Hanoi receives 1.7 million foreign visitors in 2010

An estimate of 1.7 million foreign visitors flocked to Hanoi during
the National Tourism Year 2010, representing a year-on-year increase of
62 percent.

The figures were announced by Ngo Thi
Thanh Hang, Vice Chairperson of the Hanoi People’s Committee, at a
ceremony in Hanoi on Jan. 25 to review the implementation of the
National Tourism Year 2010, which highlighted Thang Long-Hanoi and its
1,000 year-old history.

The ceremony, jointly held
by the Hanoi People’s Committee and the municipal Department of Culture,
Sports an Tourism, was attended by Permanent Deputy Prime Minister
Nguyen Sinh Hung and the city’s authorities.

Hanoi
welcomed 10.6 million domestic arrivals last year, up 10 percent
compared with the pervious year. Especially, over 30,000 foreign
visitors and 1.2 million domestic tourists flocked to the city during
the 10-day grand celebration of the 1,000 th anniversary of Thang
Long-Hanoi, Hang said.

According to Hang, the
National Tourism Year 2010, hosted by Hanoi , had received a strong
support from ministries, agencies and the entire people.

It was organised with a wide range of activities to mark Hanoi ’s
millennium anniversary, thus, helping to promote the city’s position and
image to the world, Hang noted.

On the occasion,
the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism and the municipal People’s
Committee presented certificates of merit to units and individuals who
had greatly contributed to the success of the event.

Deputy PM Hung handed over the host of the National Tourism Year 2011 to the central coastal province of Phu Yen./.

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Special activities to mark VN Tourism Year

National Tourism Year 2011 which highlights the southern central coastal
region will kick off in Phu Yen province on April 1.

The organising board said at a Jan. 25 press briefing that an artistic
programme to celebrate the 400 th founding anniversary of Phu Yen
province will also take place on the same day with People’s Artist Le
Ngoc Cuong, former Head of the Performance Arts Agency, as the programme
director.

Accordingly, over 30 special events will
be organised in eight southern central coastal cities and provinces of
Da Nang , Quang Nam , Quang Ngai, Binh Dinh, Khanh Hoa, Ninh Thuan,
Binh Thuan and Phu Yen during the event.

Highlights
for the event will include the International Yacht Festival in Mui Ne
beach, Binh Thuan province from March 17-20, an International Firework
Display in Da Nang city on April 29-30, the ASEAN Traditional Music
Festival on June 1-7 in Phu Yen, the Nha Trang Sea Festival on June
11-15 and the cultural, sports and tourism festival of ethnic groups in
the central and Central Highlands region in Phu Yen in July.

In preparation for the national promotion, the cities and provinces
have worked with the National Tourism Administration to conduct two
surveys in tourism destinations to create inter-regional tourism
products.

Phu Yen province, as the host of the
event, has also built up several cultural, sports and tourism
establishments and stepped up the development of infrastructure and
transport to meet visitors’ demands.

With the
theme, “Exotic Beach and Island”, National Tourism Year is an
opportunity to promote the country’s sea and island tourism, effectively
exploit tourism potential and boost investment promotion./.

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Tourism identifies its top ten events in 2010

The fact that Vietnam received a record five million foreign
tourists and 28 million domestic visitors, earning 96 trillion VND, has
been selected as one of the top ten tourism achievements in 2010.

The top ten list was announced by Nguyen Manh Cuong, Deputy Head of
the Vietnam National Administration of Tourism (VNAT) at a Jan. 18 press
briefing. The election is an annual activity carried out by VNAT’s “Du
lich” (Tourism) newspaper.

Among the events were: a
promotion programme named “Vietnam - your destination”, the 50 th
anniversary of the birth of the tourism sector (1960-2010); National
Tourism Year 2010 held in Hanoi and the programme “Strategy for
Vietnam’s tourism development by 2020, with a vision for 2030”, projects
to develop tourism in the 2011-2020 period and the campaign to promote
Vietnam’s tourism in China, Northeast Asia, Southeast Asia and Western
Europe.

