Home » Information » News

News

Saigontourist mulls management firm for five-star hotels

VietNamNet Bridge – Saigontourist Holding Company has drawn up a new managerial process to prepare its human resource for managing its five-star hotels that will be up and running soon, seen as a crucial step for the company to set up a hotel management firm as early as next year. General director of the company Nguyen Huu Tho said at the 2007 review meeting here on Tuesday that Saigontourist would be opening training and refreshing courses to better equip their staffs, enabling...

Visiting Ap Bac battle field in January

VietNamNet Bridge – The route to Ap Bac (Northern Hamlet) today is not the same as it was described in “The Bright Shining Lie” by Neil Sheehan (The New York Times). The American journalist was not wrong (although he possibly has never visited Ap Bac) because from Wikipedia to every article posted on the 45th anniversary of the Ap Bac victory (2 January, 1963), camp Hung Thanh Commune (now called Tan Phu Commune, Cai Lay District, Tien Giang Province) was just a marshy habitat...

Lack of workers, poor infrastructure hinder potential of marine tourism

VietNamNet Bridge – The vice chairman of the Quang Ninh People’s Committee, Nhu Thi Hong Lien, spoke to Thoi Bao Kinh Te Viet Nam (Vietnam Economic Times) about developing sea tourism. Last year, the province organised a number of tourism events. Will you comment on the results? The number of tourists totalled 3.6mil, 1.5mil of which were foreigners. The sector achieved a total turnover of VND2,200bil (US$137.5mil), an increase of 74.9% from 2006. The province...

Flight shortage affecting Tet travelers

VietNamNet Bridge – General Director of Pacific Airlines Luong Hoai Nam talked about providing flights on Tet and airfares. Government raises ceiling airfare Passengers can’t get enough flights for Tet; why don’t you increase the number of flights? General Director of Pacific Airlines Luong Hoai Nam Air tickets are running out because the demand has exceeded the supply. The demand for traveling increases by 30-40% in...

Ninh Binh expects to greet 1.7 million tourists in 2008

VietNamNet Bridge - With a series of projects being developed, the Ninh Binh tourism sector is aiming to welcome 1.75 million tourists in 2008. Over the past year, Ninh Binh tourism activities have seen many positive changes. The sector greeted more than 1.5 million tourists, an increase of 28 percent. Of this, 457,920 were foreign tourists, an increase of 22 percent. This figure also brought in a tourism turnover of nearly 109 billion VND and an overall social turnover from tourism...

Pilgrimage to the South

VietNamNet Bridge – During the Lunar New Year holidays or Tet, Vietnamese often visit pagodas to pray to Buddha for happiness, health, success, safety and money. Responding to this demand, Ben Thanh Tourist tour operator in HCMC has launched a pilgrimage tour that will include 10 pagodas, and temples in the South. Visitors in the Long Tien Pagoda in the northern province of Quang Ninh. The special pagoda relies on the wall of a mountain in the province's Ha Long City....

An Giang sets future hopes on tourism in 2010

VietNamNet Bridge – The An Giang Province was determined to become a major tourist destination of the Cuu Long (Mekong) Delta region, aiming at VND1.6tril (US$100mil) in tourism revenue for 2008. "An Giang has an advantage in tourism development over other provinces in the region, with a diversified terrain and 90km border with Cambodia," said the provincial Tourism Department director Bui Thi Hong Ha. The province welcomed 3.84mil tourists last year, including 40,000...

Turning Phu Quoc island into a high quality eco-tourism site

At the working session, Kien Giang leaders reported on the province’s socio-economic development and investment activities on the island. According to their report, the province’s socio-economic situation remains stable. The province’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) increased by 20.55 percent - the highest figure since 2000 and per capita annual income reached VND14.8 million. For the first time, tourism and services accounted for 47 percent of GDP. Deputy PM Hung also highlighted...

Government raises ceiling airfare

VietNamNet Bridge – The Ministry of Finance has announced it will raise the ceiling airfare level for Vietnam Airlines and Pacific Airlines. The decision is expected to hurt travel companies. Vu Cong Chinh, Deputy Head of the Price Control Department under MOF, said the decision aims to help air carriers diversify their prices. He said the Ministry did not approve the two airlines’ suggestion to raise the ceiling level to...

Silky feeling

But one painter in particular, Nguyen Phan Chanh, played a huge role in pushing the art form into the fore as he believed that silk painting could be used to differentiate Vietnamese art from European art. “His painting proved that silk painting could become the appropriate language for Vietnamese painters to speak,” said the artist and critic Nguyen Quang Phong. “Silk painting can offer softness, elegance and a flexibility, full of poetry and music.” But Chinese silk restricts...

To the waters and the wild

As we follow the course of the river, the sun light envelops the countryside in a wonderful golden hue. No surprise that it’s called Hoang Long (Golden Dragon) river. As pleasurable as it is to kick back and just enjoy the sights and sounds, I have a reason to be floating up this particular river – I am on my way to try the Kenh Ga hot, salt water springs. The hot spring was originally discovered in 1940 by a French research team. In the past the water was exclusively used by...

Exhibition to highlight nation’s tourism potential

VietNamNet Bridge – Resort developer and operator Phuquocland plans to hold the first Viet Nam Tourism Property Opportunities Conference and Exhibition on April 17-18 in HCM City. Phuquocland managing director Than Thanh Vu spoke to Viet Nam News reporter Van Nga about the economic significance of the exhibition and the opportunities it will offer participants. What’s your concept of "tourism property"? The concept of tourism property is quite new with many local...

New precious stone gallery opens in HCM City

VietNamNet Bridge – Phan Chanh Tam and his staff at the Thien Van Saigon Trading Co. Ltd. are busy these days organizing thousands of precious stones for display and sale at a new gallery in HCMC (Ba Huyen Thanh Quan Street in District 3) that opens this Sunday. “It’s a precious stone gallery, not a museum,” said Tam. He explains that he prefers the term gallery because the space is intended for people to admire the marvelous beauty of nature. Tam cannot recall how many...

Tourist sector leads the way to adventure

VietNamNet Bridge – These days, more and more Vietnamese youth and foreigners want to travel in the country, opening new doors for the tourism sector, said Vu The Binh, director of the Travel Department under the Viet Nam Administration of Tourism (VNAT). "I’m still young and I want to discover interesting things in the country. The best way to do that is by travelling," said Nguyen Mai Huy from Hanoi. Along with Huy, young people are not interested in simple tours or...

TRAVEL IN BRIEF 25/1

Hotel to host Malaysian food week Majestic Hotel will hold a Malaysian culinary week, a combination of the cooking styles of Malaysian, Chinese, Indian and Nyobna (early Chinese in Malaysia) from January 26 to February 1. The menu includes popular Malaysian foods such as chicken with hot spices and tomato sauce, mackerel with chilli sambal sauce, stewed coconut and vegetables, and grilled chicken, beef or lamb with spices. Tickets are US$20 for adults and $10 for children. Hotel...


Copyright ® 1998 - 2007 Vietnam Opentour Co., Ltd. All right reserved. Vietnam Travel - Vietnam Open Tour