International visitors on the rise

More than 5.35 million international visitors were welcomed in Viet Nam over the last 10 months, a year-on-year increase of 11.2 per cent, according to the General Statistics Office.

Of that number, 4.47 million visitors came by plane, up by 11 per cent; and 821,000 by car, up by 8.8 per cent compared with the same period last year.

The visitors include more than 1 million mainland Chinese, nearly 580,000 Koreans; 475,000 Japanese; 233,000 Malaysians and 185,000 French.

However, only 3.17 million of the 5.35 million international visitors came for tourism purposes, up by 8.7 per cent compared with the same period last year.

More Japanese tourists expected

A delegation of Japan Association of Travel Agents has inspected tourist sites in northern provinces, aiming to help Viet Nam attract 1 million Japanese tourists in 2015.

According to Japanese travel agencies, destinations such as Phat Diem Cathedral and Tam Coc-Bich Dong in Ninh Binh Province, Ho Dynasty Citadel in Thanh Hoa Province and Ha Long Bay in Quang Ninh Province are attractions for Japanese tourists. However, Ha Noi and its neighbouring provinces need to join hands and carry out promotions to offer more destinations for tourists instead of focusing on central provinces and HCM City.

According to the Viet Nam National Administration for Tourism, Japan is the third-largest market for Viet Nam's tourism, after China and South Korea. The country welcomed more than 418,000 Japanese visitors in the first nine months of 2012, a year-on-year increase of 24.5 per cent.

Vietravel arranges charity tour

Vietravel Ha Noi in conjunction with Voice of Viet Nam (VOV) Radio will hold a Sweaters for Children charity tour in the northern mountainous province of Ha Giang. During the tour, volunteers and tourists will hand over gifts, notebooks and free heath-care checks for children and needy residents in Thang Mo Commune, Yen Minh District. The organisers and tourists will donate money to build a bridge in the locality to help children go to school safely.

The three-day, two-night tour, priced at VND2.58 million per person, will depart from Ha Noi on November 9, and take tourists to some sightseeing spots, including Dong Van Stone Plateau, Lung Cu Flag Tower, Vuong Family Palace, Ma Pi Leng Pass and Nho Que River.

For further information, contact Vietravel Ha Noi, Tel: 04 3933 1978, ext 107.

Airline adds bigger aircraft to fleet

Emirates Airlines has deployed a Boeing 777-300ER on its HCM City – Dubai daily direct flight schedule to meet the increasing demand on the route.

The plane has 42 business and 386 economy seats, increasing by 50 per cent the airlines capacity on the route. It would also increase cargo capacity, including that of textiles, fruits and fresh seafood products, from Viet Nam to the United Arab Emirates by 42 tonnes per week on seven flights from HCM City.

The airline opened the non-stop HCM City-Dubai route in June, meeting the demand of business and vacation travellers between the two destinations.

Night market opens for tourists

A night market has opened for tourists in Da Nang's Dien Bien Phu Street, deputy director of the Nguyen Kim trading company announced yesterday.

Nguyen Thi Thuy revealed the new market development, which includes a cuisine centre, shopping malls and an entertainment zone. It provides tourists with a variety of Vietnamese food and a 24 hour shopping service.

It becomes the second night-time destination for tourists in the city after the Con culinary centre.

Over the past nine months the central city has hosted 2.1 million tourists, of which 475,000 were foreigners. — VNS