Other outstanding highlights include the
launch of a tourism television channel; a national seminar on the
development of Vietnam’s tourism in the context of proactive
international integration, the international seminar titled “Tourism -
important momentum for socio-economic development”, a tour to plant a
flag on Fansipan peak on the occasion of the 1,000 th anniversary of
Thang Long Hanoi and the international tourism exhibition in Ho Chi Minh
City./.

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Vietnam welcomes five-millionth foreign visitors

The Vietnam National Administration of
Tourism (VNAT) presented a gift and an insignia to Chinese visitor Zhu
Ying, the five-millionth foreign visitor of Vietnam this year, who
descended at Noi Bai National Airport on the evening of Dec.
24.

She was also offered a package tour of Hue-Da Nang-Hoi An for two people by the Vietnam-Hanoi Tourism Company.

VNAT
General Director Nguyen Van Tuan described it as an important event of
the tourism sector, affirming the position of Vietnam on the world’s
tourism map.

The tourism sector also presented gifts and
insignias to two other Chinese tourists, who were the 4,999,999th and
5,000,001st visitor to Vietnam.

The year 2010 is the
first year that Vietnam set a record growth of foreign tourists with
an increase of 1.2 million people from last year.

The year also sees the highest number of foreign arrivals to Vietnam over the past 20 years.

The achievements were attributable to tourism promotion campaigns launched in 2009 and 2010./.

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Visitors flock toVietnam as tourism booms

Vietnam attributed part of its success in potentially attracting
over 5 million foreign arrivals this year -- against its original target
of 4.2 million -- to a destination image promotion.

Deputy Head of the Vietnam National Administration of Tourism Hoang
Thi Diep told the opening session of a two-day Hanoi international
workshop on December 16 that the hospitality industry had intensified
investment in promoting iconic tourism images of national destinations
in foreign markets.

The industry has launched an
exclusive TV channel on tourism, contributing to increasing public
awareness about green tourism and tapping natural advantages as well as
cultural and historic interests and attracting investment in
hospitality.

The tourism TV channel has also
provided information on services and products for domestic holidaymakers
and foreign tourists, Diep reported.

The two-day
workshop attracted 150 participants, including representatives from the
UN World Tourism Organisation, international experts and travel agent
executives..,

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Workshop on developing tourism opens in Hue

An international workshop on cooperation to develop tourism between the
central provinces of Thua Thien – Hue , Quang Tri and Quang Binh
with Laos and Thailand took place in the central city of Hue
on November 30.

Thua Thien – Hue , Quang Tri and Quang Binh boast diversified to
geography and ecology as well as potentials of culture and heritage.
Local tourist attractions such as the ancient capital of Hue (Thua
Thien-Hue province), Phong Nha-Ke Bang Cavern (Quang Binh), and other
holiday destinations are popular with tourists. The region also has
advantages in its transport routes, especially the East-West economic
corridor, which connects Laos and Thailand towards the East Sea
for developing tourism.

At the workshop, the
Culture - Tourism industry in localities as well as tourism firms
expressed concerns about cooperation to in the field and the strengths
of each locality for joint development, with a special focus on
developing the East-West economic corridor.

Representatives from the tourism industries of Vietnam, Laos and
Thailand put forward a plan for closer cooperation in exploiting
tourism’s strength and potential of the East-West economic corridor;

A series of memoranda of understanding on joint
coordination programme and the improvement of the quality of tourism
services as well as a strategy for sharing the tourist market,
distributing and marketing tourism products and other services were
signed on this occasion./.

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Mekong Delta to greet 19 million visitors

The Mekong River Delta expects to receive 19 million visitors this year,
200,000 more than last year, according to the regional tourism agency,
the Mekong Delta Tourism Association.

Of this
figure, the number of foreign visitors is estimated to increase by 20
percent over last year, reaching 1.46 million.

