The capital city of Hanoi will kick off the Impressive Vietnam Grand Sale 2010 on August 11 and the central coast city of Danang on August 19. HCMC has yet to decide the start date for the program.

The Vietnam National Administration of Tourism (VNAT) plans to start the two-month program this month as part of the national tourism marketing campaign “Vietnam – Your Destination”.

At the request of VNAT, the departments of culture-sports-tourism and industry-trade of the three cities would have to team up to carry out the program. In two months, local and international tourists could enjoy discounts of 10% to 40% at shopping centers, supermarkets, and retail outlets among others in Hanoi, HCMC, and Danang.

However, unlike similar big sale programs in neighboring countries like Thailand and Singapore, promotional activities for the event have remained insufficient. Other incentives like visa fee exemptions for international travelers and VAT refunds have not been worked out.

The club said the 656-nautical-mile, category-one VinaCapital Hong Kong to Vietnam Race 2010 would start on October 20 and finish in the resort city of Nha Trang.

The organizer is taking registrations from teams.

The biennial competition has been in place since 2006, with the HCMC-based Saigontourist Holding Company being the local partner. The 2008 edition was attended by 13 yachts.

A source from Saigontourist told the Daily that the company was waiting for approval from the Government to bring international boats to Vietnam to promote the local tourism image.

In a related development, the central coast province of Binh Thuan will organize an international sailing festival in December, with yacht performances and other activities such as music and dance performances.

The World Match Racing Tour (WMRT), a professional sailing series that features nine World Championship events worldwide, will come to Nha Trang next year.

Earlier on June 14, Saigontourist welcomed a Costa Classica Cruise Ship with 1,500 international passengers on board who visited Halong, Danang, and Hoi An in two days.

Since the beginning of this year, Saigontourist has received more than 40,000 international visitors traveling on luxury ships, such as Costa Classia, Costa Allegra, SuperStar Virogo, Amadea, Columbus and Europa.

La Quoc Khanh, Deputy Director of the city’s Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism told the press that from this year onwards, the festival would highlight a new destination every year.

“Quang Binh is the first locality chosen because this year marks the 310th anniversary of Nguyen Huu Canh’s death,” he said.

Canh, born in the central province’s Chuong Tin Commune, Phong Loc District, is credited with expanding Vietnam’s territories to the south and laying the foundation for the city of Sai Gon, now known as HCMC.

“Moreover, tourism in Quang Binh has been developing rapidly since the Vietnam Airlines began servicing the area two years ago,” Khanh said.

The province will be featured in an exhibition of hundreds of photographs, a music performance titled Quang Binh – My Native Land, a food festival and a parade, a provincial representative said.

‘The city I love’
A one-km parade of 800 people winding through Pham Ngu Lao, Do Quang Dau and Le Lai streets, broadcast live on HCMC Television 9 (HTV9), will start the festival on April 8.

The four-day event is being organised by the city’s Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism at 23/9 Park in downtown HCMC.

The event will feature a travel fair, the South Food Festival, Golden Voice of HCMC Tourism contest, southern tai tu traditional music performances, a tourism photo exhibition and the “HCMC — The Tourism City I Love” contest.

The 170 booths at this year’s event have been booked by 76 entrepreneurs and travel agencies, 10% more than last year.

“Most of the participants are hotels, restaurants, tourism localities and shopping sites chosen in the ‘HCM City – 100 Interesting Things’ Campaign,” Khanh said.

The event aims to foster tourism co-operation, and attract local travelers by giving service providers an opportunity to promote their services for the coming summer season.

Vietnam Airlines is offering a promotion programme on air tickets for travel agencies, not only for the summer, but until the end of the year, Khanh said.

The organiser expects to attract 100,000 people to the HCMC Tourism Day to book tours and other tourism services.

Admission to the event is free.