By Nguyen Quy  October 18, 2018 | 05:56 pm GMT+7 A floating village in Ha Long Bay, northern Quang Ninh Province. Photo by Shutterstock The country is set to welcome the 15 millionth visitor of the year late next month or early December. A representative of the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism said at a press conference Wednesday that the special guest would be welcomed at the famous Ha Long Bay in northern Quang Ninh Province. The year end is a peak travel season as foreign tourists, especially from the U.S. and Europe, visit Vietnam to escape the winter and enjoy the Xmas and New Year holidays. Expectations are high that the country can fulfill its target of welcoming 16 million international visitors this year, said Nguyen Van Tuan, head of the Vietnam National Administration of Tourism. More than 11.6 million foreigners arrived in Vietnam in the first nine months of this year, a 22.9 percent year-on-year increase. Last year's foreign arrivals is … [Read more...] about Vietnam prepares to greet 15 millionth visitor of the year
Vietnam visa for indians
Vietnam takes Bali’s place as top Aussie travel choice
Booking data from Webjet, the largest online travel booking site in Australia, shows that Vietnam has overtaken Bali to become the most favorite travel destinations for Australian tourists. Volcano eruptions and earthquakes have deterred Australian tourists from returning to Bali, and the number of tours to the beautiful island has reduced significantly over the past year, the Webjet website quoted managing director John Guscic as saying. Instead, more Australian visitors are showing greater interest in Vietnam, a country known for beautiful beaches, mountains, rice terraces, world heritage sites, plus low cost of living. Vietnam has also achieved renown as a dream destination for expats. The online booking site has reported a 63 percent growth in full-year profit thanks to a bookings surge to Asian countries, mainly Vietnam. Australian travel blogger Phoebe Lee, who has taken global viewers through Hanoi in two CNN commercials, told VnExpress that she had visited Ha Long Bay and the … [Read more...] about Vietnam takes Bali’s place as top Aussie travel choice
Another island in Vietnam comes out of the shadows
By Ngoc Dinh  September 18, 2018 | 03:48 pm GMT+7 The Hon Xuong Island offers the same beauty as Maldives without the 5-star expense. The Evening Standard, a U.K based newspaper, has named Hon Xuong island in southern Vietnam among seven cheaper options that are on par, beauty-wise, with the renowned Indian Ocean island nation of Maldives. Hon Xuong Island is a part of Phu Quoc District in Kien Giang Province. Located in the Gulf of Thailand, the district consists of 22 islands and islets. To reach Hon Xuong, visitors need to stay on the largest island in the area, Phu Quoc, and take a boat to the pristine island. The Evening Standard describes Hon Xuong Island as a remote place with scenic beaches and unspoiled surrounding forests. The paper also calls it the most “Instagrammable” of other islands in the area. The other places listed by the paper are: Roatán Island (Honduras), Cayo Largo del Sur (Cuba), Hyams Beach (Australia), Vanuatu, Koh Lipe … [Read more...] about Another island in Vietnam comes out of the shadows
Indian tourism promotion programme held in HCM City
Rashmi Verma, Secretary of the Indian Ministry of Tourism (third, left) and other delegates at the event (Photo: VNA) HCM City, May 9 (VNA) – An Indian tourism promotion themed “Incredible India Roadshow 2018” was held in Ho Chi Minh City on May 8 by India’s Ministry of Tourism and General Consulate in the city, giving a chance for travel firms of the two sides to explore partnership opportunities. Addressing the event, Rashmi Verma, Secretary of the Indian Ministry of Tourism said that that recently, the number of foreign tourists visiting India has increased. In 2017, India welcomed 1.8 million international visitors, with tourism growth reaching 15.6 percent. Verma said that India boasts diverse natural, cultural and religious heritage such as temples, palaces, fortresses, along with many unique services such as meditation and yoga practice, rowing in Brahmaputra and Ganges Rivers, climbing and skiing in Himalaya range. Health care tourism and yoga … [Read more...] about Indian tourism promotion programme held in HCM City
Vietnam extends visa exemption for Europeans for another three years
Visitors from France, Germany, Italy, Spain and the United Kingdom will continue to receive visa exemptions for the next three years in Vietnam, officials said at a government press conference on Thursday. Vietnam first offered visa waivers for citizens from the five European countries in July 2015, and in the past the policy has been updated annually and would have expired at the end of June. However, Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc has yet to sign off on requests from tourism agencies to extend the visa-free duration from 15 to 30 days. Western Europeans are big spenders, according to the Vietnam National Administration of Tourism, and shell out on average $1,316 per trip. In 2015, Vietnam welcomed 720,000 western European tourists. The number increased 19 percent in 2016 and doubled to 1.5 million in 2017. Visitors from these countries increased by 5.5-16.8 percent in the first four months of this year, accounting for 6.6 percent of all foreign arrivals to Vietnam, according to … [Read more...] about Vietnam extends visa exemption for Europeans for another three years