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Vietnam Open Tour News & EventsTHURSDAY 14 JANUARY, 2010 |
 Six Senses to manage two more properties in Viet Nam Thailand-based firm Six Senses Hotel, Resorts and Spas announced on Tuesday that it would manage two more tourism facilities in Vietnam, taking to five the number of properties under its management here in the country.
Hoang Anh Dung, board chairman of Ninh Van Bay JSC, said at a news briefing at the InterContinental Asiana Saigon Hotel on Tuesday that the company had invested some VND660 billion to turn a 117-hectare site on Phu Quoc Island into the Six Senses Latitude Phu Quoc Resort. The resort will be home to 136 units, including 30 water villas, 18 beach villas, 20 tree top houses, 48 Latitude rooms, 18 residential villas and two rock villas. It is set to open to business by 2012. In the other property, the company has invested some VND560 billion in the Six Senses Latitude Saigon River in Phuoc Dai Commune in Nhon Trach District in Dong Nai, a 20-minute boat ride from the heart of HCMC. The five-star resort, which is designed with a landscape impressed from a southern village image of Vietnam, offers 215 guest accommodations including 63 residential villas for sales, according to the project developer. The developer says the first model villa will be on display by March this year and the resort is scheduled to be launched by the end of the second quarter next year. Dung said the newly signed agreement, valid for 30 years, between Ninh Van Bay and Six Senses would pave the way for both parties to enhance and accelerate their strategic partnership. Six Senses will provide technical assistance for the local partner to further develop high-class resorts in Vietnam. In return, Ninh Van Bay will choose Six Senses as the top priority partner to manage its resort projects in the country. Dung said the company would start work on a second phase for Six Senses Hideaway Ninh Van Bay in the central coast city of He said the demand for tourism properties had prompted the company to build villas for sale, but he declined to reveal prices of the properties in advance. He added the company planned to move forward to the In another project, Six Senses Con Dao Resort, which is being developed by Established in 1995, the Thailand-based company has managed 26 resorts and 41 spas in six countries – VietNamNet/SGT
Mu Cang Chai: charming and peaceful Mu Cang Chai, lying at the foot of the Hoang Lien Son Mountain Range in Yen Bai Province about 350 kilometers from
Dawn is a busy time, especially in the market. Under the sun, the green and the gold of the fields create attractive curving lines that dazzle the eye. Clinging to the mountainsides, the fields mingle with the white and blue of the clouds and sky. This is a place to breathe slowly and deeply to embrace the scents of the rice and the fertile earth and the clean air, driving away the smell of calculation so common in big cities. The honest and innocent faces of the farmers who work the land here in their colorful costumes reveal a sense of simple happiness. People often visit Mu Cang Chai in the post-harvest time and are sometimes asked by locals, “Why you come here at this time, nothing nice to take photos?” However, Mu Cang Chai’s terraced fields after the harvest are not sad or deserted. They remain charming as each stalk, now yellow, is piled up nicely. Somewhere in the distance a house is visible against the yellow and green. So peaceful! But people who nourish a dream of preserving nature worry that one day modern civilization will devour the land and replace the primitive beauty with company headquarters, factories and resorts. Spending the night in this remote area where the Mong ethnic tribe lives is an experience worth the effort. VietNamNet/SGT
Top 100 tourism brands for foreign visitors get final vote The 100 best tourism brands in HCMC for international tourists have finally been singled out and tourism authorities will announce the city’s first-ever 100 exciting items on February 1, said a tourism official.
Anh said the organizer would announce the list in a ceremony to honor such best tourism brands on February 1. The “Exciting HCMC” program is organized by the city government and its tourism department with an aim to develop tourism products in the city and promote the city’s image to tourists. Given the votes by tourists, the organizer will also select the best Vietnamese boutique services hotels, excellent Vietnamese restaurants, best shopping places for tourists, Vietnamese souvenirs and gifts, exciting entertainment venues, and stylish coffee shops. Other categories are Vietnamese must-taste and must-see, the most favorite city tour programs, and prominent cultural, sport and tourism events. Anh said that the department would print brochures, books as well as make DVDs and memory sticks as soon as possible to promote the selected brands to foreign partners at upcoming travel exhibitions and via Vietnamese embassies abroad. The department is carrying out a similar program to select best brands for domestic travelers. The selection committee will have a meeting soon to choose the brands from votes by local tourists, and the final list will also be honored in the ceremony on February 1. VietNamNet/SGT
Life Resorts reassesses investment priorities in Vietnam Life Resorts Management Co. is relocating its investment priorities and resources to better capitalize on opportunities in Vietnam at a time when the world's tourism industry is still reeling from the global economic downturn.
