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Vietnam Airlines to discount fares for travel expo visitors

Vietnam Airlines will offer 157 tickets at a discount of up to 75% for foreign buyers who will call at the International Travel Expo, Ho Chi Minh City 2011 (ITE-Ho Chi Minh City) in September.

This is the largest financing scheme of the airline ever for this national tourism promotion event, said Nguyen Bao Anh, deputy head of tourism promotion, festivals and events at the Ho Chi Minh City Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism. Read more..

Transit passengers to get extended stay

Transit passengers will soon be able to stay in Vietnam for up to 15 days instead of the current five days, according to the Ministry of Public Security.

The regulation will take effect from August 14.

Foreign passengers on connection flights or transit at international seaports will have to have their application for transit permits arranged by travel agents in advance if they plan to enter Vietnam.Read more..

Hotels fare better in Hanoi than in Ho Chi Minh City

Three- to five-star hotels in Hanoi performed better than their peers in Ho Chi Minh City in terms of the average room rate though room occupancy in the capital was lower, according to the market researcher Savills Vietnam Ltd.

A report from Savills Vietnam Ltd. showed that the average room rate in Hanoi in the second quarter was US$87 per night, or US$4 higher than the rate in Ho Chi Minh City. Read more..

Vietnamese VIP travelers tend to choose outbound tours

VIP tourists are always ready to pay high to enjoy high quality services. In recent years, they tend to choose outbound tours, especially the ones to the Europe and the US.

When the name of Sofitel New York hotel appeared on newspaper because it related to the scandal of the former leader of the International Monetary Fund (IMF). Read more..

Local tour guides provide an insight into the real Sapa

It’s a strange land that leaves me with different feelings whenever I come to rediscover it.

Sapa is an incredibly picturesque town in the Hoang Lien Son Mountain Range near the Chinese border in northwestern Vietnam, 350km from Hanoi. Read more...

Mangrove palm forest draws tourists in Hoi An

About three kilometers from the ancient town of Hoi An, the Dua nuoc (mangrove palm) forest in Cam Thanh Commune in the central province of Quang Nam has become a much sort after tourist destination.

The forest rests at the convergence of Thu Bon and Truong Giang rivers before they flow into the East Sea. The Hoi An mangrove palm forest plays an important role by forming a natural filtration system before the river currents merge into the sea.Read more...

Safety suffers on Halong Bay cruises

Three months after a tour boat owned by Truong Hai Co Ltd sank in Halong Bay, drowning 12 people, another boat has gone down at the World Heritage site. No casualties were reported in the latest accident early last week but the seaworthiness of vessels in the area has once again be called into question. Vietnam News reporter Vinh Hoa spoke with local authorities and tour operators about this issue.

* Pham Trung Luong, deputy head of the Institute of Tourism Development Research, under the Ministry of Culture, Sports, and Tourism.Read more...

Cheap deal costs lives in Halong Bay

Tourists who boarded the “Dream Voyage” tour boat for Vietnam’s Halong Bay last Wednesday thought they had got a cheap deal.

It ended up costing them their lives.

Travel agents in Hanoi’s Old Quarter tourist hub say you get what you pay for, with the cheapest two-day tours that sell for about $US35 relying on vessels with lower standards.
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Cheap rate not enough to attract travelers

Vietnam has gained a high ranking in the world’s tourism map. However, analysts have warned about the unsustainable development of its tourism industry.

The latest report released by World Economic Forum (WEF) shows that Vietnam’s tourism competitiveness has jumped by nine rankings to 80th out of 139 countries and territories. Prevailing over other countries in terms of the number of cultural heritages and natural landscapes. Read more...

Conquering Fansipan to be the champion

Vietnam tours – In late September, we went on a tour called “Conquering the roof of Indochina” held by Lua Viet Tours to climb Mount Fansipan, 3,143 meters above sea level. We met at Hanoi railway station at 8:30 p.m. to catch the train to Lao Cai. That night we could not sleep and the weather was very bad.Read more...

Five Vietnamese hotels, resorts selected as Asia’s finest

Condé Nast Traveler, one of the world’s most distinguished travel magazines, has elevated five Vietnamese hotels and resorts to top spots in its annual Readers’ Choice Awards.

Evason Ana Mandara & Six Senses Spa in the central beach town of Nha Trang, Life Heritage Resort Hoi An and The Nam Hai (both in the historic town of Hoi An) took spots in the magazine’s top-20 list of the Best Resorts in Asia.Read more...

Foreign visitors practice farmer’s job

Dale Poter, 58, took off his sneakers and walked bare foot on the road in Tra Que village in the ancient town of Hoi An, in the central province of Quang Nam, to go to the field to planting vegetable.

Poter is an American who joined a group of foreign visitors to Tra Que village to study working as a farmer.Read more...