Vietnam tourism - high growth, low revenue

( Vietnamfittour )The number of foreign tourists travel in Vietnam reached over 6.8 million, with revenues of $ 6.61 billion. Being recognized as one of the 10 countries with the highest growth rate in tourism in the world, the real figures that Vietnam tourism earned are modest compared with other countries in the region like Thailand, Malaysia and Singapore.

Specifically, Vietnam attracted 6,847,678 tourists in 2012 compared to 22,303,065 of Thailand and 25,035,400 of Malaysia. Regarding revenues, Vietnam earned $6.61 billion in 2012 compared to $30.92 billion of Thailand, $19.79 billion of Malaysia was and $19.38 billion of Singapore.



Compared to these countries, Vietnam’s tourism grew in number but the quality was much lower than theirs. It should start from the specific work
One of the reasons for this situation is associated with the brand story of Vietnam tour. According to experts in the tourism industry, the brand of a country plays a very important role.

The development and promotion of the brand in order to establish an image of the country as an impressive destination, so that increasing competitive advantages in the world's tourism market is becoming a "vital" issue for the tourism industry.

In this regard, Dr. Pham Trung Luong, Deputy Director of the Institute of Tourism Research and Development, said that Vietnam’s tourism industry was born from the '60s, but since then Vietnam has not yet built a national tourism brand. Tourism promotion still does not work because Vietnam does the traditional way, not the right direction. If the Vietnam National Administration of Tourism stops promotion activities, international visitors will keep going to Vietnam because they come here primarily through the recommendation of relatives and friends.

Dr. Luong said that developing tourism and building brand are clearly uneasy, but it is not too difficult if having the right understanding of brands and brand building and doing it right in the first step first. When the conception is proper, the message will be clear and communication will be very easy.
“To take the Vietnam tourism brand to the regional and international levels, it is not simply to be done immediately. This requires time and satisfactory investment. But right from this moment, if we do not start from particular tasks, it would hardly to have a national tourism brand as desired," Luong added. To solve this problem, the General Director of VNAT, Mr. Nguyen Van Tuan, said that the strategic task of the agency in the current period is building the brand for Vietnam's tourism.

Hue lures visitor travel in Vietnam with big bargains

( Vietnamfittour.com ) - Visitors to the monuments in the former royal capital city of Hue City are enjoying big discounts during September, when Hue starts its golden tourism month – Vietnam travel

Travel in Vietnam. During the month, tourists can use o­ne entrance ticket, that they can buy from the Royal Palace, Hieu Lang (Minh Mang) Tomb, and Ung Lang (Khai Dinh) Tomb to enter other monuments in the city.





Tourists also get a free electric bus o­n the Royal Palace - Artefact Museum route. Discounts of 50 per cent will be applied to royal court music performances and 10 per cent for other services like royal costume wear and drink.
Groups of 30 or more who arrive at site will be awarded a free presenter. Students enjoy free ticket at any sites.
The Hue Monument Conservation Centre will also put collections of royal artifacts o­n show in several exhibitions to introduce items donated and lent by local collectors
The golden tourism month is among other events celebrating 20 years of world heritage recognition by UNESCO for Hue monuments, according to Phan Thanh Hai, the centre's director.
Ngo Hoa, chairman of provincial People's Committee, added that the 19 biggest hotels in Hue pledged discounts of between 30-50 per cent for tourists during the month.
Hue planned a golden tourism week in September after a successful golden week held in April. Now it has expanded the week to o­ne month.
But experts are wonder about the effectiveness of the month, as local Phu Bai Airport will not reopen until repairs are completed o­n September 20, near the end of golden month. During early September, tourists will have to reach Hue by bus from neighbouring Da Nang Airport.

Vietnam tour - Hiking in Vung Tau is a must for tourists

A panoramic view of Vung Tau from the lighthouse - Vietnam tour



( Vietnamfittour.com ) The tourists travel in Vietnam apart from swimming, enjoying seafood, visiting pagodas and conquering Jthe towering statue of Jesus Christ in Vung Tau, tourists should also try hiking up to Nho (Small) Mountain to admire the lighthouse as well as the panoramic view of the coastal city. It’s worth your time and effort with the fresh air, peaceful moments and romantic view of the shaded road leading to the peak.

The location is a favorite destination for people to get in some exercise, going for wedding photo shoots and hanging out with friends. To reach the lighthouse, you can take a cab to the foot of the mountain and walk up to the peak where the white lighthouse is located, about 170 meters above sea level. Or you can do it the easy way and hire a motorbike and get there in only 10 minutes.