"Sapa and Ninh Binh are fully cancelled," Duffy said, attributing this cancellation partly to the global economic turmoil that resulted in a decrease in the number of international visitors to Vietnam. Figures of the Vietnam National Administration of Tourism (VNAT) showed the country welcomed nearly 3.8 million international visitors in 2009 as against the 4.25 million in 2008. Duffy explained Life Resorts still believed strongly in Ninh Binh and felt that it had a lot to offer. However, the "Thus, we've had to reassess our priorities," Duffy said. "Every company I know is, today, tightening its belt, and we are no different." As for the project already licensed for life Resorts in Sapa, Duff said the company was dealing with runaway construction costs before the recession even hit, and this made the project unviable though the company had had tremendous support from local authorities. Instead, Life Resorts is focusing on the destinations in Vietnam that the company sees more opportunities in the near future. "At present, we're weathering the economic storm, like everyone else, and pouring most of our resources into the Danang and As scheduled, Life Resort Danang of more than 180 rooms will be up and running in the first quarter of this year and Life Heritage Resort Halong Bay in the northern province of Quang Ninh will be put into service after that. Duffy acknowledged that it was true that falling international arrivals had affected the company's decision-making for the projects in Danang and Halong Bay. "Falling revenues affect our budgeting for the coming year. The global economic downturn keeps travelers from coming to Vietnam." Despite challenges last year, Life Resorts enjoyed encouraging developments and had its resort in Hoi An selected as the top resort in Vietnam in the Conde Nast Traveler Readers' Choice Awards and as one of three properties in Vietnam to win one of CNT's Gold Awards. These give the company hopes to fare well this year. "We're bullish on 2010. We came out of 2009 with significant gains in life Resorts' reputation among travelers," Duffy said. He expected growing appeal for the company's new properties in Danang and on Halong Bay. But, Duffy said Life Resorts was still being very cautious, as the current world recession was far from over. Vietnam needs to drive access to the major airports, particularly Danang, from places like Hong Kong and "From a marketing perspective, we need to create broader appeal for Vietnam in key markets," he said. VietNamNet/SGT
Exploring nature at Ba Be Lake Ba Be Lake, which is called the green pearl amidst Tay Bac Forest and has been recognized as a national forest reserve area, is suggested as a must-visit destination for those who want to flee the heat, smoke and busy
In 1995, this 500 hectare lake was recognized as one of 20 fresh water lakes in need of preservation. In 2004, it was acknowledged as an ASEAN heritage garden. Legend says that this area used to be a very large valley sheltering Nam Mau Village. Each year, the villagers gather to hold an offering ceremony worshipping Buddha. One year, a leprous old woman came to the ceremony but was neglected and asked to keep away from the others. Luckily, a widow welcomed her and gave her food. The next day a monsoon overwhelmed the valley but the house of the widow was somehow raised above the water line and protected. After that, the flooded valley turned into three lakes which today form Ba Be Lake. There are several beautiful caves, grottos and ponds here for tourists to discover. From the wharf, Puong Grotto is the first stop. The grotto is dozens of meters high and hundreds of meter long where the Nang River flows through. From Puong Grotto, tourists come straight to Dau Dang Waterfall which is 30 meters high and looks like a sparkling silver carpet. The next stop should be Tien Pond in a valley surrounded by forest. The pond is over 1,000 square meters and is clean and pure. To reach the pond, tourists have to cross about one kilometer through the forest but on the way are a lot of wild species. Tourists are welcomed to stay the night at the Pac Ngoi Stilt House Tourist Village and enjoy corn wine of the Dao Khua Quang ethnic people. Do not forget to take a boat trip around the lake to admire the splendid landscapes and explore the daily activities of the ethnic people. If standing on the peak of the mountain, tourists can take a panoramic view of the lake as a picturesque painting. VietNamNet/SGT
Electric tourist cars to hit Hanoi in February Tourists will be able to travel around the Hoan Kiem lake and Hanoi Old Quarter on
The vice chairman of Hoan Kiem District, Nguyen Quoc Hoa, said in an interview with VietNamNet that this type of car will not only serve tourists but also passengers without bulky luggage. Hoa said that there will be four routes for the electric cars but initially, just two routes will open around the Old Quarter and Hoan Kiem lake. Besides two major stations, the electric cars will stop every 200 to 300m. Each car has up to 12 seats, with a ticket price set at around 10,000 dong per tour. Tickets are sold on the car and at stations. Around 12 electric cars have been imported. This is the first time Hanoi has used this type of vehicle. However, other tourist sites and resorts have used them. They include Hung Kings Temple in Phu Tho, Sapa, Da Lat and Hoi An. It follows a decision last October, when Hanoi authorities agreed to allow Hoan Kiem district to use electric cars in the Old Quarter to serve tourists. Recently the city allowed the Dong Xuan JS Company to import 20 electric cars. Chi Hieu
A good night for the roses
VNAT puts overseas tourism road shows to tenders The Vietnam Administration of Tourism (VNAT) has invited bidders for events to promote the country’s tourism in foreign countries in the first three months of 2010, a tourism official said.
