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Vietnam Open Tour News & EventsWEDNESDAY 27 MAY, 2009 |
 Domestic travel up despite downturn
While the number of foreigners visiting the ancient town of Hoi An has dropped by 20 per cent so far this year, that of visitors from other provinces rose by 30 per cent over the same period last year. While the number of foreigners visiting the ancient town of Hoi An has dropped by 20 per cent so far this year, that of visitors from other provinces rose by 30 per cent over the same period last year, said Vo Phung, director of Hoi An’s Culture and Sports Centre. The 20 per cent drop applies roughly to all tourist destinations in the central region, leading to shrinking revenues, according to tour companies. "The drop is largely caused by the economic recession, while the swine flu outbreak has had very limited impact," Phung said. According to some Ha Noi-based travel agencies like RedTours and VinaTour, the number of foreign guests to Viet Nam has stabilised over the last few months, even amidst the high alert on the H1N1 virus. Nguyen Cong Hoan, deputy director of Red Tours, said that his company had welcomed 200 foreign visitors during the peak time of the flu alert. However, the industry is keeping a close watch on the outbreak and is still concerned about its possible repercussions. "Although the number of inbound tours is yet to drop further given that they were booked several months ago, future bookings are likely to fall," said Nguyen Thi Tuyet Mai, Fiditour’s marketing director. Hoang Thuy Linh, a marketing executive at Saigontourist, is worried that the tourist influx into the country will suffer a setback if the world fails to contain the swine flu. However, "robust domestic travel can partly offset the drop of foreign tourists", said Cao Tri Dung, Vitour director. During the four-day holiday at the beginning of this month, visitors from the other provinces flocked to the beach town of Nha Trang, resulting in a 17 per cent surge in the number of guests compared to same period last year, local officials said. All flights to Nha Trang were fully booked during that time and a large number of guests failed to get a ticket. Lu Hung, director of the Huong Giang Hotel in Hue, attributed this surge in domestic travel to a round of promotions and discounts offered by tour operators. In the meantime, many outbound visitors, especially to countries that have been affected by H1N1 virus like Mexico, the US, the UK, Spain and Portugal, have decided to cancel or delay their departure, said Hoan, Redtour’s deputy director. "They are opting for countries in Southeast Asia instead," he added. VietNamNet/Viet Nam News City to license foreign travel offices in June
Under the tourism decree, coded 92/2007/ND-CP, the provincial Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism is mandated to issue a license within 15 working days upon receipt of full and valid applications. Under the tourism decree, coded 92/2007/ND-CP, the provincial Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism is mandated to issue a license within 15 working days upon receipt of full and valid applications. The National Administration of Tourism will give certificates to branch offices of foreign travel companies in the country. According to the HCMC Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism, seven or eight foreign travel companies are trying to open representative offices in Vietnam and over 20 foreign travel offices are operating on expired licenses and are waiting for renewal. The National Assembly approved the Tourism Law in late 2005 and the Government issued a guiding decree in June 2007. However, the Ministry of Culture, Sport and Tourism did not issue a circular to give detailed guidance of the government’s decree for the Tourism Law until last December. Under Vietnam’s legislative process, a law is passed by the National Assembly, and then the Government will issue a decree providing general guidelines for the law before a competent ministry brings out a circular to give guidance in detail. According to the HCMC Tourism Department’s website, as of September 22, 2008, HCMC had had 24 foreign travel company representatives including from South Korea, the U.S., Hong Kong, Japan, New Zealand, Taiwan, Australia, the Philippines and British Virgin Islands. VietNamNet/SGT Moc Chau in bloom
The lush rolling hills and tranquil waters surrounding Moc Chau. The fresh, cool air in Moc Chau is one of the main attractions of the area. The town’s highland location is cool in the summer, brisk in autumn, cold in the winter, and warm in spring. Just before the summer season is when the entire area bursts with ripe plums and peach blossoms. Most visitors travel to Moc Chau for a weekend getaway. One can wander through the blossoming hillsides and gaze at the vast blue sky above. It’s also great fun to walk across the mossy rocks of Dai Yem Waterfall, explore Hang Doi (Bat Cave) or simply drink in the cool early morning air when fresh dew still remains everywhere. Many couples come to Moc Chau to take wedding photos while others simply come to relax and enjoy some of the famous local food like black-legged chicken hotpot. In the moonlit evening, many visitors enjoy chatting outdoors over a cup of hot tea. Moc Chau is also well-known for its fresh milk, milk cakes and yoghurt thanks to a nearby dairy farm. The products can be purchased at the Moc Chau Milk Shop in front of the Moc Chau farm market. To get to Moc Chau Town from Hanoi, you can rent a motorbike or take a bus along the Hanoi-Son La route on Nguyen Trai Street, Thanh Xuan District. The buses operate every day, and run hourly beginning at 5:30 a.m. A bus ticket costs VND60,000 (US$3.40). VietNamNet/TN High income vacationers choosing to spending holidays at domestic resorts
