Festival celebrates Red River Delta

A festival celebrating the culture, sports and tourist attractions of the Hong (Red) River Delta provinces opened on October 14 in province of Thai Binh.

The theme of the first regional festival in the province is “Culture – Motherland’s Silt – Convergence and Enlightenment.”

Among the numerous activities were photography exhibition featuring images of the countryside and people, an agricultural competition for farmers, a sports tournament and folk games.

A seminar on developing tourism in the Delta region was held along with a meeting to review the 20-year construction of cultural villages in Northern Vietnam.

More than 300 local farmers and 2,000 residents of ten northern provinces and cities - Hanoi, Bac Ninh, Ha Nam, Hai Duong, Haiphong, Thai Binh and Vinh Phuc - took part in the event, according to the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism.

There were also exhibits from 96 villages in 33 Northern provinces.

The highlight of the festival is the closing ceremony, which features musical performances such as cheo (traditional opera), contests and folk games.

Visitors were invited to take part in a carnival on the afternoon of October 15 along some off the main streets in Thai Binh. There were dragon dancing, stilt walking and floats.

Cao Thi Hai, Vice Charwoman of the provincial People’s Committee, said the festival would promote the tourism potential of the region and foster greater inter-provincial co-opeation.

Nguyen Khac Phuc, a writer, said the event would also be used to promote the 1,000th anniversary of Thang Long – Hanoi next year. “It can be said that Red River culture is the foundation of Thang Long – Hanoi’s culture,” he said.

Phuc, who planned the provincial festival, said Thang Long was built on the silt of the Red River and that many of the customs of Hanoians bore similarities to those of the people in the delta provinces.

The Red River Delta region is famed for its number handicraft villages. It is also home to the country’s largest granary, and plays a key role in the nation’s socio-economic development.

The festival will be held every two years and the next will take place in Ha Nam Province.

(Source: VNA)

“Honeymoon & Wedding Perfect”: Exhibition of wedding and tourism services

A special exhibition combined wedding services and tourist services named “Honeymoon and Wedding perfect” will be held in Sofitel Plaza Hotel on September 12 and 13, 2009 by Sofitel Plaza Hotel and Travellive Magazine.

Attending the exhibition, wedding and tourist service suppliers will bring high quality products such as wedding dress collections designed by famous designers, sophisticated wedding invitation cards… and honeymoon tours in some romantic places like Ana Mandara Villas Dalat resort (Dalat, Lam Dong), Holiday View Cat Ba Hotel (Cat Ba, Hai Phong), Tan Da Spa & Resort (Ba Vi, Hanoi)…

The display space is luxurious, romantic and elegant designed with candles, flowers, and silk. The exhibition has two areas: A and B areas for wedding services showing wedding dresses, jewelries, cosmetic, spa, flowers…; C area for tourist services including travel agencies, hotels and resorts, airlines… Besides, there are various activities as follows: the presentation of huge wedding cake, fashion shows, games and wedding gala…

Hong Thanh

(Source: Travellive)

Travel firms exempt visa fees

Twenty travel companies across the country are exempting visa fees for international tourists who buy package tours to visit Vietnam under ‘Impressive Vietnam’, the country’s first national tourism promotion campaign, an official said.

Mr. Vu The Binh from the Department of Travel under the Vietnam National Administration of Tourism, told that everyday the country was receiving foreign travelers who enter Vietnam without paying for a visa.

“We even receive five to six groups a day. We will have the biggest group of 103 tourists on August 21,” he said.

This group will arrive in the northern city of Hai Phong from Macau. Visitors of the group are from Hong Kong, China and Portugal.

According to Mr. Binh, Saigontourist Travel Service Co. and Indochina Services are the leaders in exempting visa fees.

In May, the Government agreed to exempt visa fees for foreigners who enter Vietnam on package tours under “Impressive Vietnam”.

The national tourism agency reported that after eight months, “Impressive Vietnam” had attracted 90 travel firms, 120 hotels, three transportation companies and many restaurants and shopping venues. Via the program, foreign tourists get discounts of 30% to 50% on package tours.

