Phan Thiet fun for Tet

Phan Thiet has announced the cultural and sports events for Lunar New Year 2011. From January 30 until February 8 (the 27th of the 12th lunar month until the 6th of the 1st lunar month), there are numerous music performances, sports activities, folk games and lion dances at most of the province’s 18 wards.

Bien Xanh theater group will hold special music galas in the communes of Tien Thanh, Phong Nam and Thien Nghiep. Tien Loi – Tien Thanh Tourist Area will have a fireworks display on Lunar New Year’s Eve. After the 15-minute fireworks, a music performance named “Chao Xuan” (Welcoming the Spring) will be held at Nga Bay Stage and a music gala at Nguyen Tat Thanh Square.

The traditional boat race on Ca Ty River will be on the second of the first lunar month and the Mui Ne sand hill run will be on the 4th of the 1st lunar month. At resorts and hotels in Phan Thiet, there’re banquets to welcome Lunar New Year, folk music performances, lion dances, Cham dances and traditional martial arts.

(Source: SGT)

Three provinces plan joint tourism representative office in Japan

Three central provinces are planning to set up a joint representative office in Japan as part of a program to attract tourists from there.

Nguyen Quoc Thanh, Deputy Director of the Thua Thien Hue Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism said that his province together with neighboring Quang Nam and Danang was preparing to open the office some time this year.

The three have got support from an organization in Japan, investors, travel firms and Vietnam Airlines for the representative office scheme as it is believed to help to promote the entire central region as a destination for tourists.

“Without this support we have not been able to proceed with the plan. We want to open the office soon since Japan is among the important markets for us,” Thanh said.

With two World Heritage sites, the ancient city of Hoi An and My Son Sanctuary, Quang Nam normally attracts more local and international visitors than the other two provinces.

Quang Nam put visitor arrivals at 2.4 million last year and the number was 1.77 million in Danang, and 1.5 million in Thua Thien-Hue.

Thanh said Thua Thien-Hue’s tourism sector expected newly opened and forthcoming air services between Danang and Japan to contribute more to bringing Japanese visitors to Danang and neighboring provinces.

“Hundreds of thousands of Japanese visit Danang and Quang Nam a year but our province gets a lower number,” he said. “Good transportation infrastructure and strong promotions that will be carried out through the representative office will help to bring more Japanese to the region and our province.”

If the plan materializes, this will be the first representative office of the local tourism sector in Japan. The Vietnamese tourism sector has no overseas office at the moment.

(Source: SGT)

EU provides EUR11 billion for Vietnam’s tourism

European Union (EU) will provide Vietnam with EUR11 billion to promote environmental and social responsibility in the development of tourism in 2011-2015.

The information was released at a ceremony announcing the financial agreement on the largest ever technical assistance given to Vietnam’s tourism held on January 14 in Hanoi.

Vietnam will contribute about EUR1 million to the programme. The Vietnam National Administration of Tourism (VNAT) has been assigned its implementation.

The project aims to promote environmental and social responsibility in tourism services on part of Vietnam’s tourism development strategy.

It will focus on three components, including policy of assistance and regulation increasing competitiveness; and promoting education and vocational training.

Staff from the VNAT and executives from tourism sector at all levels will be the targets of the programme.

The programme was made possible due to the project on developing the success of human resources for tourist sector which was financed by the EU in 2004 - 2010.


Source VOV

Dak Lak to host Buon Ma Thuot Coffee Festival

The Dak Lak Provincial People’s Committee announced about the upcoming 3rd Buon Ma Thuot Coffee Festival 2011 on January 17.

Present at the event were Luong Van Tu, Chairman of the Vietnam Coffee and Cocoa Association (Vicofa), Trinh Ngoc Tu, Deputy Director of Vietnam Coffee Company, Y DHam ENuoi, Vice Chairman of Dak Lak Provincial People’s Committee and Tran Viet Hung, Deputy Head of the Central Highlands Steering Committee.

Mr. Y DHam ENuoi said coffee was the main product of the province, coffee plantation covers an area of more than 180,000ha in the province, and annual output reaches over 400,000 tonnes, annual export turnover of more than US$600 million, occupying 60% of the province’s budget and creating jobs for 400,000 labourers.

Under the approval of the Prime Minister, the Dak Lak Provincial People’s Committee will hold Buon Ma Thuot Coffee Festival every two years. The festival will be a good opportunity for trade promotion, advertising trade names to push Vietnam’s coffee exports, raise Vietnam’s coffee among famous trade names in the world, and create favourable conditions for sustainable development of the coffee industry in Vietnam in general and the Central Highlands in particular.

The Dak Lak Provincial People’s Committee will also coordinate with the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development and the Vicofa to organise a seminar on developing Buon Ma Thuot’s coffee industry firmly and operate the model of fixed time-limit coffee transaction in trading, following the Prime Minister’s guidelines.

Many sports activities and arts performances will also take place at the festival.

The 3rd Buon Ma Thuot Coffee Festival will be held on Square 10/3 in Buon Ma Thuot City in the Central Highland province of Dak Lak on March 10-13.

