“Exotic Beaches and Islands” will be the theme of National Tourism Year 2011, according to the Viet Nam National Administration of Tourism (VNAT). Major events will include an international mountaineering tournament at Da Bia Mountain in March, the Viet Nam-South Korea Cultural Exchange in April, and the ASEAN Traditional Music Festival in June.
The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism has also released a list of provinces and cities that will host national tourism events in the coming years. Thua Thien-Hue will host the event in 2012, Hai Phong in 2013, Lam Dong in 2014, Thanh Hoa in 2015, Kien Giang in 2016, and Lao Cai in 2017.
HCMC tour operators say flights to popular destinations sold out
HCM City-based tour operators have reported that air tours to popular destinations during Christmas and New Year holidays have sold out. The demand is for Da Lat, Phu Quoc, Con Dao, Binh Thuan and Da Nang while preferred overseas tours are to Hong Kong, Singapore and Malaysia. The marketing manager of Saigontourist Travel Service Co, Doan Thi Thanh Tra, said all domestic air tours were expected to sell out shortly. She added local travellers booking overseas tours rose by 17 per cent compared with the same period last year. Fiditourist said tour prices for Chrismas holidays had not changed, except for some destinations such as Con Dao, where service providers asked for a hike in price.
LOT Polish Airlines launches Ha Noi to Warsaw direct flights
LOT Polish Airlines inaugurated its direct service from Warsaw to Ha Noi last Sunday, making the capital of Viet Nam the only destination of the carrier in Southeast Asia. LOT flies three times a week from Ha Noi to Warsaw on Mondays, Wednesdays and Saturdays, using Boeing 767-300 aircraft. The one-way ticket from Ha Noi to Poland starts from US$199 and to other European destinations from $299. The round trip offers from Ha Noi to Europe is from $380, excluding taxes and surcharges.
Nha Trang listed among 10 worst beach destinations worldwide
Based on six standards, the National Geographic Society’s Centre for Sustainable Destinations has selected the 10 worst beach destinations in the world, which include Viet Nam’s Nha Trang. The list appears in the November/December 2010 issue of National Geographic Traveler magazine. To create the ratings, the centre convened an independent panel of 340 experts in fields from historic preservation and sustainable tourism to travel writing and archaeology. They were asked to score 99 coastal hot spots around the world.
The 10 worst beach destinations in 2010 include Nha Trang, Spain’s Alicante, Lebanon’s coasts, the Grand Strand in South Carolina, India’s Goa, Egypt’s Sharm el Sheikh area, Cambodia’s Sihanoukville, United Arab Emirates’ Dubai, New Jersey’s North Shore, the Gulf Coast-Mississippi, and the Gulf Coast-Louisiana. Online newspaper VietnamNet says Nha Trang should try to improve its environment to avoid being included on the list next year
