This economic hub is also the nation’s leading tourist attraction with an estimated 3.1 million foreign arrivals in 2010, representing a year-on-year increase of 20 percent. It is considered as a record number of city tourism sector over last years. On Dec. 21, the Ho Chi Minh City Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism and the municipal Tourism Association held a welcoming ceremony for the three millionth int’l tourist to the city this year at Tan Son Nhat international airport.

In addition, domestic holiday makers taking services from HCM City-based travel agents also increased 30 percent. The city also said farewell to some 1.8 million Vietnamese at the Tan Son Nhat International Airport on out-bound tours or overseas business missions, representing a 2.5-fold rise over the previous year.

According to the HCMC Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism, the total  service revenue of industry estimated at 41 trillion VND (almost 2.1 billion USD), representing a year-on-year rise of 17 percent including 29,000 trillion VND in Saigon hotel revenue and 12,000 trillion VND in traveling revenue. To reach that number, the city has been making efforts in diversifying tourism products to attract more foreign tourists to the city.

The HCMC Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism’s Deputy Director, La Quoc Khanh, said the city has taken a vanguard role in launching tourist promotion campaigns, which culminated in a programme named “HCM City-100 tips”.
The city has also invested in a programme on river way tours and held art performances as added value services.

Source: VN Plus

Tourists will enjoy helicopter tours for the first time in Danang city and the central region.

Phung Tan Viet, Vice Chairman of the municipal People’s Committee, said the move comes after a proposal from the Northern Service Flight Company (NSFC).

Vietnamtourism JSC (Vitours) will have exclusive rights to organise helicopter tours to island and peninsulas in Danang and the central region, Viet shared.

The firm will use helicopters including the 12-seat EC 155 B1, the most modern in the European Helicopter Association (EHA) and a 24-seat MI 17 and MI 172 that were manufactured in Russia to serve the tours. Leasing prices range between USD3,800 and USD7,500 per hour.

Tours to be held may be half-a-day Danang City Tour, one-day Danang – Cu Lao Cham, one-day Danang – Son Tra – Cu Lao Cham – My Son – Danang, one-day Danang – Con Co, and one-day Danang-Ly Son.

The tours are expected to serve VIP tourists from the U.S., Europe, Japan and South Korea.

Vitours Deputy General Director Cao Tri Dung said the demand for this type of tourism turned up in Vietnam and the firm is studying to boost the services.

Dung added that a 20-tourist group in Ho Chi Minh City has already booked a City tour by helicopter at the end of December.

Danang received more than 1.589 million tourists in the first ten months of this year, including 336,000 foreigners and surpassing 10% of the year’s plan. The city’s tourism industry earned revenues of VND1.051 trillion (USD52.55 million) in the Jan-Oct, up 62% from the same period last year.

The city targets to receive 8.1 million tourists in the next ten years, including 1.4 million foreigners.

Source: DTI

The target was announced by the carrier’s deputy general director Duong Tri Thanh in July at a press conference held in HCM City.

Last year, the carrier launched 73,499 domestic and foreign flights with over 9.34 million passengers and 131,221 tonnes of cargo, an increase from the previous year of 6.6 and 3.2 per cent respectively.

It also reported over VND24.4 trillion (US$1.2 billion) in revenue and VND150 billion ($7.5 million) in pre-tax profit.

Later today, the carrier will announce its estimated business results for this year.

Source: VNS

The figure was given at a revision conference by the Hanoi Municipal Department for Culture, Sports and Tourism on December 23.

In the National Tourism Year, Hanoi has launched various campaigns to improve the quality of tourism products such as the “Hanoians welcoming visitors” and “Green tourism year”. The city also held the Thang Long-Hanoi international tourism and cuisine festivals and a contest for outstanding tourist guides.

However, there remain shortcomings to the city’s tourism sector. Hanoi has not yet taken full advantaged of its potential, especially in cultural tourism and the cooperation between related agencies is still very weak.

