Foreign visitor numbers surged by 80.9 percent in October compared with the previous month, totalling 518,477, the Vietnam National Administration of Tourism said.
Of those, about 445,612 international visitors arrived by plane, accounting for 85.9 percent of the total visitors; 1,500 by sea, 0.3 percent; 71,365 by road, 13.8 percent.
The number of foreign travelers to Vietnam tour by plane increased by 24.6 percent in comparison with the same period last year while the number of international visitors arriving by sea and road decreased 66.7 percent and 8.5 percent respectively.
Costa Classica cruise ship is scheduled to dock at Halong Bay at 8am on November 1, bringing 2,200 foreign travelers to Vietnam tour.
These visitors have booked a trans-Viet tour organized by the Saigontourist Travel Service Company.
After arriving at Halong Bay, they will visit Yen Tu and Long Tien pagodas, explore local markets and enjoy traditional art performances.
In the afternoon, the visitors will leave Halong for Da Nang in central Vietnam, where they make a tour of Hoi An ancient city, My Son relics and the former Hue imperial capital. These sites have been recognized as World Heritage by UNESCO.
The central city of Da Nang has won the “ASEAN Environmentally Sustainable City” Award, Director of the Department of Natural Resources and Environment of Da Nang Nguyen Dieu said on October 25.
The criteria to select winners are based on indicators of clean atmosphere, land and water and efforts of the cities’ authorities in improving and conserving the environment.
The awarding ceremony is scheduled to be organised on November 23 in Indonesia as part of the 17 th ASEAN Summit.
Source: VN+
Vietnam Airlines has launched a month-long program starting from mid-October named Next Ho Chi Minh City aimed at luring Japanese visitors as arrivals from this country have fallen after the earthquake and tsunami disasters.
Next Ho Chi Minh City includes multiple image promotion activities for Japanese tourists. Incentives include presenting shopping coupons to the first 1,000 tourists booking ticket to Vietnam since the program kickoff, discounting ticket prices for certain travel agencies and inviting Japanese tour operators to Vietnam, said Nguyen Thuong Hoang Hai, sales and marketing manager of Vietnam Airlines.
There is no more colorful gastronomic recipe book in the world than the Mexican one, with ingredients as varied as purple onion, the fresh green of the avocado, red chilies, yellow peppers and the pink of the pine nuts.
On the occasion of the traditional Day of the Dead (November 2), the Embassy of Mexico in Vietnam, in collaboration with the Melia Hanoi Hotel will organize a Gastronomic Week from October 28 to November 3 at El Patio Restaurant (Dinner buffet from 6:00 pm to 10:00 pm).
Overseas Vietnamese in US vote for Halong Bay Many overseas Vietnamese and students in Washington gathered on October 25 to vote for Halong Bay as one of the seven new natural wonders of the world.
At the ceremony, Vietnamese Ambassador to the US Nguyen Quoc Cuong called on all Vietnamese living in the US to encourage their relatives as well as international friends to vote for Halong Bay.
La Van Chung, a Vietnamese expatriate who has lived in the US for three decades, said the voting campaign for Halong Bay has received a positive response from large numbers of Vietnamese residents.
After a month of introductory single-night cruises, Life Resorts plans to make multiple-night voyages in Halong Bay on heritage junks available in time for the grand opening on November 4.
A group of travel agents, Vietnam tour operators, government officials and reporters will be the first to experience the Life Resorts fleet on a Halong Bay cruise the day after the opening celebrations, the company said in a press release.
Numbering 22 in all, Life Resorts’ 15-meter boats have been designed and are maintained according to the highest international safety standards.
About 100 sailors aboard 10 boats took part in the international yacht race from Hong Kong to Nha Trang on October 19-22.
The awards ceremony for the winners was held in Nha Trang City on the evening of October 22.
According to the organizers, the Audi Ultra commanded by Ludde Ingvall crossed the finish line first.
Competitors in the race came from many countries and territories including New Zealand, the UK, China, France and Hong Kong.
The event was sponsored by VinaCapital in coordination with the Hong Kong Royal Yacht Club.
Source: VOV
The publication “Vietnam – the country of heritages” will be published in December 2011.
The book focuses on introducing world heritage sites in Vietnam, culture and heritages of localities nationwide, travel services and accommodation in each destination.
The book will be presented and promoted in fairs and exhibitions at home and abroad, especially in Vietnamese Embassies abroad, foreign Embassies in Vietnam, waiting rooms in Noi Bai and Tan Son Nhat Airports, foreign diplomats and large tourism centres.
The book aims to raise awareness of the community of preserving and upholding cultural heritage values of Vietnam in the integration and development period.
Seven of Vietnam’s top hotels and resorts gained recognition in the 2011 Readers’ Choice Awards, published by one of the world’s most renowned travel publication, Conde Nast Traveler.
The country’s resorts which made the greatest impression on travellers were Life Heritage Resort Hoi An, The Nam Hai, La Residence Hotel & Spa Hue and Evason Hideaway, which each scored top-20 finishes in the Asian region. Only one other Asian destination - Bali - boasted as many resorts in the top-20 list.
In the hotel category, the Sofitel Legend Metropole Hanoi and Park Hyatt in Ho Chi Minh City each ranked among Asia’s top 100. The Majestic in Saigon ranked among the top 125 hotels.