(Source: VOV)

Get festive for Tet at Cham cultural center

The Cham Cultural Exhibition Center in Binh Thuan Province will host a week of cultural events for Tet (Lunar New Year) from January 30 to February 8. The highlight of the program is the exhibition of royal costumes of the Cham imperial family.

See what the Cham kings, queen, princes and princess were wearing – including crowns, seals and swords and betel nut making sets.

Also see costumes, musical instruments, objects and products that Cham people used in festivals.

Apart from exhibits of traditional craft villages like brocade weaving and ceramics, the center will also display farming tools such as buffalo carts, fish traps and stone jewelries plus a collection of stone statues of Aspara dancers, Genesa, Avalo Kitecvara Gods, a lion, Linga-Yoni and many documents written in Cham language.

Brocade weavers and pottery makers will demonstrate for visitors, so guests can join contests. Learn how to cook at Cham cake making displays or just enjoy a free cake.

Rija Nugar ( New Year Festival) and folk artistic performances will be on every night during the festival week.

The Cham artist troupe from Bac Binh District will perform Saranai pan-pipe, Yin-Yang couple dance, Po Jija dance, Vai Chai singing and many kinds of ethnic Cham dance and singing.

The center is in Phan Hiep Commune, Bac Binh District, Phan Thiet City
Source: Vietnamtourism.com

Vietnam to promote World Heritage sites at ATF

The tourism authority has chosen the World Heritage sites, the 1,000-year-old capital of Hanoi and the unique central coast as Vietnam’s highlights at the ASEAN Tourism Forum 2011.

Nguyen Thi Thanh Huong, deputy head of the marketing department of the Vietnam National Administration of Tourism (VNAT), told the Daily on January 10 VNAT, the tourism authorities of HCMC, Danang, Phu Yen and Nghe An, and around 40 travel firms and hotels would join the event in the Cambodian capital Phnom Penh from January 15 to January 21.

The Vietnamese delegation will showcase Vietnamese tourism products and services, and work with foreign buyers at the ATF Travex, a three-day travel trade mart set for January 19.

ASEAN member countries are among the main source markets of the domestic tourism sector along with China, Europe, and Northeast Asia. Tourist arrivals from ASEAN, mostly Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore and Cambodia, have also been on the rise in the past two years.

Cambodia is a case in point, with around 254,600 Cambodians visiting Vietnam in 2010, up 87% year-on-year.

The yearly forum will be attended by the 10 ASEAN countries to seek to promote ASEAN as a tourist destination. This year it goes with the theme “A World of Wonders and Diversity” and features other activities such as conference and travel exhibitions.

The ASEAN Tourism Conference will look into topics such as ecotourism and sustainable tourism in the region and management of tourism services in heritage sites.

According to a statement of the organizing committee, over 500 exhibition booths are occupied and around 1,000 buyers have put their names down to join the event.

(Source: SGT)

Main road to be decorated with 120,000 flowerpots for Tet

The organizer of the annual Nguyen Hue Flower Street program has entered the final phase with Nguyen Hue Boulevard closed on January 21 to begin installing 120,000 flowerpots.
The flower street will be opened to visitors on January 31, or the 28th day of the final lunar month, and closed on February 6, or the fourth day of the new lunar year.

Chiem Thanh Long, deputy head of the organizing committee of the Nguyen Hue Flower Street, told the Daily last weekend that the organizer had placed orders for flowers with farmers in HCMC, the Mekong Delta and the Central Highlands city of Dalat.

Visitors will have the opportunity to see around 90 species of flowers along the main street in the city’s commercial district as they ring in the Lunar New Year.

Also shown along the street will be models of traditional items for the country’s largest festive event, such as Banh Tet (sticky rice cake) and watermelons.The organizer will turn Le Loi Boulevard into a pedestrian-only street, near Nguyen Hue, and make it a venue for music performances, folk dances and games at night on February 6.

As part of the Tet Festival 2011, the city will again organize a contest to make Banh Tet, decorate the main streets with color lighting systems, display fireworks, and stage music and light shows.

The street lighting decoration program will kick off first, with main streets Nguyen Hue, Dong Khoi, Le Loi and Le Duan to be brightly lit from January 26 to February 13. Such lighting was done during the Christmas and New Year holidays.

In the Banh Tet cooking contest, set for January 26 to 31, the best cake will be used as a token offering to the Hung Kings and 10,000 smaller Banh Tet cakes for poor people to enjoy Tet.

Organizer Saigontourist has taken contributions from many other companies to hold the Tet festival.

While Nguyen Hue Flower Street is on, some vehicles will be banned from this road from late this month to early February. Cars are not allowed on Nguyen Hue from Le Loi to Ton Duc Thang streets from January 21 to February 7. All vehicles are disallowed from January 31 to February 6 on Nguyen Hue Street and at night on February 6 on Le Loi Street, from Quach Thi Trang roundabout to the HCMC Opera House.

