Nguyen Van Tuan, general director of the Vietnam National Administration of Tourism (VNAT) attributed the rise to a series of promotional campaigns run in major Chinese cities over the last two years. He said China was a key market for the country’s tourism industry.

According to VNAT, in the first six months of this year, 437,000 tourists from China visited Vietnam, 92.5% more than the same period last year.

La Quoc Khanh, deputy director of the HCM City Department for Culture, Sports and Tourism, said the number of Chinese holidaymakers visiting the south of the country was rising by 25% annually.

Travel firms have also reported significant growth in visitor numbers from China. Lien Bang Travelink said the number of tourists using the company’s services had increased by 30% since the beginning of the year compared to the same period in 2009.

Tu Quy Thanh, the company’s director, said Chinese tourists previously used to spend three to four days primarily in the north of the country but that now they were fanning out and travelling to the central and southern regions.

Thanh added that high-end travellers from China were now spending more money than their counterparts from the West.

However, Thanh said that communication problems were a source of concern and that Vietnamese travel firms were finding it difficult to find Chinese partners.

He also said that Vietnam could not compete with regional countries such as Bangkok or Singapore in terms of shopping malls or medical facilities. He also said that other countries such as Indonesia , offered a greater array of cultural attractions, and that Japan was a better destination for luxury products.

However, he said that Hanoi, Ha Long Bay and HCM City were holding their own in terms of cultural appeal and proving increasingly attractive to Chinese holidaymakers.

The first and second rounds of the tour were held in China and Hong Kong.

Mui Ne Beach witnessed tough competition among 70 outstanding professional and amateur athletes from 19 countries around the world, including China, Russia, the US, and Vietnam.

KTA’s Executive Director Neil Godbold said Vietnam was selected for the first time to host Kiteboard Tour Asia at Mui Ne Beach for its beautiful beach, good weather and large number of sports lovers.

In the women’s 5000m course racing event, Nuvia Gomes of Spain won first place, followed by Katarin Bogwardt of Germany and Ally of Australia. In the men’s event, first place went to Jo Narapichit of Thailand, while David Gomes of Spain and Lai Hoang Phi of Vietnam finished second and third respectively.

In the women’s performance event, Katarin Bogwardt of Germany claimed the victory, followed by Nuvia Gomes of Spain and Julia of Vietnam. In the men’s event, Jo Narapichit of Thailand took his second victory, while two Vietnamese athletes, Nguyen Ngoc Kin and Lai Hoang Phi, won second and third place.

The next round of the tour will take place in the Philippines at the end of February, and the finals will be held in Thailand.

Many Vietnamese companies and Chinese partners exchanged information at the event organized at the five-star Rex Hotel by CNTA and the tourism agencies and travel firms of Guangzi, Guangdong and Guangzhou provinces.

China is one of the three most frequented outbound destinations for local tourists from HCMC. The number of Vietnamese people to travel to China from the city is rising by 20% per year, the city’s Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism said.

The department estimates that around 60,000 people from the city will travel to China this year compared with 42,000 last year.

Meanwhile, arrivals from China to HCMC are also increasing by 25% annually, making China the sixth biggest source market for HCMC’s tourism, said La Quoc Khanh, deputy director of the city’s tourism department.

In this year to date, HCMC has welcomed 193,000 Chinese visitors. The department expects to receive around 250,000 Chinese visitors this year, compared with 140,000 last year.

Therefore, the road show on Wednesday captured strong interest from the business circle, with around 100 representatives from 60 local travel firms joining the tourism promotion event. They came not only to get updates on new services and products for local travelers but also to seek ways to woo more Chinese tourist to the country.

“We have no Chinese partners because the main market of our company is Europe, but China is the world’s leading tourism market so we want to learn more about the market for future business,” said Bui Viet Thuy Tien, managing director of Asian Trails Co., Ltd.

She said that the fast-growing economy of the neighboring country would result in a big number of high-end travelers and the company wanted to woo such visitors.

HCMC’s tourism on Wednesday also inked cooperation agreements with Guangzhou, Guangzi, and Yunnan of China.

“Our department and Guangzi tourism agency this morning agreed to new cooperation activities to promote the tourism’s image between the two destinations. We want to boost the number of travelers between the two sides,” Khanh of the tourism department said.

The China National Tourism Administration on Monday also had organized a similar program in Hanoi, and signed an agreement with Vietnam’s Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism to tighten cooperation activities from training, joint marketing to development of new tourism products.

Prenn Waterfall, or so-called Tien Sa Waterfall, about 10km from Dalat City, is the first destination for everyone touring to Dalat. The fall is about 10m high and is surrounded by a primeval forest. Under the fall is a stream flowing along limitless pine tree lines and wild flowers trees. Therefore, after posing photos with the fall, tourists can hire plastic boats to drift along the stream or coaches to tramp around the park.

Scattered in the park are ethnic bamboo houses that travelers can stop for some food and drinks or some kinds of souvenirs. There is also a restaurant that serves revelers indigenous specialties made in highlands cuisine.

To get close to the fall, tourists must cross a small bamboo bridge spanning to the stream below or travelers can pay VND25,000 to take a cable car trip to admire the fall.

In the park, excursionists can also explore Long Mach Lake, Au Co Well, Than Lua Temple. Nearby mountain is nestled Au Lac and Au Co temples where tourists can contemplate old ancient architecture that imitated Hung Temple complex in Phu Tho Province and can see old artifacts such as musical instruments, weapons, jewelries, labor tools dating back to Hung Kings time.

Taking an elephant trip through pine hills or once try to seat on ostrich and make a round must be amazing experiences at the park. Here, tourists can also have a chance to contemplate of many types of orchid flowers and can purchase them as gifts for friends and relatives.

At night time, tourists can join camp firing. In the flickering fire, tourists can enjoy gongs performances and dances of ethnic peoples such as Chil or K’Ho and Lach, and taste ruou can (wine drunk through a jar via bamboo pipes).

After leaving Prenn Tourist Park, tourists must stop Dalanta Waterfall, Elephant Waterfall or Hang Cop (Tiger Cave) Waterfall to once indulge in nature and forget daily worries and stresses.