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Vietnamese hotels make Condé Nast Traveler list

Written by Administrator Tuesday, 25 January 2011 07:11

Tet tours filled as prices soar

Written by Administrator Saturday, 22 January 2011 10:36

The prices of Tet (Lunar New Year) tours have increased by 15-30 per cent over normal days but many of them are fully booked and cannot accept more customers.

In bloom: Many tourists visit Da Lat to enjoy the flowers for which the city is famed. — File Photo

Travel agents said the number of inbound and outbound Tet tour registrations has increased by 30-40 per cent over previous years, especially those to Phu Quoc Island, the central region and northern provinces.

Representatives of travel firms said although the tour buyers have increased sharply, flights are limited. Therefore, inbound tours to Phu Quoc, Con Dao, Nha Trang, Da Lat, the central region and northern provinces by air have closed.

Tours to these places by air can only be registered after February 7.

Similarly, many outbound tours have closed early. Nguyen Thi Tuyet Mai, head of Communication Department of Fiditour Co, said it has seen a large number of outbound tour registrations to Europe and Africa, with most people choosing tours that start early on February 2 and 3.

Currently, many other outbound tours that start between February 3-6 are nearly full.

A few tickets are left for tours to Thailand, Singapore, the Chinese mainland and Taiwan which will start on February 7 and 8 while the tours to Australia, India, South Korea, Japan, Switzerland and Italy are almost fully booked.

The company said the tour prices have been increased by 20-30 per cent over normal days because of higher transport and accommodation costs. However, this year's Tet tour prices have only jumped by 7 per cent over the last year's festival season prices.

To meet the growing travel demand at Tet time, several agencies are offering package tours to destinations in all corners of the country.

The Lua Viet Travel Co is offering New Year Eve tours including Cao Bang, Lang Son and Bac Can (VND8.6 million/US$430 per person) and Mt Phan Xi Pan (VND3.7 million/$185 per person).

Fiditour's Tet tours include Dong Xoai-Bom Bo Village-Bu Dang, offering an opportunity to appreciate the culture of ethnic minorities; Phu Quoc Island (VND4.19 – 7.59 million/$209 – 379); Da Lat-Lang Biang-Datanla (VND2.59-5.67 million/$129 – 284); Ha Noi-Sa Pa-Huong Pagoda-Yen Tu Mountain (VND7.99 million/$399); and Hue-Ba Na-Da Nang-Hoi An (VND5.89 million/$294).

The He Tre Travel Co has many tour packages including Kon Tum-Gia Lai-Buon Ma Thuot (six days) for VND2.7 million ($135) per person; Chau Doc-Thien Cam Son-Phu Quoc Island (four days) for VND3.2 million ($160) per person; Ha Giang-Lung Cu-Dong Van Market Fair-Ma Pi Leng Mountain Pass-Gam River-Na Hang and Ba Be Lake (six days) for VND10.5 million ($525) per person.

Packages offered by the Huu Nghi Travel Co include Phuoc Long-Dac Lac-Dac Nong-Kon Tum; and a Chau Doc tour to visit a village of the Cham people.

Travel agencies in HCM City offering coach tours to different destinations said their prices have gone up by 5-10 per cent for the season.

Car rentals for Tet tours could increase by 30-40 per cent compared to normal days, travel agencies said.

VietNamNet/Viet Nam News

Restored Mong King's house becomes major tourism site

Written by Administrator Saturday, 22 January 2011 10:32

Hanoian couple Bich Thuy and Thanh Trung chose the Vuong Mansion – an old two-storey wooden house in the Dong Van karst plateau in the northern mountainous province of Ha Giang, as the background for their wedding photos.

Kingly features: A Mong ethnic woman stands at Vuong mansion's main entrance. (Photos: VNS)

The house is the place where bride-to-be Thuy received her proposal of marriage a year ago. "The beautiful wooden mansion somehow is a part of our love story, so we wanted it (the house) present in our photos," she said.

Located in Sa Phin Valley, the house originally was the mansion of Vuong Chinh Duc, the head of the Vuong family – the most powerful Mong ethnic family in the region more than 100 years ago. He proclaimed himself as the King of the region, and adopted the title "Vua Meo", meaning "King of the Meo" (former name of the Mong ethnic group) to dominate all the northern mountainous region.

During the Nguyen dynasty, King Khai Dinh in 1913 issued a royal proclaimation appointing Duc as the sole rule of the frontier region; and today visitors can see the royal proclaimation hanging in the main room of the mansion.

Inheriting power from his father, Duc's son, Vuong Chi Sinh, also commanded the region in the early decades of the 20th century before becoming a deputy to the first and second National Assembly of the Democratic Republic of Viet Nam (the forerunner to the Socialist Republic of Viet Nam). He was renamed Vuong Chi Thanh by President Ho Chi Minh

Sinh donated most of his treasure to the Vietnamese resistance government led by President Ho in the war against the French occupation (1946-54).

Forest lair: Stone steps between old pines lead to the mansion.

To enter the 64-room mansion, visitors have to climb up a series of stone steps sandwiched in between old pine trees leading to the mansion's entrance of a small wooden gate set into a round stone wall.

According to Vuong family history, to build the house, Duc invited a Chinese fengshui master to choose an auspicious location for the building. The tortoise-shaped Sa Phin Valley, was believed to act as symbol of longevity and prosperity, a good omen when combined with the protective belt of eight surrounding mountains.

The mansion's structure is based on the shape of the Chinese character "wang", which also means "wealthy", with four horizontal and six vertical house blocks.

