Hidden talent art studio san jose ca

The event included a traditional offering ritual, the garlands and model wooden boats carrying soldiers and sailors out to sea.

The traditional ceremony held annually for hundreds of years on the island is a tribute to the sailor-soldiers who sacrificed their lives for the country and symbolize Vietnam’s sovereignty over the Hoang Sa (Paracel) archipelago.

About 3-4 centuries ago under the Nguyen Lords’ mandate, 70 of the island’s best seafarers were chosen to safeguard their homeland’s maritime rights and explore the East Sea every year. In mid-sixteenth century, the Hoang Sa Flotilla was established to conduct marine patrol and control, exploit marine products and collect ship-wrecked cargoes floating to Hoang Sa and Truong Sa areas.

Ly Son Island, a tranquil destination 30km off Quang Ngai Province’s coast, is home to about 2,100 residents. Most make their living fishing, and farming garlic and spring onions. Ly Son Island has been emerged as an attractive tourist destination in recent years because of the wonderful natural beauty.

Kuala Lumpur (VNA) – The Malaysia n Technology Development Corporation (MTDC) has partnered with SG Akademi Sdn Bhd (SGA) to strengthen talent development in the drone industry via the Centre of 9 Pillars (Co9P).

The Co9P houses I4.0 partners and relevant ecosystem companies and facilitate networks to collaboratively develop local I4.0 technologies, services and solutions.

MTDC chief executive officer Datuk Norhalim Yunus told the media after the signing of the MoU on the cooperation on April 20 that the partnership will see both parties identifying more participants for training, workshops, and seminars to be trained in Drone and IoT.

During the MoU signing event, both MTDC and SGA presented a sponsorship of 100,000 ringgit (24.300 USD) to strengthen talent development in the drone industry.

The MoU covers collaboration in the areas of capacity-building, training, technology development, and other specific activities such as providing technological services related to Industry 4.0 (I4.0), with specialities in drone technology and Internet of Things (IoT)./.

VNA

Thousands of shows a year

Another festive highlight that many visitors should look forward to is the 30-minute show ‘Colors of Venice’ held every evening at the Canal and Central Lake, featuring typical European designs, combined with romantic love stories and laser technology.

In addition to two main shows costing millions of dollars, the ‘sleepless city’ also offers at least 2,920 daytime mini shows, along with 365 evening performances, every year in various topics to bring visitors fresh feelings.

According to Bui Quoc Thai, director of the Kien Giang Department of Tourism, the models of endless entertainment and shopping will help introduce local agricultural products and specialties, especially through the Grand World night market’s 134 stalls, which are divided into four categories — cuisine, souvenirs, local specialties, and fashion items.

Tourists’ expectations for ‘sleepless city’

Duong Huan, a traveler from Ho Chi Minh City, showed his support for the development of a nigh-time economy, especially in big cities and tourism hot spots.

According to Huan, management agencies need to leverage each locality’s own identity more thoroughly to avoid boring repetition.

At the same time, more regulations on food safety and hygiene, pricing, security, and public order are needed for the healthy growth of business and preventing bad practices.

Localities with famous tourist destinations should improve public transport while ensuring security and public order for tourists, he said.

Besides, there should be suitable activities designed for different ages, especially for children, as many young families often find themselves in situations where they cannot entertain their kids during their trips.

According to Trang Ho, a visitor from Hanoi, she prefers taking part in outdoor activities at night during her vacations over more comfortable weather and less busy traffic.

However, tourists have few choices for night-time outdoor activities in Vietnamese cities, Ho complained.

“Nobody wants to stay in a hotel to watch TV during their trips,” Ho said.

“This point signals the business opportunity of the night-time economy.

“I think the ‘sleepless city’ should initially address this need and then other healthy entertainment services.”

The city’s authorities mull ways to further boost the night economy to revive the tourism industry.

Hanoi’s authorities have started to exploit the potential of the night economy model to attract tourists through organizing many activities in the city’s pedestrian streets.

Night market near Dong Xuan market. Photo: Zing.

Existing advantages

A study on the development of night time industry in Hanoi, Danang and Ho Chi Minh City shows that economic activities in Vietnam are bustling from 7am to 5pm, according to Director of the Institute for Tourism Development Research Nguyen Anh Tuan.

However, day light consumption only generates 30% of the tourism revenue. Meanwhile, the favorite time for tourists to dig deep into their pockets is from 6 pm to 3 am the next day and so the tourism sector earns 70% its revenue from night consumption, Tuan said.

Since 2016, the Hanoi city government has allowed walking spaces around Hoan Kiem Lake and bars and entertainment catering services to stay open until 2am.

Deputy Director of the Hanoi Department of Tourism Tran Trung Hieu said that on weekends before the Covid-19 outbreak, the walking streets around Hoan Kiem Lake welcomed 18,000-25,000 domestic and foreign tourists. On special occasions, the number of visitors even rose to 30,000.

After allowing the extension of the opening time of bars, restaurants and the number of tourist sites, stay-overs of tourists in Hoan Kiem district increased rapidly, according to Deputy Chairman of the Hoan Kiem district People’s Committee Dinh Hong Phong.

Specifically, from only 1.4 million tourists that visited Hoan Kiem district in 2016, three years later in 2019, the number increased to nearly 2.5 million.

The district collected tax revenue of VND7.7 trillion (US$332.4 million) in 2018 and VND9.6 trillion (US$414.3 million) in 2019, of which, revenue from night-time industry accounted for a large part, according to Phong.

Leverage for tourism post-Covid-19

Ta Hien Bia street attracts many tourists in the city. Photo: Zing

Vice Chairman of the Hoan Kiem District People’s Committee Nguyen Anh Quan said that in the coming time, the district will focus on rolling out a pilot project of night economy including outdoor and indoor activities, as well as diversifying trade and artistic programs in walking spaces and other areas in the district.

In addition to Hoan Kiem, other districts in Hanoi are also focusing on developing night economy. Tay Ho district has held a host of art performances, street food fair in Trinh Cong Son pedestrian street.

From a view of tour operator, Quang Thang, director of Hanoitourist Travel Company, said that not only Hanoi but also the key tourist hubs such as Ho Chi Minh City, Danang, and Nha Trang should also focus on boosting the night time industry to stimulate visitors’ spending.

Sharing the same view, Dr. Vu Dinh Anh, a local economist, said that the development of the night economy will help the country make better use of resources and infrastructure and create more jobs.

However, in order to develop the night economy, tourism experts said that local authorities need to understand the potential value of the industry, and associate it with tourism as a driving force for development.

According to General Director of the Vietnam National Administration of Tourism Nguyen Trung Khanh, besides the project on the night economy, which is devised by the Ministry of Planning and Investment, the agency is currently drawing up a number of proposals on tapping into the night economy and will submit them to the government for consideration.