Vietnam Breaking News

ASEAN Tourism Forum to be held in Quang Ninh in 2019

ASEAN Tourism Forum to be held in Quang Ninh in 2019
The ASEAN Tourism Forum (ATF) and the ASEAN Travel Expo (TRAVEX) will be organized in the northern province of Quang Ninh in January 2019. 
Leaders of the Viet Nam National Administration of Tourism and Quang Ninh Province organized a meeting on the organization of these two events. 
The ATF is the largest-scale event of tourism cooperation among ASEAN nations, heading to establish ASEAN a single tourism destination, develop tourism in a sustainable way and promote exchanges and consolidate peace and prosperity in the region. 
The ATF 2019 creates an opportunity for Viet Nam to introduce its nation, people and tourism as well as attract more investment in tourism in the nation. 
The ASEAN Tourism Forum (ATF) is a cooperative regional effort to promote the ASEAN region as a single tourist destination where Asian hospitality and cultural diversity are featured.
The Travel Exchange (TRAVEX) component is a trade-only mart that showcases the world’s largest contingent of ASEAN destination products and services, and facilitates selling, buying and promoting the region internationally.
This is the second time Viet Nam hosts the event after 10 years of its first organization in 2009. 
VGP 
 
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ASEAN Tourism Forum to be held in Quang Ninh in 2019

ASEAN Tourism Forum to be held in Quang Ninh in 2019 The ASEAN Tourism Forum (ATF) and the ASEAN Travel Expo (TRAVEX) will be organized in t...

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Vietnam to get more foreign cruise visitors

Vietnam to get more foreign cruise visitors
Princess Cruises, a five-star premium cruise line, on Tuesday announced that it would bring 80,000 international tourists to Viet Nam this year, 40 per cent more than last year.
Princess Cruises will bring 80,000 foreign tourists to Viet Nam this year. 
Farriek Tawfik, Southeast Asia director of Princess Cruises, said 31 ships would arrive in Viet Nam this year, 17 of them in Phu My, 10 in Nha Trang and the rest mostly in Da Nang and Cai Lan.
He told Viet Nam News that Viet Nam had become an increasingly popular destination for his company’s guests from the US, Australia, the EU and Asia.
The company has announced it would organise a travel fair in HCM City on February 10 and 11.
At the fair, the company will also launch its Mediterranean and Europe sailing itineraries for summer 2018 for five ships.
Tawfik said though now only 0.1 per cent of Vietnamese were cruise customers, the country was a promising market.
He quoted a report from the Cruise Line International Association saying that demand in Viet Nam had increased by 126 per cent between 2012 and 2016 to 4,100, the largest increase for any Asian country.
He also quoted a report form Boston Consulting Group saying that the middle and affluent classes in Viet Nam would double to 33 million, or a third of the population by 2020, which makes it an attractive market for consumer brands.
With the rise of the middle class, the demand for holidays abroad would also increase, including for cruise travel to destinations such as EU and around Asia, he said.
Princess Cruises operates a fleet of 17 ships that carry some two million passengers a year from over 70 countries and territories.
The ships visit 360 ports around the world. — VNS
 
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Vietnam to get more foreign cruise visitors Princess Cruises, a five-star premium cruise line, on Tuesday announced that it would bring 80,0...

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Developing smart solutions to boost tourism

Developing smart solutions to boost tourism
NDO – Vietnam’s tourism sector posted a record number of 12.9 million international arrivals in 2017, an increase of 29.1% from 2016. Visitors from China rose by 48.6%; the Republic of Korea, 56.4%; Russia, 32.3%; and African countries, 25.6%.
The strong growth in the number of domestic and foreign visitors helped the accommodation and food service activities industry to earn a turnover of VND494.7 trillion (US$21.77 billion) last year, up 11.9% annually. Total revenue from tourism activities is estimated at 35.9 trillion VND (US$1.58 billion) for the year, 10.4% higher than 2016.
Localities that recorded remarkable growth in tourism revenue included Nghe An (22.7%), Hai Phong (18.3%), Khanh Hoa (16.5%), Lam Dong (14.2%), Ho Chi Minh City (10.3%) and Hanoi (8.2%).
The encouraging results were generated from a wide range of policies and measures deployed by the hospitality sector in order to lure visitors and its effort to promote Vietnamese tourism to key markets including Australia, Japan, Europe, and ASEAN.
In addition to continuing to provide visa exemptions for citizens from five western European countries, in 2017, Vietnam also granted electronic visas (e-visas) to citizens of six more nations including Australia, the United Arab Emirates, Canada, India, the Netherlands and New Zealand, alongside the 40 countries that are already permitted.
Recently, an audio guide system was officially put into operation across 14 sites at the Temple of Literature in Hanoi following a two-year trial run. The system is available in eight languages: Vietnamese, English, French, Spanish, Korean, Japanese, Thai and Chinese.
By putting on their headphones, which are connected via handheld devices, and selecting the targeted language, visitors will be provided with information on the site and its cultural and historical values. The information was thoroughly revised by cultural researchers and experts and the service is now priced at VND30,000 (US$1.3) per person.
A new way-finding and sign guideline system designed by French experts were also put into operation on the occasion.
The improvements aim to help make the Temple of Literature reach a wider range of foreign tourists, better serving visitors and further advertising the site’s values.
The grant of e-visas, the launch of the audio guide service, and other smart solutions in general have opened a new way to boost the tourism sector, since they have helped the sector to meet the increasing demand of visitors and take advantage of opportunities brought about by the international integration process and the 4th industrial revolution.
 