People can walk or drive up to the peak of Nho Mountain on a shaded road - Vietnam travel

The road leading to the peak looks so romantic under the shades of high trees and wild flowers on both sides. People can smell the leaves after rain or the sea breeze in the air. At some corners you can pause to take photos as some trees show their huge roots on rocks. People might see some dogs lying in the middle of the road with some barking out loud, they key is not to panic and calmly pass them.

After about twenty minutes travelers can get to the two-storey lighthouse which was inaugurated in 1862 and renovated in 1913. It is 18m high and 3m in diameter. Its lamp can radiate to a distance of 30 nautical miles. From the lighthouse, you are treated to a wonderful view of the sea, a small lake, and mountains in the distance, immense green trees and uncountable buildings and houses in different colors below.

It’s a pity the lighthouse is not open for visitors, so people just have to admire its external beauty. It’s recommended for tourists to hike in late afternoon to avoid the scorching sun and heat and apply insect-prevention lotion to protect their skin.

Hue lures visitors with big bargains

(Vietnamfittour) Travel in vietnam. Visitors to the monuments in the former royal capital city of Hue City are enjoying big discounts during September, when Hue starts its golden tourism month.

During the month, tourists can use one entrance ticket, that they can buy from the Royal Palace, Hieu Lang (Minh Mang) Tomb, and Ung Lang (Khai Dinh) Tomb to enter other monuments in the city – Vietnam travel.

Vietnam tour

Tourists also get a free electric bus on the Royal Palace - Artefact Museum route. Discounts of 50 per cent will be applied to royal court music performances and 10 per cent for other services like royal costume wear and drink. Groups of 30 or more who arrive at site will be awarded a free presenter. Students enjoy free ticket at any sites. The Hue Monument Conservation Centre will also put collections of royal artifacts on show in several exhibitions to introduce items donated and lent by local collectors.

The golden tourism month is among other events celebrating 20 years of world heritage recognition by UNESCO for Hue monuments, according to Phan Thanh Hai, the centre's director. Ngo Hoa, chairman of provincial People's Committee, added that the 19th biggest hotel in Vietnam pledged discounts of between 30-50 per cent for tourists during the month.

Hue planned a golden tourism week in September after a successful golden week held in April. Now it has expanded the week to one month. But experts are wonder about the effectiveness of the month, as local Phu Bai Airport will not reopen until repairs are completed on September 20, near the end of golden month. During early September, tourists will have to reach Hue by bus from neighboring Da Nang Airport.

Photos highlight beauty of mountainous region

A photo festival that spotlights today’s land and people in the northern mountainous region opened in Thai Nguyen province on August 18 from Vietnam travel

The event attracts the participation of nearly 200 photographers from 15 cities and provinces in the region as well as other tourism international travel in Vietnam.



More than 200 photos selected from 1,800 entries highlight the beauty of nature, land and people in the northern mountainous region.

They also focus on the region’s socio-economic, security-defense and scientific-technological achievements during the country’s industrialization and modernization.

The photos also reflect the cultural and spiritual lives of regional people, especially ethnic groups in mountainous areas.

The event, the thirteenth of its kind, will run until August 25. The next festival will take place in Lang Son province in 2014.

Sofitel Saigon hosts French Wine Week next month

The three-part Sofitel French Wine Week will be rolled out in the hotel via a number of different events for the tourism travel in Vietnam

Culinary professionals at L’Olivier restaurant will introduce a famous wine every day from the famous wine regions of Bordeaux, Médoc, Saint Emilion, Margaux, Bourgogne, Côtes du Rhône, Châteauneuf-du-Pape and Alsace with special discounts. Besides that, guests will have a chance to enjoy a dozen exclusive dinners specifically designed to highlight the finest French wines – from Vietnam travel.



                                Vietnam hotel

During each dinner, guests are invited to savor delicious food and inspired wine pairings. Wine enthusiasts and connoisseurs get the chance to meet a well-known wine producer.

During the second event, a wine fair will take place at Gourmand Shop on the hotel’s ground floor where customers have the opportunity to select from a range of prestigious vintage French wines. Furthermore, there will be a very special discount for all types of vintage French wines during the week-long event at Gourmand Shop, Lobby level.

Wine & Cheese pairing night offers participants the finest wine, cheese and cold cuts which are produced by heirloom and organic techniques, and imported from Europe. This will be a great companion with a fabulous French wine in the cozy and intimate setting of Boudoir Lounge. If you buy a bottle of wine, you can enjoy cheese buffet and cold dishes on the house.

