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Hanoi, HCM City among 10 cheapest cities in SE Asia

Hanoi, HCM City among 10 cheapest cities in SE Asia
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<div class="article-photo">International tourists in Hanoi (Photo: VNA)</div>
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<div class="ExternalClass89C1282ACCFE4D66967A974E4BEDCD56">Hanoi (VNA) – Vietnam’s twomain cities have made the list of top 10 cities for budget-consciousbackpackers in Southeast Asia for 2018 drawn up by Numbeo, the world’s largestdatabase of user-contributed data providing information on the cost of livingworld-wide.
The 2018 Cost of Living Index released bywww.numbeo.com ranks Ho Chi Minh City ninth in the region and the capitaleighth.
The survey has taken into account severalfactors like the cost of restaurants, house renting, groceries and others tocome up with the average index for the cost of living in 27 major cities inSoutheast Asia. – VNA
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Hanoi, HCM City among 10 cheapest cities in SE Asia

Hanoi, HCM City among 10 cheapest cities in SE Asia International tourists in Hanoi (Photo: VNA) Hanoi (VNA) – Vietnam’s twomain citi...

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Vietnam wins 14 ASEAN tourism nods

Vietnam wins 14 ASEAN tourism nods
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Hoi An and Da Lat also won prizes in the category.
In total, Vietnam won 14 prizes. Among them, Muong Thanh Hospitality Group won two MICE ASEAN Venue Standard prizes for Muong Thanh Luxury Can Tho and Muong Thanh Luxury Vientiane, the group’s first hotel outside of Vietnam.
The ASEAN Green Hotel prize went to the Four Seasons The Nam Hai Hotel (Quang Nam), Pilgrimage Village Hotel (Hue), Six Senses Con Dao Resort (Ba Ria-Vung Tau), the Grand Ho Tram Strip (Ba Ria-Vung Tau) and Flamingo Dai Lai Resort (Vinh Phuc).
Thai Hai Tourism Village (Thai Nguyen) won the ASEAN Sustainable Award (ASTA).
Vietnam participated in the ATF held in Chiang Mai, Thailand on January 22-26 with the aim of promoting Vietnam as a safe, friendly and attractive destination among ASEAN countries and to help prepare for hosting the ATF 2019.
The Chiang Mai forum is also an opportunity for localities and Vietnam tourism agencies to work with international tourism agencies and organisations.
 
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Vietnam wins 14 ASEAN tourism nods

Vietnam wins 14 ASEAN tourism nods Hoi An and Da Lat also won prizes in the category. In total, Vietnam won 14 prizes. Among them, Muong...

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Thua Thien-Hue’s tourism enjoys auspicious start

Thua Thien-Hue’s tourism enjoys auspicious start
<div class="article-photo">Foreign visitors to the Complex of Hue Monuments. (Photo: VNA)</div>
Thua Thien-Hue (VNA) – The Hue Monuments Conservation Centre in thecentral province of Thua Thien-Hue welcomed 320,000 visitors, including 262,000foreigners, in January, a year-on-year surge of 30 percent.
During the Calendar New Year holiday alone, the former imperial capital city ofHue received over 35,000 visitors, 80 percent of whom came from foreigncountries.
This year, the locality will continue to develop “Hue-One Destination, FiveWorld Heritages” tour (including the Complex of Hue Monuments, royal courtmusic, woodblocks and imperial records of the Nguyen Dynasty and Chinese-scriptpoetry on Hue royal architecture.
Local tourism sector set a target of welcoming 4-4.2 million visitors in 2018,10 percent higher than last year. Revenue from tourism services is expected tosurge 15 percent to 4-4.2 trillion VND (176.4-185.2 million USD).
Preservation will be made to a line-up of architectural works like Kien Trungpalace, the Purple Forbidden City (Tu Cam Thanh) and Duc Duc tomb. Thepreservation centre has applied high technology to preserve landscapes at therelic sites.
Last year, more than 3 million people, including 1.8 million foreigners,visited the UNESCO world heritage site. Total revenue from tourism last yearwas 155 million USD.-VNA
 
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Thua Thien-Hue’s tourism enjoys auspicious start

Thua Thien-Hue’s tourism enjoys auspicious start Foreign visitors to the Complex of Hue Monuments. (Photo: VNA) Thua Thien-Hue (VNA) – The...

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Belgian culinary art showcased in Hanoi

Belgian culinary art showcased in Hanoi
NDO – A culinary event named ‘A Taste of Belgium’ is taking place at the Pullman Hotel in Hanoi on February 1-2, as part of activities to mark the 45th anniversary of Vietnam – Belgium diplomatic relations.
On the first day, Belgian chef Christoph Pouls presented a sophisticated standing buffet.
Featuring famed and beloved Belgian products including pears, chocolate, Speculaas biscuits, and beers, the buffet will deliver the true taste of Belgium to Vietnamese guests.
Known for his culinary flair and creativity, Christoph Pouls is a multi-award winning Belgian chef with vast professional cooking experience. He emigrated from Belgium to Asia and has held various positions in established 5-star international hotel chains.
The event is held on the occasion of the visit to Vietnam of Belgian Federal Minister for Agriculture Denis Ducarme from January 31 to February 2.
Belgian chef Christoph Pouls at the event
A dish at the event
 
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Belgian culinary art showcased in Hanoi

Belgian culinary art showcased in Hanoi NDO – A culinary event named ‘A Taste of Belgium’ is taking place at the Pullman Hotel in Hanoi on F...

