Vietnam Tours & Vacations “Travel firms said that in order to attract more tourists, they need close cooperation from air carriers.”

The cooperation not effective yet

Nguyen Van Tuan, General Director of the Vietnam National Administration of Tourism (VNAT), said at the workshop on calling for investment in the airports of Phu Quoc, Can Tho and Lien Khuong held on July 27 in HCM City that cooperation between airlines and travel firms is very important, because both airlines and travel firms have the same purpose and the subjects of clients to serve.

At the workshop, Tuan asked airlines to improve their fleets and have enough aircrafts in order to meet the demand of tourists, because the number of tourists will increase very rapidly in the time to come.

Phan Dinh Hue, Director of Vong Tron Viet (Viet Circle) Travel firm, said the cooperation between airlines and travel firms last time was not close enough, because travel firms always find it difficult to arrange enough air tickets for their clients to fly to Vietnam’s famous tourist sites, including Phu Quoc Island.

Hue told Thoi bao Kinh te Saigon that a group of Vong Tron Viet’s clients once had to shift from Vietnam Airlines to fly with Jetstar Pacific, because Vietnam Airlines could not provide enough air tickets, though the travel firm booked tickets in advance under the cooperation program between Vietnam Airlines and travel firms.

As the result, Vong Tron Viet had to compensate 300,000 dong to every client, because the clients could not fly with Vietnam Airlines as the travel firm promised.

Nguyen Quoc Ky, General Director of Vietravel, also said his travel firms is meeting similar difficulties.

“It is very difficult to book enough air tickets for the same flights on some air routes, especially on some days of week,” he said.

Ky added that many MICE (meeting, incentive, convention, exhibition) groups of tourists consist of 200-400 members. Meanwhile, on some air routes, Vietnamese air carriers only serve with 70-seat aircrafts. As a result, groups of tourists cannot fly on the same aircrafts, which always takes time.

Regarding the flights to Phu Quoc island, Ky said that it is very difficult to arrange enough seats for big groups of tourists, and it will be too tiring for them to go there by road.

Currently, only the national flag air carrier Vietnam Airlines and the Vietnam Air Service Company (VASCO) are providing flights to some tourist sites like Phu Quoc and Da Lat. Previously, Jetstar Pacific provided flights between Hanoi and Can Tho, but it has given up the air route because it could not compete with Vietnam Airlines.

What to do to attract more tourists?

Clodelsa Ty, General Director of United Airlines in Vietnam, said in order to attract airlines, especially international ones, to Vietnam’s airports, the first thing that Vietnam needs to do is to create demand and attract tourists.

“When there is demand, air carriers will come to meet the demand. It is necessary to give clients and investors reasons to come to Vietnam,” Ty said.

Ky of Vietravel said together with developing international airports, local authorities need to develop tourist products in order to attract clients. Travel firms really want to have more tourist products to sell.

VNAT’s General Director Nguyen Van Tuan asked airlines to reserve preferences for travel firms and strategic partners to help them get more favorable conditions to explore the market. Airlines should also listen more to the opinions from travel firms in order to make the cooperation between travel firms and airlines closer

In 2010, both the aviation and tourism industries expect to see high growth rates. In the first seven months of the year, Vietnam attracted 2.91 million foreign tourists and served 19 million domestic tourists, increasing by 35 and 20 percent, respectively, in comparison with the same period of 2009. VNAT hopes to attract 4.2 million foreign tourists and 27-28 million domestic travelers in 2010.

Over the last decade, Vietnam’s aviation market grew by 14-15 percent per annum. Approximately 15.1 million people and 273,000 tons of cargo went through airports in the first six months of the year. Source: Thoi bao Kinh te Saigon

Vietnam Tours & Vacations “The government of HCMC has assigned its tourism department to survey a river tour linking the city with the Mekong Delta and the neighboring country of Cambodia. Tour operators, while applauding the plan, say the more urgent task should be to develop a wharf in the city for tourist boats first.”

Under the city government’s instruction, the Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism will draft an action plan this year to develop the river tour taking tourists from HCMC to the Mekong Delta province of An Giang and Cambodia.

The department is responsible for planning river routes for tourists, and discussing details as such with relevant departments and tour operators before submitting the plan to the city’s government.

The city’s tourism department said it would launch surveys next month to find suitable routes for tourists and consider services needed for the city’s river tourism.

Earlier, the department ascertained huge potential in river tourism after making surveys on two short routes, with one starting from Bach Dang Wharf to the confluence of Nha Be, and from the wharf to Tau Hu Canal.