Buffet cheese and cold cut offerings are priced at VND550,000++ including a glass of white or red wine. The program takes place on the evening of Tuesday and Thursdays, starting September 3.

All 120 Sofitel hotels will take part in the week-long program, which celebrates French wine with numerous events, promotional activities and friendly informal gatherings in bars and the restaurants hotel in Vietnam where guests can enjoy a large range of vintage French wines.

Van Don - second Ha Long bay of Vietnam

( Vietnamfittour ) With many mysterious caves such as Soi Nhu and Ha Giat caves, and beautiful beaches with clear blue water and white sand such as Quan Lan and Minh Chau, Van Don is compared as the second Ha Long bay in Quang Ninh province from Vietnam travel.

Travel in Vietnam, the tourism has to contemplate mountain sky at Van Don bay. Van Don is a community of exotic islands with more than 600 small and large islands connecting together to form a fortification on the sea. It remains an untouched beauty within the immense and majestic Bai Tu Long Bay with heaving stone islands.



Vietnam tour, Vietnam hotel, hotel in Vietnam, travel in Vietnam, Vietnam travel

In addition, it also has Minh Chau island commune – the island famous for pure wild character preservation. Coming here, young discoverers will have the chance to cycle through tree-shaded paths and walk on the smooth white beach stretching over 2km. Minh Chau is evaluated as one of the most beautiful beaches in Vietnam.

In addition, you can also experience the feeling as a fisherman when going out to sea to fish for squid every night. Every morning waking up, you can go dig sipunculus nudus, then enjoy the dish from the fruits of your labour. Besides, Cai Bau, Ngoc Vung, Quan Lan are also famous for beautiful beaches, pristine forests with rare animals and rich spiritual life in many sacred pagodas. In the future, Van Don bay will be vote new destination of the world.

Food Festival comes to Vung Tau

( Vietnamfittour ) Vung Tau City in Ba Ria-Vung Tau Province will host a hugely-anticipated food festival from Thursday until Sunday – from Vietnam travel.

Through this event, the provincial people’s committee wants to promote food culture with local signature dishes as well as give tourism businesses the chance to show their talents and serve guests travel in Vietnam.

Vietnam tour, Vietnam hotel, hotel in Vietnam, travel in Vietnam, Vietnam travel



The festival will be held in Trung Trac-Trung Nhi Garden in Ward 1, Vung Tau City with 34 booths. Participants are skillful chefs working in the fields of tourism services, beverage providers and processed food. The opening ceremony will be held at 6 p.m. on Thursday while the award ceremony will take place at 6 p.m. on Sunday.

Coming to the festival, tourists will enjoy delicious dishes served at booths and nightly singing performances. The organizers will offer 11 awards for best cuisine, the most beautiful booth, charming fruit carving, striking fruit display, and awards for those serving the most delicious local food and for the booth which has the most professional serving staff.

The organizers hope this festival will become an annual cultural event of Vung Tau City.

Hanoi Days in Moscow” scheduled for November

( Vietnamfittour )The “Hanoi Days in Moscow” programme will take place in Russia’s capital city from November 21-24, announced the Office of the Hanoi municipal People’s Committee from travel in Vietnam.



Vietnam tour, Vietnam hotel, hotel in Vietnam, travel in Vietnam, Vietnam travel

The event will feature an array of activities such as meetings between Hanoi leaders and Moscow authorities, representatives from the Vietnamese Embassy, the Vietnamese community in Moscow and the Russia-Vietnam Friendship Association.

There will be a photo and painting exhibition introducing Hanoi’s socio-economic achievements, a puppetry performance and a seminar on tourism, investment and trade promotion.

The Hanoi Cultural and Commercial Centre in Moscow will also be opened to the public.

The Hanoi People’s Committee has assigned the municipal Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism to work with relevant departments and agencies to prepare the events.

Workshop on planning for Quang Ninh tourism development till 2020, with a vision to 2030

( Vietnamfittour ) On August. 13,in Ha Long city, the Quang Ninh Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism and the Boston Consulting Group (BCG-America) jointly held a workshop on the planning to develop Quang Ninh tourism till 2020, with a vision to 2030 from travel in Vietnam.