To meet the target set for tourism development in 2011, Hanoi should focus more attention on managing tourist activities; promoting advertisement, both domestically and overseas; and improving staff training and tourism inspection, said Truong Minh Tien, Deputy Director of the city’s Department for Culture, Sports and Tourism.

Source: VOV

Hanoi’s streets will look similar to how they did for the millennium anniversary

Vice Chairman of the municipal People’s Committee, Nguyen Van Khoi, instructed the Hanoi Lighting and Urban Equipment Company to operate the entire system of regular lighting starting at 6:00 p.m every day beginning December 25.

Between January 6 and February 8, the city will also operate a newly-installed lighting system to serve the 1000th Thang Long-Hanoi anniversary and decorate headquarters and streets to welcome the 11th National Party Congress and the founding of the Communist Party of Vietnam (February 3).

Flowers will be placed in front of the Central Party headquarters, National Assembly, agencies and the Presidential Palace.

Constructions projects and road work in the area will be halted from December 30 until the end of the Lunar New Year. The city will restrict trucks from entering the inner city during this time, excluding those transporting food and medical products.

Hanoi Power Corporation will be responsible for ensuring stable electricity supply for the party congress and the Tet Holiday.

Source: DTI

The tripartite project between UNESCO, and the Italian and Vietnamese Governments focused on the preservation of Group G of monuments, the most important collection of remains at My Son Holy Site located in the central province of Quang Nam’s Duy Xuyen District.

The group, consisting of five monuments, was selected for UNESCO preservation and sponsorship from the Italian Fund-In-Trust due to its unique decoration and materials and outstanding example of how a Cham sacred area was organised.

It lies on an elevated area never affected by seasonal flooding, and had never been restored, despite its considerable archae-ological importance.

Five key results of Phase II of the project were presented at a press conference held in Ha Noi yesterday.

Consolidation of the restoration of the G1 monument (the sanctuary), the most important of the Group G monuments was completed; with the lessons learnt from the Group G restoration to form a basis for future restoration of Cham brick monuments; and continued training of Vietnamese archaeologists, architects, conservationists and site managers in safeguarding cultural heritage in accordance with international World Heritage standards of conservation.

Training would include evaluation of the archaeological risk factors and vulnerability index of the monuments, which can be used as effective tools in the decision making for the long-term conservation of the World Heritage Site, according to Katherine Muller-Marin, representative and head of the UNESCO Ha Noi office.

She also highly appraised the catalogue of all Cham monuments in My Son which will provide the necessary database for the long-term protection of the site.

The project also helped develop a comprehensive site interpretation plan and design options of a plan for the entrance to the Group G site.

Besides these key results, the most significant success of phase II, was a project dedicated to replicating ancient Cham brickwork.

The success of this project was attributed to a local brick producer, technical staff and researchers from Institute for the Conservation of Monuments in co-operation with Italian experts from Lerici Foundation and University of Polytechnic of Milano.

“Although this research and experiments will continue, this has definitely contributed to taking the conservation work forward,” said the ambassador.

In addition to the success gained in brick experimentation and production, the Guidelines for the restoration of Cham Towers with documented lessons learned from the G1 restoration in My Son would act as an important resource of knowledge and experience for conservators, particularly those working with ancient Cham monuments in central Viet Nam and other Hindu-influenced temples in the region.

The project was the first intervention since My Son was added to the World Heritage list in 1999 and only the second following the initial efforts by Polish and Vietnamese architects led by Kazimierz Kwiatkowski and Professor Hoang Dao Kinh in the early 1980s. A project which lacked the conditions to conduct more research into the materials and techniques used in the construction of the Cham monuments.

Phase I of the project began in 2003 and concluded in 2005 with the breakthrough discovery of an organic resin which was very similar to the ancient Cham material utilised as brick mortar.

The project cost 1.3 million euros (US$1.8million) from 2003-10.

“I’m convinced by the results of the project and I’m happy for the project to continue,” said the ambassador.

Source: VNS

Around 60 Russian dishes many of them grilled will be served with Russian Fifth Ocean beer, at the park that is next to Saigon Bridge in Binh Thanh District.

