The exhibition highlights the campaign to “Study and follow late President Ho Chi Minh’s moral examples” and the 80th anniversary of founding the Communist Party of Vietnam.

The exhibition on President Ho Chi Minh’s life and revolutionary struggle, aims to encourage organisations and individuals both inside and outside of the country to go on collect documents, photos and objects relating to President Ho Chi Minh.

The objects, mostly collected in France and Russia are related to President Ho Chi Minh’s life and his activities abroad during the 1919-1938 period. They include letters and telegrams he sent during 1945-1969, and a photo album of his movements.

The exhibition will run until January 30, 2010.

The HCMC Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism says the hotel and restaurant sector has contributed a big part to the revenue, around VND2.2 trillion, while the travel sector makes up the balance.

The department says the city’s tourism is receiving positive signals this month from both international and domestic travel segments while the number of outbound tourists stays unchanged from that in January 2009.

The city is forecast to see an estimated 280,000 foreign arrivals this month, up 7% year-on-year, with around 214,000 coming by air and some 143,000 being Overseas Vietnamese returning home for the traditional Lunar New Year, or Tet, which falls on February 14.

The domestic travel segment fares best this month and next, as around 60,000 people have bought tours from travel firms during Tet, from February 14 to 20, up 20% compared to the same period of last year. Normally, the department collects figures from around 20 big travel companies of the country to give the total picture.

The department estimates that the total number of local travelers may hit 500,000 in January when taking into account numbers of tourists at all travel firms plus the number of travelers who travel on their own arrangements and visitors to Dam Sen and Suoi Tien tourist parks of the city.

While the number of outbound travelers likely stays unchanged in January, it is seen picking up next month. The department puts the number of outbound tourists to increase around 10% during Tet.

Reports from some travel companies have showcased the similar result. Almost all outbound and domestic tours during Tet have been sold out, and tourists wanting to buy tours for Tet are having a very limited choice for some overland tours only.

Ben Thanh Tourist has reported 5,000 domestic and outbound tourists during Tet, up 20% year-on-year, while Saigontourist Travel Service Co. has 10,000 outbound and domestic travelers during the time, up 30% year-on-year.

The city now has about 800 accommodation facilities of all kinds with over 16,000 rooms, of which 213 star-rated hotels offer 10,000 rooms.

With over 30 on-going projects on building 3-5 star hotels, Hanoi is expected to have 20,000 rooms capable of receiving tourists in 2010.

While readers lodged three Vietnam resorts onto the list, they also sung the praises of five resorts from Bali and five resorts from Thailand.

“Both Bali and Thailand have tremendous reputations as resort destinations,” said John Blanco, the new general manager at The Nam Hai. “So, for Vietnam to make this kind of impression on readers of such a distinguished travel magazine is indeed remarkable.”

The Readers’ Choice Awards polled 25,916 responses from readers who rated resorts and hotels across these five categories: food/dining, location, overall design, rooms and service. Resort ratings were also based on activities/facilities.

According to Conde Nast, only candidates that received a required minimum number of responses were deemed eligible for an award.

None of Vietnam’s islands made the Readers’ Choice Awards. Bali and Phuket were among the top three island destinations in Asia, which makes Vietnam’s resort standings all the more impressive.

Similarly, Vietnam’s top cities failed to make the top-ten cut. Bangkok and Chiang Mai came in at number 1 and 2, while Bali’s Ubud ranked fifth.