Buddha seated on Cam Mountain (Phat Lon pagoda in southern An Giang province) and the longest statue of Buddha entering Nirvana on a mountain (Linh Son - Truong Tho pagoda in southern Binh Thuan province).
Meanwhile, Director Nguyen Van Luong sets an Asia’s record of making the most films on the country and people in the sea and island regions. Painter Truong Han Minh was recognised for having the most ink wash paintings auctioned for charity. Painter Dang Ai Viet sets an Asian record for the most portraits of Vietnamese Heroic Mothers.
Wednesday 29 May 2013
Travel Vietnam unlike Any Other
Trekking Mai Chau, Vietnam |
ACTIVETRAVEL Telephone: +844 3573 8569 Fax: +844 3573 8570 Email: info@activetravel.asia Address: Floor 12 Building 45 Nguyen Son Street, Long Bien district, | |
Vietnam, Egypt to enhance cooperation in tourism
Vietnam and Egypt have agreed on the need to conduct more bilateral activities in the spirit of the Memorandum of Understanding on Tourism Cooperation inked in 2006.
The consensus was reached at talks between Head of the Vietnam National Administration of Tourism (VNAT) Nguyen Van Tuan and Chairman of the Egyptian Tourist Authority Naser Hamdy in Cairo on May 27.
During the meeting, host and guest discussed concrete measures to address difficulties facing the two countries’ travel companies.
The Vietnamese side suggested that the Egyptian tourism sector work with Egypt Air on opening direct flights to Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City as early as possible following the establishment of the airline’s representative office in Vietnam.
The VNAT leader also laid special emphasis on the need for more information exchange to help promote the two countries’ tourism potential.
He took the occasion to brief his host on the development of Vietnam ’s tourism over the past three decades, noting that while the number of international arrivals to Vietnam has experienced a three-fold rise over the past decade to reach 7 million visitors in 2012, an estimated 4 million Vietnamese people travel abroad each year.
For his part, Naser Hamdy pledged efforts to promote the image of Vietnam in his country.
Last year, Egypt welcomed 9 million foreign holiday-makers, he said, adding that the number of foreign visitors for the first three months of this year increased by 14 percent year-on-year.
During his stay in Egypt from May 23-27, Tuan and his entourage held several working sessions with representatives of Egypt Air and a number of Egyptian travel agencies to seek cooperative opportunities.
Source: VNA
Positive development of local tourism souvenirs industry
The Da Nang People’s Committee Vice Chairman, Mr Phung Tan Viet, last Friday chaired a meeting to review the first 6-month’s implementation of Decision No 55/2012/QD-UBND which concerns Da Nang’s support policies for the development of the local tourism souvenirs industry.
A wide range of tourism souvenirs featuring local landmarks were displayed at the event. They included handicrafts depicting the Dragon Bridge, key-rings engraved with an image of the Han River Bridge, painted gemstones, and perfumed wooden jewellery boxes.
Nearly 100 products on display were given certificates in recognition of their initial success and their contribution to the development of the local tourism souvenirs industry. In addition, some products were evaluated highly for their development potential. They included night lamps and bracelets made of snail shells from the Dai Duong (Ocean) Gifts company, key-rings engraved with an image of the Han River Bridge and the Marble Mountains from the Pho Hoi Company, the natural stone handicrafts of Truc Xanh (Green Small Bamboo) Company, and Quang Huy Company’s products made from wood, rattan and bamboo depicting the Dragon Bridge.
The 8 local enterprises which have recently been given permission to make tourism souvenirs for sale in 2013, along with others in the future, will soon enjoy the city's preferential policies to develop their businesses. Specifically, they will have the opportunity to access loans at low interest rates, business premises, and other benefits.
The city’s relevant agencies will work closely with the local tourism association and hotels to advertise locally-made tourism souvenirs to visitors.
Source: Danang Today
Tuesday 28 May 2013
Mai Chau enters American Top 10 tourism list
The magazine described Mai Chau as a wonderful destination if visitors are interested in a deeper experience of Vietnam with a warm and welcoming population and unspoiled natural beauty.
Just three hours outside of the capital Hanoi , Mai Chau is a mountainous region dotted with traditional stilt houses. Two ethnic minority groups - the White Thai and Black Thai - make up the majority of the population there, Business Insider reported.
The Business Insider suggested the best way to immerse yourself in the region is through a homestay with local families.
It said visitors can spend two days cycling across mountain trails and through rice fields, visit local villages, and watch a cultural performance by Thai villagers.
