Hoi An ancient quarter extends pedestrians-only days

The ancient quarter in Hoi An Town will be dedicated exclusively to pedestrians and non-motorized vehicles for five days a week from today, according to a regulation issued by the town People’s Committee.

The ancient quarter of the town in central Quang Nam Province will have no sounds of motorbikes or other vehicles in the week except for Thursdays and Sundays.

In the future, everyday of the week will be for pedestrians and non-motorized vehicles in the ancient quarter, said Le Van Giang, chairman of the town’s People’s Committee.

More than four years ago, Hoi An authorities began to turn the ancient quarter into a walking section for pedestrians and non-motorized vehicles for four days a week. This has become an attractive feature for tourists.

In related news, the People’s Committee of Hoi An Town has announced special price incentives for people who visit for the Lunar New Year on January 26.

Reported by Ho Trong

Tourism’s urgent plan to attract more visitors in 2009

A nationwide promotion is one of the urgent measures being taken by the tourism sector to stimulate tourism in order to achieve the sector’s target of welcoming 4.5 million of foreign tourists in 2009.

Hotels have committed to reducing their service prices by 30-50 percent, following implementation of the programme from January to September, said Tran Chien Thang, director of the Vietnam Administration of Tourism (VNAT) at a press briefing in Hanoi on Jan. 5. The national carrier, Vietnam Airlines, also pledged to provide special ticket offers, decreasing price by 30-50 percent, for both domestic and international flights. Other service suppliers have committed to offering price reductions to attract more visitors. To facilitate visitors’ access to the programme, the VNAT will boost promotion campaign via the Internet and the mass media both at home and abroad, and launch the programme’s official website. Big tourism events such as the ASEAN Tourism Forum scheduled for early January in Hanoi , is considered as the focus of the programme. The VNAT will continue to study domestic and international markets to launch new tours from Vietnam to China , Laos , Cambodia , Malaysia , Singapore and Myanmar , as well as offering “Farm trip” and “Press trip” from a range of countries to Vietnam . At present, 37 travel agencies, 61 hotels, 3 transporters and 14 souvenir shops join the programme, offering 99 discounted products. “This is an opportunity for businesses to work together to build a trademark for Vietnam ’s tourism sector,” Thang said. Vietnam welcomed 4.3 million foreign tourists in 2008, a modest year-on-year increase of 0.6 percent in the context of the world’s economic downturn.

(Source: VNA)

Sea travellers to Vietnam up sixfold

The number of sea travellers to Vietnam in 2008 increased six times compared to the previous year, announced the Saigon Travel Service Company (Saigontourist).In 2008, Saigontourist welcomed 180,000 international arrivals, a year-on-year increase of 85 percent.

Famous cruisers, such as SuperStar Virgo, SuperStar Libra, SuperStar Aquarius and Costa Allegra frequently docked at seaports in Ho Chi Minh City, Da Nang and Ha Long unloading a larger number of foreign tourists.

According to the Vietnam Administration of Tourism (VAT), 2008 was considered a banner year for cruise services.

(Source: VOV)

Ha Long tourism in 2008

Over 2.65 million visitors came to Ha Long Bay in 2008, an increase of 48.8 percent over 2007. Of those 1.71 million were foreign visitors, a 67.6 percent increase, the Bay’s management board has said.

The management board organized a vote to nominate Ha Long as of one the seven natural wonders of the world. The voting took place at Hoang Gia (royal) International Park and Bai Chay Tourist Wharf attracting over 18,000 votes.
The reduction of littering, throwing mud into the sea, begging, and using dynamite to catch fish have been a priority for local authorities.
Houseboats and ships operating on the sea were managed well to ensure security for tourists, the board said.
At present, there are 595 houseboats with 2,168 people on the bay, 90 percent of people have signed a pledge to protect Ha Long.
The Vietnam National Administration of Tourism has officially announced the first ‘99 tours’ with 50 percent discounts for package tours on the morning of January 4.
These 99 tours focus on potential tourism markets such as China, France, western countries and Russia.
The promotional tours on the program to attract international tourists and stimulate domestic tourism in 2009 has brought the participation of 37 international travel companies, 61 hotels, many restaurants and transport firms.
Promotional tours for domestic tourists will be announced next week.
The same morning, the Vietnam National Administration of Tourism also made the promotional website http://www.promotours.gov.vn/ public.

(Source: SGGP)

Foreign airlines eager to open air routes to Cam Ranh

Experts said that the Cam Ranh Airport in the central city of Khanh Hoa will develop robustly after it becomes an international airport in 2009.The sketch of Cam Ranh Airport's new terminal, which will open in 2009

The airport was used as a civil airport on May 19, 2004. The number of passengers quickly rose from 274,314 people in 2004, including passengers at Nha Trang Airport, to more than 683,000 in early 2008.

With the passenger growth rate of 36.8% in 2007, 36.3% in 2008, Cam Ranh has the highest passenger growth among airports in Vietnam.

The General Director of the Central Region Airports Hoang Thanh said in 2008, Cam Ranh exceeded Phu Bai Airport to become the fourth largest airport in Vietnam in terms of passengers.

The Nha Trang Tourism Centre is building Nha Trang into the city of events. The international container entreport project and large industrial and tourism projects in the Van Phong Economic Zone have been kicked off. The South Phu Yen Economic Zone has attracted many big projects, totaling around US $11 billion in registered capital.

Ninh Thuan attracted the highest number of investment in Vietnam last year, including the Ca Na steel complex project worth US $9.79 billion in registered capital. The distance from Cam Ranh Airport to the above locations, even the resort city of Da Lat is less than 150km.