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Developing smart solutions to boost tourism

Developing smart solutions to boost tourism NDO – Vietnam’s tourism sector posted a record number of 12.9 million international arrivals in ...

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Deposit requirement unchanged for travel firms

Deposit requirement unchanged for travel firms
Operators of local tours still have to place a VND100 million deposit while the deposit requirement for firms organizing local, inbound and outbound tours is kept at VND500 million under the 2017 tourism law, which went into force this month.
Foreign tourists stroll in downtown HCMC. Operators of local tours still have to place a VND100 million deposit while the deposit requirement for firms organizing local, inbound and outbound tours is kept at VND500 million
According to Nguyen Quy Phuong, head of the Travel Department under the Vietnam National Administration of Tourism (VNAT), the 2017 tourism law stipulates a VND100 million deposit for companies offering local tours, VND250 million for those offering inbound tours and VND500 million for those arranging outbound tours. However, since providers of outbound tours can offer local tours, companies with outbound and inbound tours do not need to make additional deposits for local tours, or those with a VND500 million deposit can cover three travel segments.
“Beside the deposits, travel companies have to meet other requirements but the new law does not impose higher deposits,” Phuong told a meeting on the law last Friday. 
Vietnam now has around 1,800 travel companies with outbound tour operating licenses, 80% of them active in local, outbound and inbound travel services.
As for companies licensed to offer international travel services before the 2017 tourism law came into force, they do not have to seek new licenses but they have to meet the new business requirements in 12 months.
As explained by VNAT deputy director general Nguyen Thi Thanh Huong, to obtain travel service licenses, investors were previously required to have three years’ experience. But now, they have to possess travel operating certificates and need 12 months to obtain them.
Vietnam welcomed 12.9 million international tourists and 73.2 million local tourists last year. Tourism revenue was estimated at VND510.9 trillion, or US$23 billion.
SGT
 
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Deposit requirement unchanged for travel firms

Deposit requirement unchanged for travel firms Operators of local tours still have to place a VND100 million deposit while the deposit requi...

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Cua Van among most beautiful villages around the world

Cua Van among most beautiful villages around the world
Cua Van, a small floating fishing village in the northern province of Quang Ninh, has been listed among the world’s 16 most beautiful villages by Journeyetc.com, a travel advisory website. 
Cua Van floating fishing village (Source: journeyetc.com)
“You’ll be amazed at the historical sites and the cobble stone streets of this village,” the website said, describing Cua Van village as definitely one of the most scenic around the world.
“Admire the majestic lime stone hills of Ha Long Bay, take photos of this floating fishing village and colorful raft houses, and immerse yourself in the rustic lifestyle of Cua Van,” it said. 
There are also more luxurious, overnight cruises available to this destination, according to the website. 
Other villages included in the list are Wengen in Switzerland, Chimayo in New Mexico, Savoca in Italy, Sidi Bou Said in Tunisia and Shirakawa-go in Japan, among others. 
“These places are sure to give you goose bumps because they have managed to retain so much of their culture from decades, if not centuries ago,” the website said.-VNA
 
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Cua Van among most beautiful villages around the world

Cua Van among most beautiful villages around the world Cua Van, a small floating fishing village in the northern province of Quang Ninh, has...