An
Giang, Kien Giang, Ca Mau, and Can Tho City will top the list of most
visited provinces in the delta, the association said.

The tourism sector in the region has attracted increasing numbers of
visitors since many tourism companies have introduced different kinds of
tours.

Travel companies in Can Tho, An Giang, Kien
Giang and Hau Giang, for instance, have strengthened the development of
waterway tours and festival tourism, among other products.

Meanwhile, companies in Ca Mau, Bac Lieu and Soc Trang provinces have
promoted eco-tourism to mangrove forests, and tours that include
festivals and other cultural activities of the Khmer people.

In Tien Giang, Ben Tre, Vinh Long and Tra Vinh, waterway tourism,
visiting orchards and traditional villages, historical vestiges and
other community-based tourism have been strongly developed in the past
time.

Provinces in the delta have also invested in
upgrading infrastructure including airports, roads and bridges, making
it more comfortable for visitors.

To further promote
tourism, the delta plans to set up a center for tourism promotion and
build a tourism portal to provide updated and accurate tourism
information.

Travel companies will strive to launch more tourism products and improve the quality of their services.

The region is famous for its diverse ecosystems.

Its major attractions include: orchards on the Thoi Son Island in Tien
Giang province; coconut gardens in Ben Tre province; the ecosystem in
flooded cajeput forests of the Dong Thap Muoi area, Tra Su cajeput
forests in An Giang Province; and coastal mangrove forests (bird
sanctuaries, nature reserves, national parks, biosphere reserves) in Can
Tho, Dong Thap, Bac Lieu and Kien Giang provinces./.

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Vietnam announces new tourism plans

The Vietnam National Administration of Tourism (VNAT) has announced that “Exotic Beaches and Islands” will be the theme of the National Tourism Year 2011.

The National Tourism Year is considered the most important aspect of the country’s tourism calendar and is intended to encourage investment in infrastructure, tourism facilities and services.

In 2011, the government’s series of organized events designed to woo tourists will focus their attentions on Phu Yen Province. Da Nang City and other provinces in the region will also participate, VNAT announced.

Major events of the National Tourism Year 2011 will include an international mountaineering tournament at Da Bia Mountain in March 2011, the Vietnam-South Korea Cultural Exchange in April, and the ASEAN Traditional Music Festival in June.

Prior to the announcement, the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism released a list of provinces and cities that will share the honor from 2012 to 2017.

Thua Thien-Hue will be the host in 2012, Hai Phong City in 2013, Lam Dong in 2014, Thanh Hoa in 2015, Kien Giang in 2016, and Lao Cai in 2017.

Launched in 2003, the designation has focused on cities all over the country - from Can Tho to Dien Bien. This year it focused on Hanoi to mark the city’s millennial anniversary.

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Tourism industry targets 12mln foreign visitors

The tourism industry plans to earn 8.9 billion USD in 2015 when the
country expects to welcome 12 million foreign visitors and host 28
million domestic travellers, according to a draft on tourism development
from 2010-20.

The industry would earn 15.9 billion USD in revenue in 2020, which would
contribute to 6 percent of GDP, according to the draft.

Nguyen Manh Cuong, deputy head of the Vietnam National Administration
of Tourism, said the development plan was drafted after his
administration extensively surveyed related ministries and sectors.

The draft would be submitted to Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung for approval, Cuong said.

In this period, the Vietnamese tourism sector would promote products
rather than images, said the deputy head of the Marketing Department
under the National Administration of Tourism, Nguyen Thi Thanh Huong.

The country's tourism sector has so far created specific tourism products to attract visitors.

Officials are now eyeing Meeting, Incentive, Convention and Exhibition
(MICE) events and health care tourism as potential sectors that might
attract tourists from Southeast and Northeast Asia.

The industry will also need to focus on attracting more tourists from
the EU, North America, Australia and Overseas Vietnamese.