Asked to comment on the expanded river tourism, most tour operators told the Daily they supported the scheme, but decried the lack of a wharf for tourist boats. They called for quick development of such a wharf.

There are around 20 tourist boats, floating restaurants, and canoes operating at the Bach Dang Wharf in the city’s District 1. At the wharf, such boats can drop anchor at the end of Nguyen Hue Boulevard and the end of Hai Ba Trung Street to receive guests but cannot be moored there for a long time because space is limited.

Furthermore, as Bach Dang Wharf is not a tourist wharf so it lacks services for guests as well as places for tourist buses to drop by.

Chiem Thanh Long, director of Binh Quoi Tourist Village, told the Daily that Binh Quoi had canceled its plan to build a big floating restaurant due to the lack of a venue to anchor.

“There is no place for new tourist boats. I think that the most important activity for the river tourism development plan is to build a tourist wharf in the city,” he said.

Binh Quoi currently has six boats and canoes operating on the river section between Binh Quoi and Bach Dang Wharf.

The tourism department estimated foreign arrivals in the city this month at around 188,000, up 20% year-on-year but down around 12,000 compared to June as now is the low season of the inbound sector. Tourism revenue is expected at VND2.7 trillion this month, up 15% year-on-year, bringing the total in the January-July period to over VND21.2 trillion. VietNamNet/SGT

Vietnam Tours & Vacations “Fully tapping into the top ten markets boasting the highest numbers of visitors to Vietnam, including Cambodia, is seen as a priority task of the tourism industry to accomplish the target of serving 4.5 million foreign tourists in 2010.”

Statistics released by the General Statistics Office show the number of Cambodian holidaymakers to Vietnam has grown steadily during the first six months of the year, reaching 117,000 or a year-on-year rise of 36 percent.

The tourism sector is expecting the number of Cambodian tourists to the country in 2010 would surge by 30 percent from the figure of 118,000 last year.

Ho Chi Minh City leads the nation in terms of attracting Cambodian visitors, making up 60-70 percent of the total number. It is followed by the Central Highlands province of Lam Dong, the Mekong Delta province of An Giang and the southern province of Binh Duong.

Industry insiders said visa exemptions, high quality goods, attractive tourist destinations and convenient travel are the main attractions that draw an increasing number of holidaymakers from Cambodia to Vietnam.

Transport firms such as Mai Linh and the Saigon Passenger Transportation Company (Sapaco) have highly valued the development of tourist transport services between the two neighbours. Every day, there are almost 80 bus trips full of passengers on the route.

In a recent interview, the Secretary of State of the Cambodian Ministry of Tourism, He So Somara, said Cambodians used to prefer travelling to Thailand, but now they choose Vietnam for their holidays due to short distance, the availability of border gates, similar foods to Cambodia and low expenses.

The development of different tourism forms, including resort and health tourism, has also been attracting more Cambodian visitors to Vietnam, he said.

Dr. Phan Thanh Hai, Director of the Ho Chi Minh City-based Medic centre, said an average of more than 100 Cambodian patients have come to the centre for medical checks-up each day, accounting for 10 percent of the total number. Other hospitals such as Cho Ray, Traditional Medicine and Vu Anh have become popular destinations of Cambodians.

Tourist firms said most of the tours from Cambodia are launched at the demands of Cambodian people following fairs showcasing Vietnamese products and Vietnamese doctors’ trips to provide medical checks-up and treatment.

To seize this opportunity, Ho Chi Minh City is developing tours along rivers into its major tourism products to woo more foreign visitors, including those from Cambodia. A number of tours along Tien and Hau rivers to the Cambodian capital city of Phnom Penh are luring holidaymakers.

As part of the Mekong sub-region tourism development project, An Giang has sent a delegation to Cambodia to explore and promote tourism in this market, and discuss with local partners plans to develop destinations. The annual flow of tourists via border gates was another issue discussed at the meeting.Source: Vietnam+

Vietnam Tours & Vacations “The theatre on July 19 signed cooperation contracts with travel firms and introduced its new shows that feature various Vietnamese musical genres. The theatre will launch its “Spring Festival” show on July 30, performing every Monday, Wednesday and Friday for tourists.”

This show emphasizes entertainment rather than just the classical cheo art, advertising the unique features and beauty of various forms of Vietnamese music, song, and dance.

“Spring Festival” is a variety show, introducing quan ho, hat xam, ca tru, chau van and cheo through a story. Before the show, pamphlets in Vietnamese and English will be delivered to audiences to provide them with information about the history of Vietnamese traditional arts.

The show will not be performed by the theatre’s senior artists, but rather by young talents.