Worn out from hard work, such vacationers prefer to holiday in places where they can really relax, instead of going on tours which make them more tired. Cong says that in general, travelers prefer short distance trips of only a few days’ duration. Resorts along the central coast from Quang Binh to Phan Thiet and on Phu Quoc island have been favoured by travelers who like bathing in the sea and sightseeing at the same time. “When the economy develops, 10 million higher class domestic vacationers would bring a big source of income to the tourism industry. Why does He went on to say that in the last year, the number of travelers staying in resorts accounted for 20 percent of the total clients of Hanoitourist, while spending holidays in resorts has become a growing tendency. At Vietnamtourist in number of travelers in group tours has seen a slight decrease this year due to the economic downturn, but the number of individual travelers remains satisfactory Taking care for domestic travelers
Many high income Vietnamese vacationers are choosing holidays at ‘international standard’ resorts in The Deputy Managing Director of Furama Resort in At the Golden Sands Resort & Spa near Hoi An ancient town, there are always a lot of Vietnamese vacationers, who account for 50-60 percent of total guests in summer. Ninety percent of the clients staying in the resort during the four day early May holiday were Vietnamese. A recent survey by Saigon Giai Phong newspaper showed that 39 percent of 1,000 polled travelers said they mostly like the type of traveling associated with relaxing, while 49 percent said they like the services like massage and spa when they make tours and stay in resorts. The website of a famous resort in The global economic recession has resulted in a decline in the number of guests at many Vietnamese resorts. At some, the number of guests has gone down by 30 percent. Furama’s business is off 15-20 percent. Therefore, resorts have been launching promotion programmes to lure vacationers. Resorts have been providing free services, like meeting and seeing off guests at airports, slashing meal charges, baby-sitting children free of charge (in Furama), or reducing fees for using the spa, providing free breakfasts and free use of tennis court (in Golden Sand Resort & Spa). Ha Yen - Vietnamnet Inbound travel procedures to be made easier Many local hotels behind the times Vietnam’s tourism authority is planning to allow foreign travelers to get visas at international border gates to attract more international visitors to the country.
“We are continuing to submit the plan to the Government to help foreign tourists travel more easily”. However, the customs department needs well-prepared processes as well as an information technology system to allow foreign travelers to enter the country. The tourism agency and other related departments will develop the procedures. “We are continuing to submit the plan to the Government to help foreign tourists travel more easily,” Binh said. Foreign visitors have had to contact local travel companies to complete visa procedures before flying to Vietnam. However, many local tourism firms are asking that visitors be spared from this job and be issued a visa upon arrival as in Thailand and Cambodia. This month, the Government has agreed to charge no visa fees on foreigners who enter the country under the national tourism promotion ‘Impressive Program’ until September 30 or until the end of this promotion. Binh said that the national tourism department would decide when to end the program based on results. “We will close the program early if we receive good results, and if not we will extend it,” Binh said. Tour operators have given good feedback about the exemption of visa fees, saying that the tourism authority needs to continue this policy long term in order to attract international visitors. “This is a good rule but needs to run for a long time, six months to a year, to attract guests because foreign tourists need time to prepare for their trip to Vietnam,” said Nguyen Viet Hung, general director of Fiditourist. Bui Viet Thuy Tien, director of Asian Trails Co. Ltd., said that the national tourism agency should advertise the new policies because many international tourists do not know that they can receive a visa at international border gates or from which website they can download visa applications. Tran Xuan Hung, director of Viking Travel and Media Company, said that the new policies need over four months, but that along with the promotion program it would help the country’s tourism to promote its image to the world. * Up to 70% of Vietnamese hotels lose the foreign traveler market due to unprofessional operations and business conduct, said Vietsolutions general director Luong Thanh Nam. Only 30% of three to five star hotels in the country are equipped with global booking and web-based booking technology and only 8% of them use online marketing solutions. A survey conducted by a hotel marketing organization shows that 30% of tourists booked hotels via websites last year and another 30% booked rooms at representative offices after reading online information. As a result, around 70% of Vietnamese hotels have lost opportunities to serve international travelers, Nam said at a seminar on comprehensive solutions for Vietnam’s hotels and resorts in Hanoi last week. If hotels are not equipped with comprehensive facilities and services, Vietnam cannot keep foreign visitors long in the country, Nam added. Phan Duc Man, vice chairman of the Vietnam Tourism Association, said that Vietnam’s hotels and resorts are insufficient in infrastructure development and competitiveness compared to other countries. Meanwhile, the number of foreign visitors has increased by 15% annually over the past five years. Foreign experts suggested Vietnam push up comprehensive hotel management solutions to reach professional development and potential customers. Technologies, online marketing and multimedia services will help hotels build up brands, save workforces and improve management. Vietnam has over 8,500 lodging facilities with around 180,000 rooms. However, only 260 of these facilities have been classified from three to five stars, according to the latest statistics of the Vietnam National Administration of Tourism. VietNamNet/SGT News for Monday 25 May, 2009
View all news for Monday 25 May, 2009 on one page Recent News
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