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Vietjet honoured as Best Vietnam Deal in 2017

Vietjet honoured as Best Vietnam Deal in 2017
NDO – Vietjet Aviation Joint Stock Company (VJC) received the “Best Vietnam Deal” award from Asia’s leading financial publication Finance Asia for its IPO at a ceremony in Hong Kong (China) on January 31.
The award honours not only the highly successful IPO held in early 2017 but also the subsequent performance over the rest of last year.
Vietjet’s US$164 million IPO was conducted professionally, involving the consultation of world-renowned law firms and financial institutions for a period of nearly 800 days (up to the listing date, February 28, 2017), and followed all of the international IPO standards Regulations.
Previously, Vietjet was awarded “The IPO Deal of the Year 2017” accolade and was named “The Company with Best M&A Information Disclosure” at the M&A Awards 2016-2017 Vietnam as part of the Vietnam M&A Forum 2017 in Vietnam.
Vietjet is the first airline in Vietnam to operate as a new-age airline with low-cost flights and diversified services to meet customers’ demands.
 
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Vietjet honoured as Best Vietnam Deal in 2017

Vietjet honoured as Best Vietnam Deal in 2017 NDO – Vietjet Aviation Joint Stock Company (VJC) received the “Best Vietnam Deal” award from A...

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Phu Quoc island greets 260,000 tourists in first month of 2018

Phu Quoc island greets 260,000 tourists in first month of 2018
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International tourists increased by 40% against the same period last year.
On average the district welcomed about 7,000 holidaymakers each day.
According to Vice Chairman of the district’s People’s Committee Huynh Quang Hung, Sun Group will put into operation An Thoi – Hon Thom cable car in early February to serve tourists on the traditional New Year (Tet).
The district is carrying out measures to ensure safety for tourists during Tet holiday.
Located on the Vienam-Cambodia-Thailand marine economic corridor, Phu Quoc is dubbed the “pearl” island.
Phu Quoc features a monsoon tropical climate. It has two seasons, the dry season from November to April and the rainy season from May to October. The average temperature is 28 degrees Celsius, allowing visitors to enjoy the island’s beauty at any time of the year. 
Phu Quoc National Park is one of the most attractive places in the district. It is home to 929 plant species, of which 42 are listed in the Vietnamese and world red books of endangered species. The park is part of the Kien Giang biosphere reserve, which was recognised as a World Biosphere Reserve by UNESCO in 2006.
The island was named as one of the 10 most beautiful Asian islands to visit in summer by tourism site http://bit.ly/2rYoOja.
 
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Phu Quoc island greets 260,000 tourists in first month of 2018

Phu Quoc island greets 260,000 tourists in first month of 2018 International tourists increased by 40% against the same period last year....

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Travel firms decry criteria on restaurants

Travel firms decry criteria on restaurants
Local catering service providers have objected to a draft circular prepared by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, which states that a restaurant can only be recognized as a standard one for international visitors if it can accommodate at least 50 guests at a time and accept credit cards as a payment option.
Guests are seen at a Starbucks café in HCMC in this file photo. Many tour operators and restaurateurs have objected to tentative regulations on restaurants serving international visitors
Travel firms say such new criteria will make life harder for both tour operators and catering service providers, and that the ministry should attend to more important issues such as price control and food safety, according to Nguoi Lao Dong newspaper.
The draft circular – meant to provide guidance for implementing the Law on Tourism – is passed around by the ministry for comment. The more controversial points in the draft are requirements that restaurants must have at least 50 seats and accept credit card payments if they are to serve tourists.
The new regulations are aimed at raising the quality of tourism service providers to meet higher demand of visitors. However, the ministry states that such rules will not impose any new burden on restaurateurs because such recognition is optional, not compulsory.
Many voices are against the tentative move though.
According to the Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry (VCCI), the regulation that requires restaurants to provide at least 50 seats is unreasonable as the number of seats does not reflect service quality. Even some large restaurants offer fewer than 50 seats because they want customers to have more space while dining there.
Besides, the regulation is baseless as there is no evidence that groups of foreign tourists visiting Vietnam consist of 50 or more people on average.
Competent agencies should evaluate restaurants based on their ability to satisfy demands of international tourists, especially those without tour guides, according
to VCCI. If restaurants have menus in English and proper restrooms and ensure food safety, they should be recognized as eligible.
In HCMC and Hanoi, the number of restaurants which can provide at least 50 seats is modest as most of them are narrow and located close together.
A restaurant on Bui Vien walking street in District 1, HCMC, for example, can accommodate only 25-30 customers but tourists including foreigners prefer it due to its delicious dishes and ideal location.
Many enterprises also disagreed with a regulation asking them to accept credit card payments as credit cards are not as popular as ATM cards in Vietnam while international tourists do not tend to use credit cards to pay for low-cost services like catering. Point of sale (POS) terminals of shopping and catering service providers are not used frequently as well.
If restaurants are recognized to meet standards, they can effectively compete with others. However, unreasonable and compulsory regulations will create an unfair business environment for small restaurants with good services.
Tran Thi Bao Thu, director of marketing and communications at Fiditour, was quoted by Nguoi Lao Dong as saying that the two regulations are meant to improve the quality of restaurants but they should be applied in accordance with specific conditions of destinations. She proposed the ministry focus more on service prices and food safety.
Phan Xuan Anh, chairman of Du Ngoan Viet Travel Company, told the newspaper that he opposed the controversial regulations, saying they are unnecessary.
Meanwhile, Tran The Dung, deputy director of Young Generation Travel Company, said in the newspaper that the two new rules should be designed to encourage restaurants to improve quality. However, they should not be forced to comply with such regulations as most restaurants in Sapa, for instance, can provide 30-40 seats at a time.
SGT
 
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Travel firms decry criteria on restaurants

Travel firms decry criteria on restaurants Local catering service providers have objected to a draft circular prepared by the Ministry of Cu...

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