The program will be extended until the end of this year to lure more international tourists. Nguyen Van Tuan, Head of Vietnam National Administration of Tourism, told that the national tourism authority would meet with tourism companies and local tourism departments in HCMC late this week to raise the efficiency of the program.

The administration reported that nearly 2.2 million international tourists had visited Vietnam in the first seven months of this year, down 17.8% year-on-year. Domestic tourists reached nearly 14 million, up 13%. Tourism revenue in the period reached VND32.4 trillion, up 8.7% year-on-year.

(Source: SGT)

Thanh Hoa holds gastronomy festival

A gastronomy festival highlighting the Northern provinces has been held in Sam Son Town, Thanh Hoa Province.

The festival, themed “village market’s beauty and aroma”, attracted 20 groups from Hanoi, Haiphong, Ninh Binh, Nghe An and a number of local tourism businesses in two days from July 28-29.

The event, located on Tay Son Road, featured a traditional Vietnamese village market where visitors can taste special foods and drinks by famous chefs from different areas across the country.

It aimed to promote cultural exchanges between localities.

(Source: VOV)

Grand celebration of Dien Bien Phu Victory

A grand ceremony was held in Dien Bien Phu City on May 7 to mark the 55th anniversary of Dien Bien Phu Victory (May 7) and the 100th anniversary of the establishment of northern Dien Bien Province (June 28).

Joining thousands of local people on the occasion were Truong Tan Sang, Politburo member and permanent member of the Party Central Committee’s Secretariat; Tong Thi Phong, Secretary of the Party Central Committee and National Assembly Vice Chairwoman; Huynh Dam, member of the Party Central Committee and President of the Vietnam Fatherland Front Central Committee and Deputy Prime Minister Nguyen Thien Nhan.

Secretary of the provincial Party Committee Lo Mai Trinh spoke of the great significance of the victory – one of the glittering feat of arms and a golden mark in the country’s history of fighting against foreign aggressors for national liberation, construction and defence.

After 55 years of liberation, the province has focused on overcoming the aftermath of the war, promoting economic restructuring and developing its potentials. Its economy grew by 8.3% annually in the 2001-05 period and the rate reached 10.87% per year from 2006-08. The proportion of industry, construction and services in the province’s economy has been rising year after year.

The Party and State have recognized the accomplishments of Dien Bien Province with numerous honours, including the Gold Star Medal, the Ho Chi Minh Medal, the Independence Medal and Labour Medal.

On this occasion, Dien Bien was bestowed with the Ho Chi Minh Medal for the second time.

A procession and an art-sport programme were also held to mark the event.

(Source: VNA)

Halong Heritage Gala

The Halong Heritage Gala was held at night of May 2 on Bai Chay Wharf in Halong City, northern Quang Ninh Province.

The unique and impressive event is the last in a series as part of the Halong Carnival 2009.

Among performance troupes were those coming from different localities in Vietnam and also from foreign countries including the Republic of Korea, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Cuba and China.

The performance featured traditional dances from Hoi An City and My Son Sanctuary as well as Central Highlands’ gongs, which have been recognised by UNESCO as the World Heritage Sites.

The event drew the participation of famous singers, such as Ho Quynh Huong, Hoang Tung, Tuan Anh, Hoang Thai, Tan Nhan and Ngoc Anh. In addition, a fashion show on the theme of the four seasons introduced tourists to the beauty of thousands of islands in Halong Bay. The night performance was closed with a brilliant firework display.

In 2009, Quang Ninh Province is scheduled to receive 4.8 million arrivals, including 2 million international tourists.

(Source: VOV)

Tourists pack popular beaches during holiday

Holiday makers flocked to the country’s famous landscapes like central Nha Trang City and Halong Bay during a four-day holiday from April 30.

Nha Trang welcomed between 25,000 and 30,000 tourists per day during the period, said the local tourism sector, adding that the number of arrivals to the coastal city were three or four times higher than normal days.