Other destinations recommended by the Business Insider include Santiago in Chile, Rio de Janeiro in Brazil, Marrakech in Morocco, Shanghai in China, Trani in Italy, Budapest in Hungary, Lisbon in Portugal, Bordeaux in France, and Old Delhi in India.
Mai Chau was also named one of the top ten "fresh" Asian destinations by hotel booking site Agoda.com.
An unforgettable exploration of the great Mekong Delta, Vietnam
Mekong Delta, Vietnam |
Wooden fishing boats in Mekong Delta, Vietnam |
Floating Market |
Spring rolls |
Biking in Mekong Delta |
After about an hour we stopped at an old couples house where they had a gorgeous little fruit orchard. We had the pleasure of tasting the freshest and most delicious exotic fruit I’d ever had in my life.
To find out more about travelling Mekong Delta with ACTIVETRAVEL ASIA(ATA) , you can refer: http://www.activetravelvietnam.com/tour.php?op=detail&tourId=19
Tons of activities at Nha Trang Sea Festival
This year’s sea festival from June 8 to 11 in Nha Trang City and Khanh Vinh and Ninh Hoa districts will consists of 65 activities.
The information was unveiled by the People’s Committee of Khanh Hoa Province in HCMC last Saturday.
Tourists to the locality will have a chance to join some interesting events like fishing at night, beach volleyball, bicycle race, draught beer and wine festivals, disco carnival on the beach, flower arranging/traditional cake making contest, and art kite flying.
One of the highlights of the festival is the International Sea Travel Expo (ISTE 2013) scheduled from June 6-8 at Diamond Bay Amphitheater with the theme “Sea, Islands and Tourism Development.” The expo is the perfect opportunity to promote Vietnam’s sea and island tourism and Khanh Hoa’s tourism sector to international tourists and to draw foreign investment.
It is expected that the expo will have 160 local and foreign booths and around 80 potential buyers coming to Khanh Hoa Province to meet partners and to gain more knowledge on local tourism products.
The festival has an opening ceremony, street carnival and the final round of Miss Vietnam’s Sea 2013 contest which will be broadcasted live on VTV and HTV channels. Some art troupes from Japan, the U.S. and Russia will take part in the event.
The organizer has launched the website www.nhatrangfestival.vn to update new information to tourists.
Source: SGT
Phong Nha-Ke Bang National Park
Central Quang Binh Province is celebrating the 10th anniversary of UNESCO's recognition of Phong Nha-Ke Bang National Park as a World Natural Heritage Site.
The Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism, Hoang Tuan Anh, attended a ceremony on Saturday to mark the occasion. It was held in the park's Thien Duong (Paradise) Cave, one of the longest in Asia.
"Quang Binh Province should take advantage of the help of international organisations and scientists to protect and embellish the site," Anh said.
Each year, the park attracts about 400,000 visitors, but by 2015, this is expected to jump to 2 million a year, including 100,000 foreign tourists.
A large range of fauna and floral species have been found here including tigers, Asiatic black bear, Asian elephant, giant muntjac, Asian wild dog and the recently discovered sao la.
A photo exhibition featuring the park will run until June 4 in Dong Hoi City in Quang Binh province.
A writing contest on the park was launched early this month. Titled Learning about the World Natural Heritage Site of Phong Nha-Ke Bang National Park, it aims to help people improve their awareness of the heritage of the world.
Source: VNS
Monday 27 May 2013
Halong,Quang Ninh develops green and clean tourism
Halong Bay Vietnam |
Ha Long Carnaval |
Sunday 26 May 2013
Red River Delta targets 5 million foreign visitors by 2020
This goal is set in the region’s overall socio-economic development plan up to 2020, which was recently approved by the Prime Minister.
According to the development plan, the Red River Delta, comprising Hanoi, Haiphong, Hai Duong, Bac Ninh, Vinh Phuc, Hung Yen, Thai Binh, Nam Dinh, Ha Nam, Ninh Binh and Quang Ninh provinces, will be an eastern gateway to the world and be a direct connection between the two dynamic economic areas of Southeast and Northeast Asia.
The region will serve as a springboard for the country to make ‘strategic breakthroughs’ in socio-economic development, realize the economic restructuring plan, and renew the economic growth model.
Priority will be given to developing high quality transportation, consulting, design, finance and banking services. Innovation in telecommunications, education, training and health care will be encouraged, while trade, tourism, and science and technology will be promoted.
Growth for the service sector is targeted at 10 percent annually during the 2011-2020 period.
The region also strives to raise the per capita income to US$2,500 by 2015 and to around US$4,180 by 2020, which is 1.3 times the national average.