According to a comprehensive plan of the Transport Ministry, Cam Ranh is a local airport. However, in August 2007, the Prime Minister decided to turn it into an international airport. In June 2009, Cam Ranh’s new terminal, which can host 1.5million to 2 million passengers per year, will be inaugurated. That will be the time Cam Ranh becomes an international airport.

The General Director of Vietnam Airlines, Pham Ngoc Minh, said Cam Ranh will develop robustly in the near future. Vietnam Airlines plans to connect its international air routes to Hanoi and HCM City to Cam Ranh. It will also have international flights from Cam Ranh to North Asian countries and call for foreign airways to open direct air routes to this airport.

Some South Korean groups committed with Vietnam Airlines to bring passengers to Cam Ranh and the Russian Aeroflot also want to open air routes to Cam Ranh.

Minh said in 2010, Cam Ranh will have 1.5 million passengers and up to four million by 2015.

Located on 750 hectares of land, Cam Ranh is larger than the Hanoi-based Noi Bai Airport and just 50 hectares less than the HCM City-based Tan Son Nhat Airport. The government has allowed Vietnam Airlines and the Bank for Investment and Development of Vietnam (BIDV) to invite foreign investors to establish the Cam Ranh Airport Construction and Investment JS Company.

(Source: Tien Phong)

Flower lovers to enjoy cherry blossom on Tet

Aficionados of Mai Anh Dao blossom (Prunus Cesacoides), a special kind of cherry blossoms in the mountainous city of Da Lat, are unhappy this year because they can not enjoy the blossom which usually flowers around Christmas and New Year. (Rows of the flower along the Xuan Huong lake are budding. )

Due to unseason weather the blossom will bloom later than usually but, luckily, it is believed to flower in time for Tet (Lunar New Year).

At present, rows of Mai Anh Dao trees along the Xuan Huong lake are budding while some trees along the corners on Le Hong Phong, Ba Thang Tu and Nguyen Du streets have some flowers.

Tourists hope to enjoy the scene of Da Lat, a beautiful central hill city, decorated with blossoming Mai Anh Dao in surrounding valleys and pine hills, and trees reflected in the lake.

(Source: TT/SGGP)

All aboard for the Hanoi-Nanning train

The first international-standard train to travel between Hanoi and China’s Nanning city began running on January 2.

The made-in-China high-class train will carry up to 250 passengers on hard and soft seats for each journey.
As a result of the railway co-operation agreement between the two countries, the train will leave Ha Noi’s Gia Lam train station at 7.25pm daily and arrive in Nanning at 9.05 the next morning.
The Nanning-Ha Noi journey starts at 5.15pm.
The train stops at Bac Giang and Dong Dang stations of Viet Nam during the 13-hour journey and Pingxiang, Chongzuo and Nanning in China.
Travellers are required to carry valid passports and visas.
Viet Nam Railway Corporation transport business manager Nguyen Huu Tuyen said negotiations to waive passports and visas had begun and to confine check-in procedures to one hour.
Tickets range between US$25 and $40 and groups of at least six will enjoy a 25 per cent discount.
The capital of southern China’s Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, Nanning, is famous worldwide for its stunning landscapes.
Chinese rail workers crew the train with help from Viet Nam Railway Corporation employees while in Viet Nam.

Ambitious plans

The Viet Nam Railway Corporation planned to build about 400 new locomotives, passenger carriages and freight wagons, its deputy director Nguyen Dat Tuong said yesterday.
The corporation would build 60 passenger carriages, 300 freight wagons and 30 locomotives during the next two years, he said.
It would also repair and refurbish 70 freight wagons.
The deputy director said the corporation would use new technology to build the rolling stock; diversify its products and seek new export markets.
The corporation increased its turnover 16.2 per cent to VND6.87 trillion (US$404 million last year although it did not meet its own target.
Turnover growth of 8 per cent was planned for this year.
(Source: VNS)

Strategy to boost tourism in 2009

2008 was a bad year for Vietnam’s tourism industry, as the number of international visitors totalled 4.2 million, 87 percent of projections. In an effort to boost tourism in 2009, tour companies have developed a strategy.
A wide range of products, including special tours throughout the country will be offered at discounts of between 30 – 50 percent during a two month promotion program which starts early January. Mr. Nguyen Quoc Cuong, deputy head of Vietnam National Administration of Tourism, said that the discount rate offered for certain products will be based on the average price for the same kind of products in the region. Promotional campaigns will be made possible through the cooperation of Vietnam Airlines and many luxury hotels, who have pledged to cut the price of air tickets and rooms for tours to be launched under the program, said Mr. Cuong.He added that if the program works well and produces profits, it will be extended until the end of June or maybe until the end of the year. Mr. Tran Chien Thang, Deputy Minister of the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, said that together with the promotion program, it will launch an advertising campaign through which the beauty and peace of the country, the quality of tours and discount rates will be widely broadcast. He suggested issuing a “tourist guide map” through which famous attractions to visit in the country will be introduced to visitors. Users can find instructions about the most ideal routes to get to sites and make choices from a wide range of services offered at reasonable prices. Mr Thang also proposed the government make a 10 percent cut in VAT on tourism products and services. It would help stimulate and compel more travel companies, hotels, restaurants, coach companies and shopping centers to take part in the program.As a measure to support tourism activities, the Department of International Relations of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs is outlining a scheme to popularize Vietnamese culture and tourism on the Korean channel KBS TV, on Vietnamese channel VTV4 TV and on the internet. The department will also invite reporters and travelers from Europe, Japan, Korea, Australia and ASEAN countries to visit the country to introduce famous landscapes, including Ha Long Bay, Sa Pa, Phansipan Mount, Phong Nha- Ke Bang National Park and Hoi An ancient town.

(Source: SGGP)