However, local Vienam travel agencies say that this year, despite offers of so many promotional programmes, the numbers of tourists have not increased, causing much anxiety in the travel industry.

Companies of Vietnam tour offer low-budget tours

Many people have put a lid on spending for the last two years, due to the economic downturn. Therefore many travel agencies have to design economy and low-budget tours to attract clients.

Travel firms have reported a sharp decline in the numbers of travellers. Though there are still many travellers booking tours for the April 30 holiday, the numbers are way below expectations. Many clients have enquired about the cost of tours but few have made bookings.

The numbers of tourists registering for tours for summer are quite modest, even though summer is a high tourist season. Saigontourist Travel Service Company is organising 300 domestic and international tours and expects to serve 16,000 travellers, an increase of 10-15 per cent over the same period last year.

This year, most visitors registered for short distance tours to the Central Highland region, Mekong Delta region, Dang Nang, Nha Trang, Phan Thiet and Buon Ma Thuot cities and Phu Quoc Island.

Many travel agencies have not increased tour prices, except for Nha Trang and Dalat City by 10 per cent.

A representative of Viet Travel said that their company ties up with hotels and restaurants to offer tour prices that are attractive and competitive. The company is offering a discount of VND2 million on its northern tours, VND600,000 to VND1 million on central region tours and VND500,000 on Phu Quoc and Nha Trang tours.

Slump in inbound tours

Pham Duc Hoa, deputy head of domestic tourism in Saigontourist, said that the company’s turnover in the first quarter of the year grew well, but its turnover is decreasing since beginning of April. People tend to travel by themselves or register through Free-Easy tour service, which operates within your tight budget, Hoa added.

Hoa said the tendency of cutting down spending can be seen clearly in the tourism sector. Most travellers from Ho Chi Minh City choose two to three day tours to Phan Thiet, Ninh Chu and Vung Tau to save money.

In previous summers, his travel firm received many orders from companies and institutions who wanted to take long tours to Hue City or Hanoi. But now many of the loyal clients have decided not to travel this year, or have chosen short tours to Phan Thiet or Vung Tau.

Meanwhile, many international tours are fully booked. Fiditour has sold 60 per cent of its international tour quota. Tours to Thailand, Singapore, Malaysia, Hong Kong and China that departed on April 27 were full.

One director of a travel firm believes that in general, the number of travellers this summer have not decreased as sharply as people think, but have chosen outbound tours instead of domestic tours.

People tend to travel abroad because outbound tours are getting cheaper.

The deputy minister mentioned this at a conference in Ho Chi Minh City recently to implement the new pilot scheme that will offer a VAT refund to foreigners leaving the country with purchases made during their stay.

Tuan said the pilot scheme will help promote tourism and leave a good impression on foreign visitors, so officials at airports must provide and facilitate easy procedures for the same.

The pilot scheme will be improved gradually in accordance with international practices, but for now VAT refund formalities must be made simple, clear and transparent, Tuan said.

Foreigners will now receive a Value Added Tax (VAT) refund on commodities purchased while in Vietnam and which they carry back when leaving the country.

According to the General Department of Taxation, 154 enterprises in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City are eligible for participating in the new scheme. Purchases made by foreign visitors during their stay in Vietnam, will receive VAT refund at point of departure, provided all criteria is met.

These enterprises are eager to join the pilot scheme as this is an excellent opportunity for them to promote their products in other countries of the world.

Relevant agencies such as tax and customs departments will release the addresses and names of participating enterprises on their websites. They will also be allowed to advertise the scheme on billboards and posters on their shops, so as to inform foreign clientele.

Tax and customs departments should also inform travel agents of the enterprises listed in the VAT refund scheme, so as to curb corruption.

Enterprises also raised the idea that there should be one common logo for the VAT refund scheme for easy recognition by foreign tourists. This idea met with approval from the deputy minister.

The General Department of Taxation has been asked to think of a common logo to be used by shops offering VAT refund in the country.

Peaceful, with reasonable prices and extremely safe, were his main observations. Forty years on from the war with the US, Staermose felt that the country has experienced a great deal of positive changes.

“In the ancient town of Hoi An and the capital city of Hanoi, the local lifestyles are in general very laid-back and relaxed. There are numerous excellent cafes and restaurants that offer both local fair and overseas cuisine, and there are everywhere”, said Staermose.

“Although the weather here can be very hot and humid, Hanoi has many lakes and it is actually very pleasant to explore the city on foot”.

“That applies if you are young and single, or if you have a young family, like my friends who are based here. For the right kind of person, because of the cost of living here, the quality of life you can enjoy for the money you pay is really very difficult to beat”.

Source: VOV

The Hanoi Vespa Club will launch the tour on April 14, encompassing Vietnam, Laos, Thailand, Malaysia and Singapore, with a total length of approximately 4,000km.

The trans-ASEAN journey comes hot on the heels of the club’s successful hosting of the 2,000-km long Trans-Vietnam tour in 2008 and the 3,000-km long Trans-Indochina tour in 2011.

