Vietnam welcomes 4 millionth tourist
Vietnam has become a popular destination for international tourists with its advantages of attractive and abundant natural and human resources, better services, increased prestige of the country and socio-political stability. Today, the Vietnam National Administration of Tourism organised a ceremony at the Noi Bai International Airport in Hanoi to welcome the 4 millionth tourist. This marked an impressive point for the country’s tourism sector in 2007. Standing on board the Bai Tho Tourism Yacht anchored in front of the Ba Ham cave in Ha Long Bay, enjoying the view of birds flying over the bay in the sunset, Mr David Brett, Vice President of Amadeus Asia Pacific made interesting points about Vietnam’s well-known world natural heritage site. David Brett was participating in a Amadeus Group’s annual Board of Directors’ Meeting in Quang Ninh province, organised by TransViet Travel Company. Together with other members of the Amadeus group, David visited the sacred site of Yen Tu mountain. They climbed to the summit of the mountain to visit the Dong Pagoda. They also tried their hand at kayaking to discover caves and enjoyed a gala dinner in the Trong cave amid the light of hundreds of candles while listening to Spanish and Vietnamese melodies. The Amadeus group is a global company that provides new and effective distribution channels to travel services, acting as a bridge between travel services, travel agents and service users. In addition to participating in their annual meeting, the regional directors of Amadeus group also wanted to survey new destinations for their next MICE (Meetings, Incentives, Conferences and Exhibitions). According to David Brett, they were very surprised at the beauty of Ha Long Bay and the deep traditional cultural identity of Vietnam. The landscapes in Vietnam were wonderful, with the green colour of forests, mountains and fields could be seen every where, he added, while the people were warm, friendly and hospitable. The Amadeus Group delegation was only one among hundreds of MICE delegations that have been to Vietnam this year. Vietnam is currently emerging as a “hot” country for MICE with its two famous destinations of Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City and major tourism centres including Nha Trang city in Khanh Hoa province and Ha Long city in Quang Ninh province. According to statistics, the number of MICE tourists has increased by 30% year-on-year. Vietnam’s tourism products and potential are very suitable for MICE because of their novelty which deserves to be discovered, said Taleb Rifai, Deputy Secretary General United Nations World Tourism Organisation. The improvement in the services and infrastructure facilities over the recent period have contributed to promoting the development of MICE tourism in Vietnam, he added. Though there is a decrease in the number of visitors from Chinese, the number of tourists that come from countries and territories with high spending has increased sharply. Thus, total revenue from tourism has increased quite remarkably. Ten years ago, the number of foreign tourists to Vietnam totalled over 1 million. The figure was 3.58 million last year and four million over the past eleven months, an 18% year-on-year increase. This year, the tourism sector is estimated to welcome a total of 4.3 million foreign tourists, fulfilling the year’s targeted figure. So far, there are 11 countries and territories with the number of tourists to Vietnam exceeding 100,000 each include China, the Republic of Korea, the US, Japan, Taiwan, Australia, France, Thailand, Cambodia, Malaysia and Singapore. The number of tourists from the UK, Canada and Germany exceed 50,000. The increase in the number of foreign tourist to Vietnam has contributed to the increase in total revenues of the tourism sector: from US $2.3 billion in 2005 to US $2.85 billion in 2006 and this year, the figure is estimated at US $3.5 billion. Total foreign direct investment in tourism is about US $4.5 billion. Vietnam has also voted as one of the 20 most favourite destinations in 2007 through an opinion poll conducted among 30,000 readers of prestigious travel magazine Condé Nast Traveller with evaluations based on 10 different categories, including “abundance of culture”, “variety of attractions”, “range of accommodation”, and “environmental friendliness.” Vietnam entered the list this year for the first time, ranking 18th among the top 20 selected travel destinations. It can be said that the achievements of the tourism sector are thanks to economic-political security stability and development, along with reforms in administrative procedures, thus creating more favourable conditions for tourism to develop. Most recently, with approval from the government, the VNAT has co-ordinated with US’ CNN Television to air a video clip to advertise Vietnamese tourism on CNN’s Asia channel in peak hours. In 2007, many cultural events, major festivals and anniversaries have been organised in various localities throughout the country, attracting a great deal of tourists. These included the National Tourism Year “Ve Viet Bac-Thu do gio ngan” (Returning to Viet Bac – the Capital in the Forest) in Thai Nguyen province, tourism festivals in Ho Chi Minh City, Khanh Hoa, Binh Thuan, Ninh Thuan, Ba Ria-Vung Tau and Thua Thien-Hue. According to Vu The Binh, head of the Travel Department at VNAT, the event welcoming the 4 millionth tourist is a chance for the country’s tourism sector to review the recorded achievements and make better preparations for strengthening development and international integration in the coming time.