On May 1, Nha Trang City also received over 1,600 passengers and crew on board the Bahamas-flagged Legend of the Sea.

The world heritage site of Halong Bay the northern province of Quang Ninh saw some 150,000 tourists during the week from April 25-May 2.

Ha Quang Long, Deputy Director of the Quang Ninh provincial Department of Culture, Sports and Tousim, said the surge in visitor number is partly attributable to the Halong Tourism Festival which featured a wide range of activities.

Popular beaches such as Do Son in the northern port city of Haiphong, Sam Son in central Thanh Hoa Province, Cua Lo in central Nghe An Province, also welcomed large numbers of visitors who wanted to make the most of the long holiday.

The tourists crowd have sent service charges up sharply and caused traffic jams in many major roads.

(Source: VNA)

Buffalo Fighting Festival attract thousands of spectators

Sixteen carefully selected buffalos fought in the Buffalo Fighting Festival 2009 on May 1, attracting thousands of spectators as it coincided this year with the South Liberation Day and May Day holidays.

This is the fourth consecutive festival held by Do Son District of the northern port city of Haiphong, drawing the interest of many tourists to Do Son Beach.

After 15 rounds of competition, buffalo number 17, owned by Mr Nguyen Van Son from Bang La Ward of Do Son District, won the championship, while second prize went to buffalo number 10. Buffalos 3 and 8 shared third prize.

(Source: VOV)

Thai caravan group visits central region

A caravan group with 10 automobiles from Thailand entered Vietnam at the Lao Bao border gate in Quang Tri on April 11, beginning a five-day tour of the central region of Vietnam.

The group visited Vinh Moc Tunnel and then toured of Phong Nha-Ke Bang cave, the world’s natural heritage.

Visiting the former imperial city of Hue, the Thai visitors will enjoy Hue songs while cruising along the Huong (perfume) River. They will call at Thien Mu Pagoda and buy souvenirs at Dong Ba Market and have sunbathing at Lang Co Beach.

They will visit the Champa Sculpture Art Museum and the Non Nuoc stone sculpture village in Danang City and visit the ancient quarter of Hoi An.

The group has been in Vietnam as guests of Thua Thien-Hue Province’s Huong Giang Travel Co. Ltd. The company has so far this year welcomed 2,000 Thai visitors to Hue by land route.

(Source: VNA)

France sea tourism festival spotlights Vietnam

Vietnam’s sea tourism potential will be under the spotlight at a festival scheduled to take place in Paris from April 28-29.

The festival, the first of its kind in France, will be jointly organised by Vietnam Airlines and the Bank for Investment and Development of Vietnam (BIDV) and aims to introduce the country’s premier landmarks and tourist sites to foreigners, and realise the government’s goal to maintain economic growth, stimulate demand, and boost consumption and service exports.

Twenty-five tourism management agencies from sea tourism-rich provinces and cities, such as Khanh Hoa and Danang, will join leading hotel, travel and coastal resort businesses at the festival.

The France Chamber of Commerce and Industry and hundreds of investors and travel agencies from France and other European countries are expected to attend the event.

Local visitors will have the opportunity to better understand the traditional culture, land and people of Vietnam through a variety of performances, exhibitions and handicraft product displays, as well as activities featuring the daily life of coastal residents.

The festival is an invaluable opportunity for Vietnamese businesses to seek European partners, and particularly for BIDV to cooperate with the leading financial institutions of France and Europe

BIDV will host a seminar calling for investment in tourism projects in Vietnam. The bank has arranged more than USD2 billion for nearly 20 projects in popular coastal cities around the country, including Danang, Quang Nam, Khanh Hoa, Haiphong and Quang Ninh.

Vietnam Airlines General Director Pham Ngoc Minh says the event will help promote Vietnam to the European community, thereby increasing investment efficiency and the number of visitors to Vietnam.

In early February, Vietnam Airlines participated in the annual Brussels Tourism Fair in Belgium, where experts forecast that Asia, and Vietnam in particular, remain attractive destinations for European travelers.

(Source: VNA)

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