Club members have spent 10 months preparing for the upcoming tour which is expected to last two weeks, says Do Vo Tuan Dung, club leader

The club has received support from 2,600 members of Vietnam Vespa communities and thousands of the vintage scooter lovers around the world.

The club will produce a documentary and a diary recording what they experience throughout the journey to introduce international friends to the distinctive cultural identities of the five countries.

Source: VOV

VNAT has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) on boosting tourism promotion with the aim of encouraging Japanese tourists to visit the S-shaped country.

In recent years, Japan has become a key market for Vietnam’s tourism sector. Nearly 500,000 Japanese tourists arrived in Vietnam in 2011, ranking third among the country’s largest tourism markets.

The Southeast Asian country expects to receive one million Japanese visitors in 2015 after the establishment of a VNAT representative office in Japan, which is among the activities marking the 40th anniversary of Vietnam-Japan diplomatic relations.

Source: VOV

Under the MoU, both sides will strengthen co-ordination in the implementation of cooperative projects in the fields of tourism, eco-tourism, human resource training and agriculture.

As an important partner in Hue festivals for many years, the Poitou-Charentes Regional Council of France will participate in the 2014 Hue Festival to expand the space of the festival for more local residents to enjoy the event.

The Poitou-Charentes Regional Council of France will also support the development of Hue Tourism College in compiling new training programmes, especially on eco-tourism and heritage. In addition, it will promote cooperation between Bach Ma National Park and Marais-Poitevin Garden under the Prodetour Hue project in the 2010-2013 period in order to strengthen eco-tourism and upgrade traditional houses.

In addition, the region will help Thua Thien Hue improve the quality of human resources for the tourism sector, the value of heritage sties and the management of international cooperation.

Both sides will boost cooperation among high schools and heighten the important role of Thua Thien Hue province as a dynamic member of the International Organisation of La Francophonie in South East Asia.

Source: VOV

The opening gala event alone drew the participation of 25,000 tourists and local people and hotels and hostels in Hue reported more than 91 percent occupancy at the peak of the festival.

Three of the 2012 Festival’s seven major events– the opening performance, Nam Giao offering ritual, and the Ao dai show, have taken place so far, said Ngo Hoa, Vice Chairman of Thua Thien-Hue province, which hosts the biennial event.

Numerous local and international art shows also took place on more than 15 stages in Hue City and other sites across Thua Thien-Hue province.

Seminars, fairs, and community cultural activities have also been held, including a performance of model airplanes and ships, and a poetry festival.

Source: VOV

The free visits to the World Heritage site are being offered during Ha Long Tourism Week and the national holiday on the anniversary of the liberation of the south (April 30) and May Day, which always see a huge number of tourists.

Visitors to Ha Long Bay this year will also have the chance to enjoy a number of new changes at the site and improved services.

In the first three months of 2012, the newly-recognised wonder of the world attracted almost 420,000 visitors, of which 70 percent were overseas tourists, up by 19 percent over the same period last year.

During the peak of the 2011 Ha Long Tourism Week, Bai Chay Port handled 16,000 visitors to the Bay on May 1 alone.

Source: VOV

Under a project by the Vietnam Posts & Telecommunications Group (VNPT), 44 wireless internet stations will be installed along National Highway 18A running through Ha Long City.

The wifi connection will be available from Ha Tu ward post office to Ha Long night market in Bai Chay ward, an area heavily visited by both local people and tourists.

Nguyen Minh Hong, Director of the Quang Ninh provincial Department of Information and Communications, said Ha Long aims to become a modern tourist city by 2015.

The province will continue developing information technology infrastructure, with a focus on economic and tourist centres such as Uong Bi, Cam Pha, Van Don and Mong Cai, to attract more foreign investors and visitors, Hong said.

With this project, Ha Long is the second tourist destination in Vietnam to offer free wifi service to visitors, after Hoi An ancient town in the central province of Quang Nam.

Quang Ninh will hold a ceremony late this week to mark the recognition of Ha Long Bay as a new Natural Wonder of the World. Ha Long Bay has been recognized twice as the World Heritage Site by UNESCO.

The province will also launch the 2012 Ha Long Tourism Week late this month.

Source: VOV

The target is part of the urban planning project for Sapa tourism which has been announced by the Lao Cai provincial People’s Committee.

Accordingly, Sapa will not only be a national tourism and resort centre, but also an economic and cultural centre in the future. It also serves as a bridge for cultural exchange among ethnic minority groups in the northern mountainous and Vietnam-China border area.

Tran Huu Son, Director of the provincial Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism said Sapa’s tourism development target will be on community-based tourism. Therefore, it is important to help local residents do tourism services by providing training courses on English language and culinary arts.

The Sapa tourism complex and surrounding areas will include an urban centre with an estimated population of 13,000 people, a new urban area, a luxury resort, and Ham Rong mountain tourism site.

This is the result of a cooperation between the Lao Cai provincial People’s Committee and experts from France’s Aquitaine region to turn Sapa into a famous resort site by international standards.

Source: VOV