(Source: SGT)

Deputy Prime Minister hails Thang Long-Hanoi millennium celebration

The successful organisation of activities to mark Thang Long-Hanoi’s 1,000th birthday in 2010 helped improve the position and prestige of the capital city and the country as well, Deputy Prime Minister Nguyen Sinh Hung has said.

At a review meeting held by the National Steering Committee for the 1,000th anniversary of Thang Long-Hanoi in Hanoi on January 5, the Deputy Prime Minister said that celebrations matched the significance of the anniversary and were able to highlight country’s heroic spirit and the city’s thousand-year-old culture.

He also spoke highly of the involvement of relevant ministries and branches, the Vietnam Fatherland Front and its chapters, all 63 provinces and cities nationwide, Vietnamese embassies overseas and embassies of foreign countries in Vietnam, which contributed to the success of the celebration.

The consensus of the nation as a whole and their love to Hanoi were major factors leading to the success of the celebration, Hung stressed.

On the occasion, he also asked the Party Central Committee’s Information and Education Commission, the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism and Hanoi authorities to collect intangible cultural heritages on Hanoi.

(Source: VNA)

Deputy Prime Minister hails Thang Long-Hanoi millennium celebration

The successful organisation of activities to mark Thang Long-Hanoi’s 1,000th birthday in 2010 helped improve the position and prestige of the capital city and the country as well, Deputy Prime Minister Nguyen Sinh Hung has said.
At a review meeting held by the National Steering Committee for the 1,000th anniversary of Thang Long-Hanoi in Hanoi on January 5, the Deputy Prime Minister said that celebrations matched the significance of the anniversary and were able to highlight country’s heroic spirit and the city’s thousand-year-old culture.

He also spoke highly of the involvement of relevant ministries and branches, the Vietnam Fatherland Front and its chapters, all 63 provinces and cities nationwide, Vietnamese embassies overseas and embassies of foreign countries in Vietnam, which contributed to the success of the celebration.

The consensus of the nation as a whole and their love to Hanoi were major factors leading to the success of the celebration, Hung stressed.

On the occasion, he also asked the Party Central Committee’s Information and Education Commission, the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism and Hanoi authorities to collect intangible cultural heritages on Hanoi.

(Source: VNA)

Hanoi and HCMC welcome first international visitors in 2011

A ceremony was held at international airport Tan Son Nhat on January 1, 2011 to welcome the first international visitors to HCMC of the year. The event was co-organised by the HCMC’s Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism and the city’s Tourism Association.

Vietnam Airlines’ first flight VN927 from Kaohsiung to HCMC landed at 9h30am, carrying 160 passengers from Taiwan while the Cathay Pacific Airlines’ second flight CX769 from Hong Kong to HCMC landed at 10h25 am with 300 passengers from the US, Hong Kong, the UK, France, the Netherlands and Northern Europe.

This is part of a series of events in 2011 to promote Vietnam’s image, the country and its people and HCMC as an attractive, safe and friendly destination to international visitors and overseas Vietnamese.

La Quoc Khanh, Deputy Director of the HCMC’s Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism said that in 2011, the city’s tourism sector will focus on diversifying its products, improving the quality of cultural events in the city, and training human resources.

On the same day, Vietnam Airlines’ Boeing 777, carrying 285 passengers from Frankfurt, Germany landed at Noi Bai International Airport.

Australian tourist Hans Peter Ebuer, who is one of the first visitors to Hanoi in 2011, said that he had learnt a lot about Vietnam’s history and people. He found Hanoi different from his imagination with its friendly people and modern terminals.

(Source: VOV)

Photo exhibition on VN – Cuba ties opens in Hanoi

A photo exhibition themed “Vietnam – Cuba, 50 years of solidarity, cooperation and development” opened in Hanoi on December 30 to mark the 50th anniversary of diplomatic ties between Vietnam and Cuba (December 2, 1960 - December 2, 2010).
Attending the opening ceremony were Deputy Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism Le Tien Tho, Cuban Ambassador to Vietnam Fredesman Turroz Gonzalez and representatives of the Embassies of Cuba, Thailand, France, the Vietnam-Cuba Friendship Association and news agencies.

On display are almost 100 photos depicting the friendly cooperation between Vietnam and Cuba and as well as the Cuban people, land and culture.

Addressing the event, Deputy Minister Tho described the exhibition as a chance to review the traditional friendship and bilateral cooperation between the two nations in the fields of politics, economy, culture and education since the two countries established their diplomatic ties in 1960.

He said he believed that the exhibition would contribute to strengthening the bilateral friendship and boosting the comprehensive partnership between the two nations.

For his part, Cuban ambassador Fredesman Turroz Gonzalez expressed his thanks for the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism’s participants in the event and affirmed that this year was important in exchanging bilateral culture between Vietnam and Cuba, especially the exchange visits by the two nations’ culture ministers and the signing of cultural exchange programme in the 2011-2013 period.

The exhibition, which is co-organised by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism and the Cuban Embassy to Vietnam, will last until January 3, 2011./.

(Source: VNA)