VNAT has also asked event makers to design a pavilion on 200 square meters at ITB Berlin 2010, the world’s leading travel trade show, from March 10-14 in Germany, and to cooperate with VNAT to invite big travel buyers to the pavilion. The last event in the list is the Vu The Binh, head of the travel department under VNAT, said this was the first time VNAT had invited professional companies to organize tourism promotion programs abroad. “We want to make such programs more professional for a better result,” Binh told the Daily on Sunday. He did not elaborate on the cost for each of the event, but said VNAT would have at least VND40 billion to organize tourism promotion activities at home and abroad this year. According to VNAT, the country received around 3.8 million foreign visitors in 2009, down nearly 11% compared to 2008. VNAT is trying to woo visitors from ASEAN countries, Japan, China, North America and Northern and * The Vietnam Hotel Association made its debut on Sunday in a ceremony at the five-star Melia Hotel in the capital city of Hanoi. The association was established by the Vietnam Tourism Association. The association aims to promote cooperation among hotels across the country, improve services and develop the hotel sector. Do Thi Hong Xoan, head of the hotel department under the Vietnam National Administration of Tourism, was selected chairperson of the association, which has an initial membership of around 120 being hotels from around the country. According to the Vietnam National Administration of Tourism, the country has around 10,900 tourist accommodations with 215,000 rooms. There are around 184 three-star standard accommodations with 13,200 rooms, 95 four-star facilities with 11,630 rooms and 35 five-star standard ones with over 8,800 rooms. VietNamNet/SGT
Revealing Sa Dec by tour International Tourist Corp introduces a tour to the Upon reaching the city, tourists will be taken to Huynh Thuy Le ancient house, an outstanding example of the combination of Eastern and Western architecture. The house was built in 1889 by Huynh Thuy Le who was the inspiration for the famous French writer Marguerite Duras to write her novel L’amant (The Lover). Le is the main character in the love story telling of Duras and Le’s first meeting on a ferry connecting Sa Dec and Vinh Long. The novel has been made into a successful film. The house, covering about 250 square meters, makes a fine impression with its elegant French architecture, traditional Vietnamese design and meticulous Chinese decorations and has been recognized as a national relic. The next stop is Kien An Cung Pagoda, another national relic in the city. Built in 1920-1924, the pagoda is renowned for its elegant Chinese architecture. The pagoda wears a solid and imposing décor, attracting tourists with its sophisticated interior decorations and its peaceful, green outer yard. Tourists can burn incense here to pray for good health and good luck in the New Year. The Sa Dec Flower Village has been famous for its variety of flowers and bonsai trees for over 100 years. The village, considered one of the ornamental plant centers of the In January, this village is busy with the gardeners preparing for the Tet holidays. Sa Dec flowers, including daisies, roses, orchids, apricots and bonsai trees, are shipped all over the country, especially to HCMC. The next day is a boat trip on the Co Chien River to An Binh Islet, an orchard covered oasis criss-crossed by several rivulets. The islet is known for its Vinh Sang Tourist Area where tourists can ride an ostrich or hunt for crocodiles. The area also has 20 species of rare wild animals. Visitors can see bears, spotted deer, monkeys, pythons, pelicans and rabbits. For more information about the tour, contact International Tourist Corp at
VietNamNet/SGT
News for Monday 11 January, 2010
View all news for Monday 11 January, 2010 on one page Recent News
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