To celebrate Hanoi’s 1000th anniversary, the Hanoi Cheo Theatre is also arranging a cheo drama about a historical character named Cao Ba Quat.

Cheo is a form of generally satirical musical theatre, often encompassing dance, traditionally performed by Vietnamese peasants in northern Vietnam. It is usually performed outdoors by semi-amateur touring groups, stereotypically in a village square or the courtyard of a public building, although it is today increasingly also performed indoors and by professional performers.

Cheo origins date to the 12th century during the Ly Dynasty and has existed in its present form since roughly the 16th century. It derives from folk traditions, and was orally transmitted; unlike courtly theater traditions, it employs no scenery and sparse costumes and makeup. It involves a combination of traditional set pieces and improvisational routines appropriate to amateur theatre. It often carries of a message of satirical criticism of the existing social order. The traditional musical ensemble consisted of fiddle, flute, and drum, though in modern recreations more instruments are used. Source: VietNamNet

Vietnam Tours & Vacations “As many as 240 delegates from 43 countries and territories will attend the 30th Federation of International Art Photography (FIAP) conference, held in Vietnam for the first time from August 1-8.”

Vu Quoc Khanh, chairman of Vietnam Association of Photographic Artists (VAPA), on July 26 affirmed that the event is held to coincide with the 1000th anniversary of Thang Long-Hanoi and is a good chance to promote national images and Vietnamese people to international friends.

Besides the sessions in Hanoi, the artists will join fact-finding trips in Hanoi, the central province of Quang Binh and the northern province of Ninh Binh, to produce artworks which will be collected and published in a book.

During the event, the VAPA will choose for display about 100 high quality works of colour and black and white photos that received domestic and international prizes.

FIAP, established in 1947, is the largest and most prestigious art photography organisation under the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) with members from 80 countries and territories across five continents.

Vietnam became a member of FIAP in 1991 and has about 300 member photographers at present. Source: Vietnam+

Vietnam Tours & Vacations “With its white beaches, tranquil village scenes, and lots of fresh air, Minh Chau Island in Quang Ninh Province offers a sublime northern summer getaway.”

After a 200km drive from Hanoi, we arrived at Cai Phong Pier and took a 40-minute speed-boat ride through the glistening opal bay.

Minh Chau – literally: Oriental Pearl – sits in these waters like its namesake stone, polished white by eons of waves.

We soon made our way down to Chuong Nep Beach. Golden sunlight shined up off the coastline wrapping us in a bright, warm silence.

At last, we were away.

Chuong Nep and Tram Forest take their names from a romantic legend. The story goes that a brave man named Chuong and a beautiful girl named Tram once shared time on this beach together.

Chuong was called to the front to battle foreign invaders and he was killed. His girlfriend Tram went to the seaside everyday to cry.
Moved by her love, the God of Sea brought Chuong’s corpse back to his home island and the local villagers buried him at the beach. Tram later died from grief and was buried next to Chuong’s tomb.

One day the God of Forest visited this site and learned the story of Chuong and Tram. Moved by their love, he sowed seeds on the sandy site. The seedlings grew fast and turned into a lush forest. Local people named the forest “Tram” and the beach “Chuong Nep.”

“Nep” refers to a delicious oyster that lives under the white sand which, residents say, Tram offered to her descendents as a reminder of what a good cook she had been.

Nowadays, the long stretch of primitive Tram forest has come to symbolize the beautiful island. This 14-hectare forest plays a vital role in the life of the islanders as well as many living creatures here. It has not only protects them from harsh storms but it feeds the entire island.

From Tram forest, we walked along a little trail to Nhang Ria Beach, where waves hit the smooth white sand. Apart from offering an excellent spot to swim and sunbathe, this beach is a wonderful camp site.

Snorkelers and coral reef enthusiasts should head down the road to Dau Cao Beach.

We decided to skip it. Our tour guide, Minh Son, took us to Cai Lang, the oldest fishing village on this island. “Don’t hesitate to say ‘yes, I’d love to’ when locals invite you to visit their homes and for some fried sá sùng (jellyfish),” our tour guide reminded us before we left him. The dish proved to be delectable. Minh Son explained that the tasty and nutritious jellyfish varietal is rather costly. Locals reserve it for visiting relatives, friends or special guests.

Son took us to see the clear waters of the Nang Tien (fairy) well. “Legend has it that if you wash your hair with water from this well, it will grow very quickly and smoothly,” he said. This peaceful fishing village is a wonderful place to see wild flowers.