In addition, programmes to study market opportunities in India and the Middle East will also be established.

Recently, the administration kicked off a slogan and symbol contest for the Vietnamese tourism sector.

The first prize is worth 50 million VND (2,500 USD) and the deadline
is December 15. Domestic and foreign companies, organisations and
individuals are able to participate./.

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Thailand promotes tourism in Vietnam

Thailand will continue its focus on developing strategic tourism areas,
especially in labouring countries like Vietnam, a Thai official
said.

Thai Deputy Minister of Sports and Tourism
Vichai Srikwan made the remark at a press briefing in Ho Chi Minh City
on September 30.

As many as 16 tourism agencies
from Thailand are taking part in the International Travel Expo (ITE
HCMC 2010) in HCM City , Vichai Srikwan said, expressing his hope
that the Thai participants would be satisfied when meeting with partners
from different tourism markets across the world, including Vietnam .
He considered the expo as an opportunity to expand tourism cooperation
between Thailand and other nations.

Vichai also
took the occasion to report on his country’s tourism development as
well as marketing strategies carried out by the Thai Tourism
Administration (TTA).

Thailand plans to welcome 15.5 million foreign arrivals next year, reaping about 18.5 billion USD.

The number of Vietnamese tourists to Thailand each year stands at
370,000 while the number of Thai arrivals to Vietnam is 100,000.

In the first seven months of this year, Thailand welcomed 240,000 Vietnamese arrivals.-/.

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Travel agents flock to HCMC for exhibition

Almost 125 leading travel agents from 35 international markets are
showcasing their products at an international tourism exhibition in
HCM City, which opened on September 30.

Of
them, nine are international tourism promotion agencies from India,
Cambodia, Laos, Macau, Malaysia, Myanmar, Thailand, Taiwan,
mainland China and Turkey.

Host country Vietnam has sent
representatives from 10 local tourism promotion agencies in the central
and southern provinces to attend the event. Local hospitality giants
such as Saigontourist, Vietravel, Windsor and the Green Plaza Hotel
Danang are also present.

The event will finish on
November 2 with the signing of various business contracts between
domestic and international travel partners. Visitors are also welcome at
the travel agents’ pavilions where package tours and special holidays
are offered at knock down prices as well as a number of promotional
programmes.

A “Vietnam Night” will take place for
the presentation of a “Tourist Prize” for travel agents from Cambodia,
Laos and Vietnam, in recognition of their contributions to the
hospitality industry.

An ASEAN forum on tourist
investment was also held from September 29-30, which witnessed a meeting
between the tourism ministers from the three Indochinese countries and
Myanmar.

The quartet reached a consensus on
steps to boost cooperation in tourism. They include regular exchanges of
information and experiences in planning, image, attracting investment
and diversifying tourist products. The ministers also called for mutual
assistance when holding tourism investment forums and more cooperation
between management agencies and travel agents./.

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Vietnam looks for more Belgian tourists

The Vietnam National Administration of Tourism (VNAT) and Vietnamese
Embassy in Belgium on September 4 co-organised a programme to
promote the country’s image as an attractive and safe tourism
destination.

As part of activities in the
“Vietnamese Days in Belgium ”, the programme, titled “ Vietnam , your
destination”, also aimed to offer Belgian and Vietnamese businesses
operating in tourism industry an opportunity to exchange and seek out
partners.

At the meeting, VNAT’s deputy head Nguyen
Manh Cuong introduced tourism potentials of Vietnam , a country with
54 ethnic groups that boast a diverse cultural asset, and a
thousand-year history. Especially, the country is home to ten world
natural and cultural heritages recodnised by the United Nations
Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO), he said.

The Vietnamese tourism industry has also organised a
wide range of special activities on the celebration of the 1,000 th
anniversary of the capital city of Thang Long-Hanoi , Cuong added.

On the occasion, he called on Belgian tourist businesses to increase their investment in Vietnam./.

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