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12,000 flee as lava oozes from Philippine volcano

12,000 flee as lava oozes from Philippine volcano
Thousands fled from their homes as lava oozed out of a rumbling Philippine volcano on Monday in what volcanologists described as a “quiet eruption”, warning it could lead to a hazardous explosion within days.
Lava was slowly flowing out of the Mayon volcano’s crater along with a spectacular 1,000-meter (3,280-foot) ash plume rising into the sky, the nation’s volcanology institute said.
More than 12,000 people have been ordered to leave a seven-kilometer (four-mile) danger zone around the crater, as officials warned them of potentially destructive mudflows and toxic clouds.
“Technically, the volcano is erupting but the eruption is fairly quiet. It may escalate into a hazardous eruption,” Paul Alanis, science research specialist at the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (Phivolcs), told AFP.
A hazardous or explosive eruption means a lava fountain or a spray of hot rocks and gases that could move as fast as 60 kilometers per hour, Alanis added.
Local disaster officials also warned of volcanic mudflows known as lahars.
“Because of continuous rains in past weeks, debris deposited (on) the slopes of Mayon could lead to lahar flows. If rain does not stop it could be hazardous,” Claudio Yucot, head of the region’s office of civil defense, told AFP.
Mayon, a near-perfect cone that draws thousands of tourists, even during minor eruptions, rises 2,460 meters (8,070 feet) above a largely agricultural region some 330 kilometers southwest of Manila.
It is considered the nation’s most active volcano.
Steam-driven eruptions and rockfalls began over the weekend, and the crater began glowing on Sunday evening, in what Phivolcs said was a sign of the growth of a new lava dome.
‘Rolling thunder’
Lava last flowed out of Mayon in 2014 when 63,000 people fled from their homes.
“We think the lava now is more fluid than in 2014. This means the flow can reach further down (the slopes) at a faster rate,” Phivolcs head Renato Solidum told AFP.
“We see similarity with eruptions where the first phase of the activity started with lava flow and culminated in an explosive or hazardous part. That’s what we are trying to monitor and help people avoid.”
The Philippines is part of a “Ring of Fire” of islands in the Pacific that were formed by volcanic activity, and has to contend with 22 active volcanoes.
Mayon has a long history of deadly eruptions.
Four foreign tourists and their local tour guide were killed when Mayon last erupted, in May 2013.
In 1814 more than 1,200 people were killed when lava flows buried the town of Cagsawa.
An explosion in August 2006 did not directly kill anyone, but four months later a typhoon unleashed an avalanche of volcanic mud from Mayon’s slopes that claimed 1,000 lives.
In Monday’s lava flow, Phivolcs advised residents to use a damp cloth over their mouths and stay indoors to avoid inhaling sulfur dioxide gas.
“If you breathe, you will feel like coughing and clearing your throat. It also stings and is painful in the eyes,” Bert Recamunda, a 55-year-old engineer and Mayon watcher, told AFP after visiting Camalig town near the volcano.
Classes were suspended in parts of Albay province where Mayon is at, and some schools were used as evacuation centers.
“I am afraid. The volcano rumbles like a rolling thunder,” Nerry Briones, 40, told AFP from a classroom in Camalig town, where she and her three children have stayed for the past two nights along with other evacuees.
 
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12,000 flee as lava oozes from Philippine volcano

12,000 flee as lava oozes from Philippine volcano Thousands fled from their homes as lava oozed out of a rumbling Philippine volcano on Mond...

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Vietnam’s first university goes multilingual to cater for foreign visitors

Vietnam’s first university goes multilingual to cater for foreign visitors
Hanoi’s renowned Temple of Literature is trying to connect with foreign visitors by offering audio guides in eight different languages.
Those fluent in French, Spanish, Korean, Japanese, Thai, English, Chinese, and of course, Vietnamese, should now be able to explore the temple, Vietnam’s first university built in 1070, with confidence.
With a ticket costing VND30,000 ($1.32), visitors are equipped with headphones and players for tours around the temple.
Hanoi received almost 4.95 million foreign visitors in 2017, up 23 percent from the previous year.
Hanoi is an affordable city, a great place for people to immerse themselves in, and a great place for food, said Australian travel writer Phoebe Lee, who visited Hanoi to star in two <a href="http://bit.ly/2r5FODz">commercials</a> aired by U.S. television network CNN as part of a $2 million tourism deal inked with the city last year.
Lee said the best time to visit Hanoi is in January, which is when she visited the city for a second time.
“The temperatures are perfect. Lovely cool evenings mean you can sit outside at restaurants in the evening and stroll around during the day without breaking a sweat,” she said.
 
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Vietnam’s first university goes multilingual to cater for foreign visitors

Vietnam’s first university goes multilingual to cater for foreign visitors Hanoi’s renowned Temple of Literature is trying to connect with f...

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