Vietnam woos Malaysian visitors

A gala night to promote Vietnam’s tourism was held in Kuala Lumpur,
Malaysia, on Dec. 20 as part of Vietnam’s campaign to develop this
non-smoke industry in 2011.

The tourism promotion programme aims to introduce Vietnam’s land and people, culture and its incentives for tourists.

The
gala night, co-held by the Vietnam Tourism Administration (VTA), the
Vietnamese Embassy in Malaysia and Malaysia’s Tourism Administration,
was attended by officials as well as representatives from tourist agents
and the media of the two countries.

Pham Quang Hung, Head of the
VTA’s International Cooperation Department, said Malaysia is Vietnam’s
top market among ASEAN. Next year, the tourism industry will focus on
Malaysia and Indonesia as these two regional markets are close to
Vietnam both in terms of geographical location and culture.

In
2010, Vietnam expects to welcome some 5 million foreign visitors. The
country set a higher target for 2011, prioritising near markets while
exploring distant others.

However, according to Hung, tourist
services should be improved and tourist guides should be trained
professionally in order to draw foreign visitors to return.

The
tourism promotion programme provided Vietnamese tourist businesses an
opportunity to directly meet and work with Malaysian tourist companies
and agents to exchange information and discuss contracts./.

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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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