Chiem Thanh Long, director of Binh Quoi Tourist Village, which manages Tan Cang, told the Daily the tourist village has invited master Russian chef, Sarhat Nabioglu Khalivov to run the kitchen.

“He has been training our chefs for a month,” he said.

This is the first time that Binh Quoi Tourist Village has organized a foreign food festival instead of promoting local food and culture.

Long said the tourist village would hold the Russian Food Festival every year. “HCMC has many programs to promote European and Chinese gastronomy so we want to bring a new food culture of Russia to Saigonese,” he said.

A ticket costs VND450,000 per adult, VND200,000 per child. Contact Tan Cang at A100, Ung Van Khiem Street, Binh Thanh District. Tel: 08 899 1120.

Tip: Book Saigon hotels to enjoy a different Christmas in Ho Chi Minh City!

Residents practice morning exercises on the beach in Nha Trang, the venue for the ASEAN+3 Finance Minister and State Bank Governor Meetings, April 7, 2010.

For those with the time and money, online travel advice website Expedia.com.au (www.expedia.com.au) reveals its Top 10 best beach destinations. Reuters has not endorsed this list:

1. Cable Beach Broome, Western Australia

Located 7 km (4 miles) from Broome, Cable Beach is one of Australia’s premier beach destinations. Featuring 23 km of pure white sand and crystal clear turquoise water, the beach is almost perfectly flat and ideal for swimming and surfing. Bordering the Indian Ocean, and surrounded by the vast inland wildernesses of Western Australia, Cable Beach has an atmospheric “last outpost” feel. Travelers can explore the exquisite beach on foot or by four-wheel drive. Cable Beach is also renowned for its sunsets, which can be enjoyed whilst riding a camel along the beach, or from the comfort of one of the many beach-side restaurants.

2. Ao Nang Beach Krabi, Thailand

Ao Nang is known as Thailand’s best all-round beach destination, due to its central location in the Andaman Sea and magnificent scenery. Ao Nang beach is relatively unspoiled and days can be spent relaxing by the shore or taking part in one of the many activities on offer, such as, snorkeling, scuba diving and kayaking. The beach is also conveniently located to restaurants and bars. The equally spectacular Railey Beach is only a 15-minute ferry ride away and is approximately two hours from Phuket.

3. Nha Trang Beach Nha Trang, Vietnam

Nha Trang is the known as Vietnam’s premier “traditional” seaside resort – a lively seaside town where travelers relax by day and party by night. Surrounded on three sides by mountains, Nha Trang Bay is considered among the world’s most beautiful bays and one of Vietnam’s best beaches. The beach is long and flat, with golden sands and spectacular views of the surrounding mountains. It is also the gateway to a cluster of quieter islands which offer outstanding snorkeling and scuba diving trips.

4. Paradise Beach & others Yasawa Island, Fiji

Yasawa Island is famous for its fine sand and exquisite beaches, including Paradise Beach and Champagne Beach, and its limestone caves, which put the Island on the map when “The Blue Lagoon” blockbuster movie with Brooke Shields was filmed there in the 1980s. Yasawa Island, the largest of about 20 volcanic islands in Fiji’s Yasawa island archipelago, is renowned for its spectacular rugged scenery and palm-fringed white sandy beaches. Yasawa Island is the only island in this outlying archipelago with an airstrip.

5. Azeda Beach Búzios, Brazil

Armação dos Búzios (better known as Búzios) is a peninsula surrounded by 8 km of islands and beaches, and made famous in the 1960s when film star Brigitte Bardot passed through, drawing the attention of adventurous tourists around the world. The beach is now dotted with hip restaurants, bars and boutiques. Búzios’ premier beach, Adeza Beach, is considered one of the prettiest in Brazil. Accessible on foot, the beach boasts a 300-meter (yards) stretch of fine white sand and crystal clear water. With waves virtually non-existent, it is perfect for snorkeling.