It is two months so far since the Boston Consulting Group, which was chosen by the QNPPC as the consulting group jointly worked with other revelant provincial departments in drawing the planning to develop Quang Ninh tourism. At this first phrase, the planning focuses on assessing the current state of tourism development, on which a strategic orientation and implementation plan will then be built.



Vietnam tour

At the workshop, BCG has asked a list of questions on various issues, namely: limitations facing Quang Ninh tourism; evaluating Chinese tourists market- one of the biggest tourist market to Quang Ninh tourism, solutions to attract tourists from this market to the province.

Additionally, participants had a chance to study the model of Malaysian tourism development and learn from its experiences in developing tourism, such as building Quang Ninh’s tourism trademark, segmenting target markets, attracting investment in transport, enhancing the connection of aviation traffic...

Tags: Vietnam hotel, hotel in Vietnam, Vietnam travel

Conde Nast Traveler hails seven Vietnamese resorts and hotels

(Vietnamfittour)At the latest count to survey from visitor travel in Vietnam. 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 – Vietnam travel

The country’s resorts which made the greatest impression on travelers were Life Heritage Resort Hoi An, The Nam Hai, La Residence Hotel & Spa Hue and Evasion 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, two hotel in Vietnam include 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.
The Readers' Choice Awards polled 28,876 responses from readers who rated resorts and hotels across a range of categories, including food and dining, location and overall design.

With its top-20 finish, La Residence Hotel & Spa in Hue earned its first listing in the vaunted Readers’ Choice Awards. Life Heritage Resort Hoi An again cracked the top 10, claiming the No. 9 spot on a list that included a Four Seasons hotel at No. 10.

None of Vietnam’s cities made the grade as one of Asia’s top 10 city destinations, though Luang Prabang in Laos came in at No. 8. Likewise, none of Vietnam’s islands won a place in the top 10.

Viet Nam will be a wonderful destination for our clients

(Vietnamfittour) This is confirmed by a majority of the international guests who are directors, tour operators, from Europe, USA, Australia and Asia after a study tour in Ha Long Bay as a part of program in appreciation of international travel agencies for sending tourists to Viet Nam.

For the first time, Viet Nam National Administration of Tourism (VNAT) in coordination with Vietnam Airlines (VNA) organized this event with the attendance of 45 international travel agencies from China, Japan, Korea, Taiwan, Thailand, Singapore, Malaysia, France, Germany, UK, Netherlands, Russia, Switzerland, Spain, USA, and Australia. They are representatives of the top markets and have operated in Viet Nam since the early stages of tourism development.



Representatives of international travel agencies had a study tour to Ha Long Bay and enjoyed a special traditional art performance. Most of them were impressed with friendly Vietnamese people and the spectacular scenery of Ha Long Bay which has been elected as one of seven new natural wonders of the world.

Representatives of international travel agencies had a study tour to Ha Long Bay and enjoyed a special traditional art performance. Most of them were impressed with friendly Vietnamese people and the spectacular scenery of Ha Long Bay which has been elected as one of seven new natural wonders of the world.

Mr. Christian Lenz, Managing Director of Kastl Ost Tourisik GMBH (Germany) has been for the first time to Viet Nam but was very impressed. Mr. Lenz said his clients often chose trans- Vietnam tour to Ho Chi Minh City, Da Nang, Hue, Ha Long, and Ha Noi.

Acccording to him, Viet Nam has advantage of beautiful natural attractions but it must overcome two weaknesses of hotel quality, and especially transport infrastructure. Germans enjoyed the Vietnamese food, but prefering Vietnamese authentic to foreign dishes.

Another tour operator from Japan, Mr. Kurashima Yasumoto has already visited Vietnam travel many times to research the market. Kurashima loves Ha Long Bay and every time coming to Viet Nam he also visited Ha Long Bay. He said that Ha Long Bay needs to upgrade its infrastructure.

Ms. Van Nguyen Thi, Marketing Director of La Maison de l’Indochine Co., informed that the company has nearly 100 employees, of which only 10 working in Paris, the remaining working in other countries including Viet Nam. Her parents were from Ha Dong, a district of Ha Noi, Viet Nam. However, she was born and grew up in France since 1947. She desired to contribute to Viet Nam development.

Back to Viet Nam for the first time in 1989 with her family and employees, she spent a month in Viet Nam to really understand the market and visited many places. Soon after that, she decided Viet Nam will be an important destination in the company’s development strategy

So far, the company annually brings thousands of tourists travel in Vietnam. She visits Viet Nam three times a year to explore new destinations. Next year, she will come back to join Hue Festival and bring many of her customers to this event.