Vietnam has become a popular destination for international tourists with its advantages of attractive and abundant natural and human resources, better services, increased prestige of the country and socio-political stability. Today, the Vietnam National Administration of Tourism organised a ceremony at the Noi Bai International Airport in Hanoi to welcome the 4 millionth tourist. This marked an impressive point for the country’s tourism sector in 2007. Standing on board the Bai Tho Tourism Yacht anchored in front of the Ba Ham cave in Ha Long Bay, enjoying the view of birds flying over the bay in the sunset, Mr David Brett, Vice President of Amadeus Asia Pacific made interesting points about Vietnam’s well-known world natural heritage site. David Brett was participating in a Amadeus Group’s annual Board of Directors’ Meeting in Quang Ninh province, organised by TransViet Travel Company. Together with other members of the Amadeus group, David visited the sacred site of Yen Tu mountain. They climbed to the summit of the mountain to visit the Dong Pagoda. They also tried their hand at kayaking to discover caves and enjoyed a gala dinner in the Trong cave amid the light of hundreds of candles while listening to Spanish and Vietnamese melodies. The Amadeus group is a global company that provides new and effective distribution channels to travel services, acting as a bridge between travel services, travel agents and service users. In addition to participating in their annual meeting, the regional directors of Amadeus group also wanted to survey new destinations for their next MICE (Meetings, Incentives, Conferences and Exhibitions). According to David Brett, they were very surprised at the beauty of Ha Long Bay and the deep traditional cultural identity of Vietnam. The landscapes in Vietnam were wonderful, with the green colour of forests, mountains and fields could be seen every where, he added, while the people were warm, friendly and hospitable. The Amadeus Group delegation was only one among hundreds of MICE delegations that have been to Vietnam this year. Vietnam is currently emerging as a “hot” country for MICE with its two famous destinations of Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City and major tourism centres including Nha Trang city in Khanh Hoa province and Ha Long city in Quang Ninh province. According to statistics, the number of MICE tourists has increased by 30% year-on-year. Vietnam’s tourism products and potential are very suitable for MICE because of their novelty which deserves to be discovered, said Taleb Rifai, Deputy Secretary General United Nations World Tourism Organisation. The improvement in the services and infrastructure facilities over the recent period have contributed to promoting the development of MICE tourism in Vietnam, he added. Though there is a decrease in the number of visitors from Chinese, the number of tourists that come from countries and territories with high spending has increased sharply. Thus, total revenue from tourism has increased quite remarkably. Ten years ago, the number of foreign tourists to Vietnam totalled over 1 million. The figure was 3.58 million last year and four million over the past eleven months, an 18% year-on-year increase. This year, the tourism sector is estimated to welcome a total of 4.3 million foreign tourists, fulfilling the year’s targeted figure. So far, there are 11 countries and territories with the number of tourists to Vietnam exceeding 100,000 each include China, the Republic of Korea, the US, Japan, Taiwan, Australia, France, Thailand, Cambodia, Malaysia and Singapore. The number of tourists from the UK, Canada and Germany exceed 50,000. The increase in the number of foreign tourist to Vietnam has contributed to the increase in total revenues of the tourism sector: from US $2.3 billion in 2005 to US $2.85 billion in 2006 and this year, the figure is estimated at US $3.5 billion. Total foreign direct investment in tourism is about US $4.5 billion. Vietnam has also voted as one of the 20 most favourite destinations in 2007 through an opinion poll conducted among 30,000 readers of prestigious travel magazine Condé Nast Traveller with evaluations based on 10 different categories, including “abundance of culture”, “variety of attractions”, “range of accommodation”, and “environmental friendliness.” Vietnam entered the list this year for the first time, ranking 18th among the top 20 selected travel destinations. It can be said that the achievements of the tourism sector are thanks to economic-political security stability and development, along with reforms in administrative procedures, thus creating more favourable conditions for tourism to develop. Most recently, with approval from the government, the VNAT has co-ordinated with US’ CNN Television to air a video clip to advertise Vietnamese tourism on CNN’s Asia channel in peak hours. In 2007, many cultural events, major festivals and anniversaries have been organised in various localities throughout the country, attracting a great deal of tourists. These included the National Tourism Year “Ve Viet Bac-Thu do gio ngan” (Returning to Viet Bac – the Capital in the Forest) in Thai Nguyen province, tourism festivals in Ho Chi Minh City, Khanh Hoa, Binh Thuan, Ninh Thuan, Ba Ria-Vung Tau and Thua Thien-Hue. According to Vu The Binh, head of the Travel Department at VNAT, the event welcoming the 4 millionth tourist is a chance for the country’s tourism sector to review the recorded achievements and make better preparations for strengthening development and international integration in the coming time.