Focus will be placed on upgrading and modernizing the railway system towards forming high-speed rail routes from Hanoi to Ho Chi Minh City, Lao Cai, Haiphong and Lang Son.
It is hoped that 35 percent of Hanoi residents, as well as 15-20 percent of people in Haiphong and similar urban areas in the region, will be using public transportation regularly by 2020.
Saturday 25 May 2013
Vestiges of world’s largest cave found in Quang Binh
The expert made the announcement in talks with the local newspaper Saigon Giai phong on May 23.
According to Limbert, the newly-discovered cave is only 2,000m long but it is 30m higher and 50m wider than Son Doong, which measures 200m high, 150m wide and at least 6,500m long.
Unfortunately, the giant cave has collapsed, Limbert said, adding that it was formed by water and also destroyed by water.
During their research trip of Son Doong Cave, scientists from the UK and the US found a streak of collapse running from north to south and numerous giant stalactites in the area in front of the cave. Tests on samples of stone and stalactites taken along the 2km-long streak showed that they were in a big cave formed tens of millions of years ago, connecting the back door of En Cave to the mouth of Son Doong Cave. However, huge floods had caused the cave to collapse at some time from 370,000 to 2 million years ago, according to the British expert.
Limbert also said that his team has found 10 vertical caves in Xuong valley along Chay river within Phong Nha-Ke Bang National Park.
Friday 24 May 2013
How to take the perfect trip to Vietnam
Halong Bay, Vietnam |
Sapa Town, Vietnam |
Hoi an, Vietnam |
Mekong Delta, Vietnam |
Read more: http://www.activetravelvietnam.com/tour.php
BISTA - Bicycle for rent & Information of station Tourist Asia
BISTA (Bicycle for rent & Information of station Tourist Asia) service has just been launched in Nha Trang in an effort of the city to call visitors to contribute to protecting the environment, reducing traffic accidents and promoting the image of a sea tourist city.
In fact, bicycle for rent has been popular for years, but only offered by some families along Tran Phu street or "Tây street" (foreigners street). The idea of organizing bike rental stations associated with providing tourist information (free of charge) was suggested by Asian Joint Stock Company and approved by Nha Trang People’s Committee to pilot tourist season this summer.
Mr. Nguyen Chi Cong, Sale manager of Asian Joint Stock Company, said: "Initially, 120 single and double bicycles will be arranged in 8 BISTA stations along Tran Phu - Pham Van Dong streets.
Each station has 10 single bicycles and 10 double bicycles. Customers may rent bicycle at one station and return at another station convenient for their schedule. In case there is problem with the bicycle, customers can change at the nearest station or inform the station to repair. Particularly, every station has staff in charge of providing city information for tourists as tours, prices, entertainment places...
Currently, double bicycle for rent is 70,000VND/bike/day or 30,000VND/bike/hour. Single bicycle for rent is 50,000VND/bike/day, or 20,000VND/bike/hour. After 2 weeks of pilot program, a lot of tourists have used bicycles for city tour.
Source: TITC
Bai Tu Long gears up for peak summer season
Vice Chairman of the provincial People’s Committee Do Thong said on May 22 that three tours discovering Ha Long Bay – Hon Xep park, Vung Duc – Hon Xep park and Cai Rong port – Minh Chau island will be offered during the upcoming holiday.
Besides, visitors can stay overnight in Hon Xep park, Van Canh island area and Lo O, he said, adding that three inland waterway routes to these destinations will also be opened soon.
The provincial People’s Committee has assigned the Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism to work with the Transport Department, local police, the management board of Ha Long Bay and travel agencies to popularise the tours while promoting the image of Bai Tu Long Bay.
With its long and clean sandy beaches, clear water, fascinating historical sites and untouched beauty, only 200 km from Hanoi, Bai Tu Long Bay has been labelled one of Northeast Vietnam’s wonders of nature.
Embraced by a string of splendid limestone mountains, the eco-system in Bai Tu Long remains untouched.
There are hundreds of islands and hundreds of kilometres of coastline with white sandy beaches like those in Minh Chau, Quan Lan, Ngoc Vung and Son Hao.
Bai Tu Long’s beauty lies in its limestone caves and historical sites such as Van Don pier, Tinh Hai pier, a citadel from the Mac dynasty on Ngoc Vung Island and Quan Lan Mountain on Quan Lan Island.
Monday 20 May 2013
Why You Need to Visit Vietnam
A woman carried a yoke basket down the street in Hoi An, Vietnam |
The central market in Hoi An, Vietnam |
Spring rolls, food in Vietnam |
Mekong Delta, Vietnam |
Halong Bay, Vietnam |
By AUDREY