Minh Chau Island is also home to a nature reserve where sea turtles come and spawn. The reserve is located at Con Trui Beach, some 500m from the island’s port. If visitors visit Minh Chau sometime between May and July, they might have a chance to see the sea turtles coming to spawn, especially during strong tides and storms.

While many of Vietnam’s beaches have been commercialized, Minh Chau remains wild and unspoiled. So come and discover the island before it’s too late.Source: Thanh Nien

Vietnam Tours & Vacations “The number of foreign visitors to Ha Noi has increased again since the beginning of this year to reach a 12% growth rate on-year or 551,600 arrivals after a long period of decrease, according to the municipal Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism.”

The city’s major markets include Germany with 104,900 visitors, increasing four times on-year; then comes China with a 32% growth rate or 76,600; France 32% (59,100); Japan 20% (50,900); Australia 7% (46,400); the US 1% (35,400), and the UK 20% (31,900).
Such increase is attributed to Viet Nam and Ha Noi’s tourism and cultural programs, according to the department.
The department has surveyed and built up a number of tourism programs and products based on the city’s comparative advantages. Programs such as tours to some ancient capital cities, Ha Noi’s cross-history tours, martial art tourism, museum tourism, and home-stay tourism have been being implemented by travel agents, the department said.

Source: Government web portal

Vietnam Tours & Vacations “Tramcars have been operating for a week now, serving visitors who want to tour the Old Quarter and Hoan Kiem Lake. The fare is reasonable, 15,000 dong for a 30-minute tour.”

This new service is supplied by Dong Xuan Joint Stock Company, with 12 electric tramcars with 8 seats.

With 15,000 dong, visitors can sit on a tramcar to tour ancient streets like Hang Khoai, Hang Chieu, Hang Non, Ma May, Luong Van Can, Le Thai To to Hoan Kiem Lake. They run silently at average speeds of 12 kilometer per hour.

As a new service, the tramcars have not attracted many visitors yet. However, many people are anxious to test this new vehicle.Source: VNE

Vietnam Tours & Vacations “Nearly 40 Vietnamese silk paintings are on display at an exhibition that opened in the Vietnamese Cultural Centre in Paris , France on July 24. The exhibition, the fist of its kind in France , is being co-organised by the Vietnamese Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, the Vietnamese Fine Arts, Photography and Exhibition Department, the Vietnamese Embassy in France and the Vietnamese Cultural Centre in Paris .”

As part of activities to celebrate the 1,000 th anniversary of Thang Long-Hanoi, the exhibition featured daily activities of Vietnamese people, contributing to introducing the country’s traditional culture to international friends.

The event, which will run until August 30, has attracted great participation of both Vietnamese and French artists. (Source: VNA)

Vietnam Tours & Vacations “Vietnam is an attractive destination for investors involved in the entertainment business, said the Executive Producer of KB Creative Advisors, Steven Ryan. The growth in the recreation business is attributable to the stable economy, an overwhelmingly young population and an increase in people’s purchasing power, he added.”

The Deputy Head of the Vietnam Tourism Development Research Institute, Pham Trung Luong, said that there are good prospects for the development of recreational parks, which account for a large proportion of the tourism sector.

The Ministry of Planning and Investment reported that the amount of investment in entertainment has increased sharply, particularly in the south. A total of 121 entertainment FDI projects with a combined registered capital of 3.5 billion USD, were started in the first five months of this year, representing almost half of the country’s FDI, said the ministry.

Most of the projects are in the south of the country with 67 projects, the north has 30 and the remainder are in the central region. HCM City, Hanoi, the southern coastal province of Ba Ria-Vung Tau and the central province of Khanh Hoa are the leaders with the highest number of FDI projects in this field.

Domestic businesses have gained some initial successes after investing in entertainment parks, namely the Dam Sen and Suoi Tien Parks in HCM City, the water park in the central coastal city of Nha Trang and Bao Son paradise park in Hanoi.

Noteworthy amongst the many entertainment projects underway in the country is the 1 billion USD Vinh Loc township and theme park invested in by the C.T Group.

The Vice President of the Vietnam Real Estate Association, Tong Van Nga, predicts that the country’s entertainment sector will blossom in the next decade when recreational parks have a cultural and educational theme.

Despite the potential, Ryan pointed out the weaknesses and shortages that have made the country’s entertainment sector fail to meet customers’ demands, especially foreigners who want to enjoy deluxe entertainment and relaxation services.

However, he suggested that investors should expand their investment to include the development of adventure sports parks to add something different. Investors should also pay more attention to the consumers’ demands and incomes so their investments target the right market, he said. Source: Vietnam+