6. Lanikai Beach Oahu, Hawaii

Located about 30 minutes’ drive from Honolulu – in the town of Kailua – Lanikai Beach is a 500-metre stretch of powdered sugar sand, and a perfect spot for travelers seeking a quiet, remote location to relax. It is sheltered by a wide, protective offshore reef and has a clear view of the spectacular Na Mokulua islands, certainly living up to its translated name, “heavenly sea.”

7. Isola Bella Beach Taormina, Sicily, Italy

Located on the east coast of Sicily, with views of Mt Etna, and protected by the bay and mountains, Isola Bella beach is without a doubt one of Sicily’s most prized natural assets. The beach is located close to Taormina, a quintessential Italian beach town, and a popular holiday destination amongst artists and celebrities. The beach features pebbles rather than sand, typical of many European beaches, and crystal clear water, making a dip during the hot Italian summer irresistible. Depending on the tide, beachgoers can walk to Isola Bella, the nature reserve on the tiny islet adjoining the beach, or swimmers can swim or snorkel around the island. Taormina itself is a charming town and perched on the cliffs above its gorgeous beaches, which can be reached by an aerial tram.

8. Clifton Beach Cape Town, South Africa

Actually four adjacent beaches separated by giant granite boulders, and set against the most spectacular backdrop of the majestic Twelve Apostles mountain range, Clifton Beach is considered one of Cape Town’s “glamour” spots – where the rich and famous live and beach-loving locals and tourists go to relax. Each with its own identity, 4th Beach is the most popular and entertains beachgoers with volleyball and Frisbee. Although sheltered from the prevailing Southeaster in the summer, the chilly Atlantic Ocean means a quick dip is all that is required to cool down from the baking sun. The best time of the day is just before sundown, as you can kick back to watch the sun set over the sea.

9. Seven Mile Beach Negril, Jamaica

Located in the heart of the Caribbean Sea, the island of Jamaica has long been the playground of sun worshippers the world over. On its western shores – at Negril – is Seven Mile Beach. Close to scores of hotels that hug the curved shoreline, it is the longest continuous stretch of beach in Jamaica. At the end of the beach is a lighthouse, with majestic views of the surrounding cliffs and spectacular rock formations. The beach is popular with families, but there are plenty of activities to keep everyone entertained including snorkeling, kayaking and glass-bottom boat tours.

10. Mughsayl Beach Salahah, Oman

Salalah, in southern Oman, has a unique charm with its coconut groves and banana plantations growing right to the water’s edge. It is also blessed with great beaches – popular for swimming and beach football. Mughsayl Beach is one of the most popular of Oman’s 2,700 km of untouched sandy beaches. The golden sands and sparkling water contrasting with the rough mountains and cliffs, make Mughsayl a truly memorable and visually unique beach experience. During rainy season, the huge waves cause dramatic explosions of water through blow holes at one end of the beach. Mughsayl Beach is approximately 45 km from Salahah City, but certainly worth the trip.

Source: Reuters

The hotel’s 50 villas sit along a stretch of sandy beach, with stunning vistas of the sea and the curve of the bay, sheltered by green forested hills behind. All building materials were taken from natural, sustainable sources, using local materials where possible. Teak wood was reclaimed and includes over a thousand beautifully carved panels.

The resort’s curved swimming pool, shaded by mature, wild mahogany trees, sits at the edge of the beach, which offers various water sports, including coracles, kayaking, snorkeling and diving in what is recognised as the best coral reef in Viet Nam, as well as boat trips to neighbouring islands.

The council estimates that Vietnamese tourism sector reached a growth rate of 3.4 percent this year and this rate will increase to 7.3 percent in the next ten years.

In terms of the overall development of the tourism sector and its contributions to the national economy, Vietnam is ranked the 47th and the 54th, respectively.

The sector contributes VND73.8 trillion to the gross national products (GDP) this year, making up 3.9 percent of the total GDP. In addition, revenues from international visitors’ spendings and the sale of goods are estimated at VND84.7 trillion.

The investment in tourism this year is estimated at VND62.9 trillion, accounting for about 10.2 percent of total investment of the country.

Vietnam Hotel is a large section of hotels and resorts in Vietnam. Here you can find and book a room online with cheap price and special discount rates.