Iron wood, green stone and yin-and-yang double tiles are the main materials used in the construction of the mansion, which combines the typical architectural style of the Chinese Qing dynasty with Mong ethnic features. Wealth is also represented through the sophisticated dragon, phoenix and bat patterns carved on the mansion's pillars. The Chinese Han character "shou" meaning longevity also can be seen in every roof tile.

It took eight years to complete the two-storey mansion. Covering 1,200sq.m, the complex includes the main area with living room, working room, bedrooms, and additional rooms for servants and guards, food and weapon storage, a kitchen and cattle stable.

Located in a water-deprived region, the mansion also includes a huge stone tank to retain rain water, which nowadays has become the main water supplier for the valley's residents.

Staying alive: The Chinese Han character shou, meaning longevity, can be seen at the end of every roof tile.

A green area outside the protective wall is the glorious family's graveyard, where visitors can offer incense at the tombs of Sinh and his father. Visitors can see the words "tan trung bao quoc, bat thu no le" (A life devoted to the nation, never accepting of being a slave) – the epitaph given by President Ho.

Although recognised as a national architectural and artistic relic in 1993, the mansion was beginning to suffer from a lack of repair and the loss of various valuable household items.

In 2004, a VND7.5-billion (about US$500,000 at that time) project conducted by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism restored the original beauty of the mansion. The house then become one of the most highlight tourism spots in Ha Giang.

"As an architectural masterpiece of the Mong ethnic people living in the Dong Van karst plateau, the mansion is among one of the must-visit spots whenever tourists visit the region. Local cultural researchers have kept collecting items related to the history of the Vuong family, aiming to turn the mansion into a small museum," said Nguyen Trung Thuong, director of the Ha Giang Culture, Sports and Tourism Department.

Today the mansion not only greets an increasing number of tourists, but also welcomes many professional photographers, who are attracted by its unique features and beautiful location.

VietNamNet/Viet Nam News

Vietnam’s tourism industry growing, but slowly

Written by Administrator Saturday, 22 January 2011 10:26

Though obtaining a satisfactory growth rate in 2010 with five million foreign tourists, experts say there are still a lot of things that need to be done to develop tourism industry.

Vietnam slow in develop tourism products

Traveler go to Vietnam

Like other countries in Asia Pacific that benefited from the higher number of inner-bloc tourists in 2010, Vietnam’s tourism industry had a prosperous year in 2010 with five million foreign tourists. However, the figure is nothing if compared with 15.7 million foreign tourists to Thailand, 12 million tourists to Singapore, 24 million to Malaysia and 7 million to Indonesia.

Statistics show that the number of Asian people traveling to regional countries increases by 10 percent every year. Meanwhile, a recent survey released by Market Probe Asia Pacific showed that 71 percent of more than one million Chinese people who regularly travel abroad plan to go to countries in the Asia-Pacific region in the next year.

The trend can also be seen in India and countries in the Middle East.

Therefore, Asian countries well understand that now is the right time for them to attract the wealthy regular travelers. Hong Kong and Singapore, for example, have recently poured money to develop high grade shopping centers and modern entertainment complexes, organize special art performance shows and the exhibitions of international stature. Meanwhile, Malaysia has been taking full advantage of its natural landscapes and cultural values to develop resort and homestay tourism. It has been trying to design specific tours targeting Muslim clients, the tourists from the Middle East and India.

Meanwhile, Vietnam still has not conducted thorough market surveys and has not made appropriate investments to develop new tourism products. That explains why the duration tourists stay in Vietnam and the money they spend when traveling Vietnam has not increased considerably over the past many years. In 2010, in an effort to develop tourism, Vietnam saw hotel room and air ticket supplies increasing considerably. However, it still could not do much to diversify entertainment products.

Analysts say Vietnam still cannot take full advantage of its potentials to develop tourism. For example, though Vietnam has been well known for its beautiful beaches, the beach cities do not attract many tourists. The beautiful destinations of Nha Trang, Mui Ne, Phu Quoc island or Vung Tau City still attract domestic travelers, because they still do not have specific tourism products.

The analysts said that in Thailand, every sea tourism destinations target a specific class of tourists. For example, Pattaya, Patong in Phuket are places which serve middle class earners, while Huabin, 200 kilometers far from Bangkok, which is a quiet area with many luxurious resorts, specializes in serving high income earners. Koh Samui island and Andaman beach in the south are the destinations of tourists who like sea sports and wild landscapes.

…and passive in advertising

In 2010, Indonesia suffered from natural calamities, while Thailand suffered from political uncertainties. However, both the countries still fulfilled their plans to attract tourists thanks to their dynamism and flexibility. Meanwhile, Singapore and Malaysia, thanks to their methodical advertisement plans, successfully attracted more tourists and persuaded them to spend more money.

Meanwhile, Vietnam reportedly failed to fulfill many plans to advertise Vietnam’s tourism. The plan to open representative offices at key markets has not been implemented. To date, the Vietnam Tourism Administration of Tourism (VNAT) does not have any representative office in other countries in the world. Meanwhile, Thailand has 20 offices worldwide, and Malaysia has two offices in both HCM City and Hanoi.

The annual budget Vietnam spends annually to develop tourism is about 40-50 billion dong, or $2-2.5 million, which is very low if compared with the budget of Indonesia ($6 million), Malaysia, Thailand and Singapore which spends $65 million. It is understandable that with such a modest budget, Vietnam cannot hire professional marketing and advertisement services which can help effectively advertise Vietnam’s tourism.

Source: Thoi bao Kinh te Saigon