In February "Slumdog Millionaire" won eights Oscars, including best picture.
Just last week, 150 fashion designers presented their collections in two different fashion weeks in New Delhi, followed by another fashion week that began Friday in Mumbai.
The image of India as a fashion backwater is rapidly changing as more designers set their sights on a global audience, just as the film industry has done.
Indeed, there are 20 million NRI (non-resident Indians) and OBI (overseas-born Indians) living primarily in the United Kingdom, United States, South Africa and Singapore, with many more expats around the world.
Indian culture has spread with them, and along with it, a fascination that harkens back to the days when the Beatles made a hot India very cool. Though Pittsburgh's Indian population is small (an estimated 2,500 families), it is increasingly visible and geographically diverse.
Most neighborhoods now boast an Indian restaurant or grocery store, with a concentration of them in the South Hills, Monroeville and North Hills. There's also an annual Asian Festival in May, the perfect place to catch up on the latest movies from India. Here's a sort of introduction to Indian culture, 101.
First published on March 30, 2009 at 5:12 pm
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Tuesday, March 31, 2009
Taking a trip to Hang Cop Waterfall
Located in Tuy Son Commune in Xuan Tho District, 15 kilometers from Dalat City, Hang Cop (Tiger Cave) Waterfall is not too difficult to reach. The falls are also called Ong Cop, Ong Thuan, Da Sar, or Thien Thai, due to the ideal location among pine tree forests and flower gardens. Not having been intimidated by the name, we took a trip to Hang Cop on a smoggy morning to explore a newly-exploited tourist site in the city.
A view of Hang Cop (Tiger Cave) Waterfall.
After over five kilometers of pathway twisting under pine forests and slanting slopes of roots, we could hear the waterfall from afar. The atmosphere was not broken by city noises but was relaxing and peaceful. A tiger statue measuring five meters in height and 10 meters in length welcomes tourists at the entrance of the tourist site.
The waterfall is about 50 meters high and 10 meters wide, pouring down with speed and strength to make white foam cluster over granite slabs at the foot. The name Hang Cop was given by local people as the sound of the falls is like a tiger’s roar. Besides, Chil people tell a story of a fierce tiger which killed people and destroyed fields and gardens and a villager who drove the tiger away with an arrow to its leg. Chil people built a statue to commemorate the hero near the waterfall.
Yellow sunshine goes through the pine leaves, making a kind of light to soften the way. After wading through a small clear spring, we came to the top of the waterfall. From here, following cement steps down the abyss, the trees and their foliage are dense. At the foot, vapor spreads like mist and the stones emit cold, humid air. A column of white water pours down from the high mountain, buzzes into a deep pit, escapes by a twisty spring along big stones and quietly sinks into dense forest.
At nightfall we enjoyed wine with local specialties at the tourist site. Room rates are around VND100,000, tickets VND7,000 each, while food and beverages are rather cheap. A night in the jungle can be a pleasure with the cool climate, flowers and leaf fragrance, and the voices of wild nature.
People should visit Hang Cop Waterfall on the occasion of big festivals of the ethnic groups of the Lam Vien Highlands when tourists will have a chance to hold hands with Chil girls and dance by the fire.
A journey to Hang Cop Waterfall will be a trip like no other.
VietNamNet/SGT
A view of Hang Cop (Tiger Cave) Waterfall.
After over five kilometers of pathway twisting under pine forests and slanting slopes of roots, we could hear the waterfall from afar. The atmosphere was not broken by city noises but was relaxing and peaceful. A tiger statue measuring five meters in height and 10 meters in length welcomes tourists at the entrance of the tourist site.
The waterfall is about 50 meters high and 10 meters wide, pouring down with speed and strength to make white foam cluster over granite slabs at the foot. The name Hang Cop was given by local people as the sound of the falls is like a tiger’s roar. Besides, Chil people tell a story of a fierce tiger which killed people and destroyed fields and gardens and a villager who drove the tiger away with an arrow to its leg. Chil people built a statue to commemorate the hero near the waterfall.
Yellow sunshine goes through the pine leaves, making a kind of light to soften the way. After wading through a small clear spring, we came to the top of the waterfall. From here, following cement steps down the abyss, the trees and their foliage are dense. At the foot, vapor spreads like mist and the stones emit cold, humid air. A column of white water pours down from the high mountain, buzzes into a deep pit, escapes by a twisty spring along big stones and quietly sinks into dense forest.
At nightfall we enjoyed wine with local specialties at the tourist site. Room rates are around VND100,000, tickets VND7,000 each, while food and beverages are rather cheap. A night in the jungle can be a pleasure with the cool climate, flowers and leaf fragrance, and the voices of wild nature.
People should visit Hang Cop Waterfall on the occasion of big festivals of the ethnic groups of the Lam Vien Highlands when tourists will have a chance to hold hands with Chil girls and dance by the fire.
A journey to Hang Cop Waterfall will be a trip like no other.
VietNamNet/SGT
Monday, March 30, 2009
Doubts raised about plan to advertise on BBC
Right after the Vietnam National Administration of Tourism (VNAT) announced their plan to advertise Vietnam’s tourism on BBC World and taxis in the UK, a lot of travel firms and hotels have doubts about the feasibility of the plan.
Is it feasible?
In fact, the idea of advertising on the BBC was approved by the Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism (MCST) last year. However, at that time, many travel firms voiced concern over the feasibility of the plan. The travel firms wanted to know if MCST thoroughly considered the main audience of the channel and if the travelers watched this channel for tourism information.
According to Nguyen Quoc Ky, Director of Vietravel, it is necessary to set up advertisement plans based on thorough analysis. It is also necessary to know what the key markets are for Vietnam and how high the tourism demand is in the markets.
Meanwhile, Baron Ah Moo, CEO of Indochina Land’s Hotels and Resorts, said that BBC is really a famous politics and economics TV channel, but the main audience of the channel is businessmen.
The businessmen watch BBC in order to get information about political situations, labor markets and investment policies in countries. Therefore, tourism advertisement pieces will not catch the attention from audience, even if they are broadcasted on BBC World.
Luu Duc Ke, Director of Hanoitourist, related that when he asked a Spanish senior marketing expert about the efficiency of tourism advertisement pieces on CNN and BBC, he said that the audience absolutely does not expect to get tourism information on CNN and BBC. The marketing expert said that it would be better to advertise on Discovery or Geographic, which specializes in tourism.
Mr. Baron Ah Moo said that Vietnam needs to thoroughly consider the taste of travelers, listen to advisors and travel firms in order to build up specific advertisement programs for different markets.
The argument of state management agencies
An official from the Culture, Sports and Tourism Centre, who asked to not be named, said that there are three factors for which the International Cooperation Department under MCST decided to advertise on BBC.
BBC is a channel shown worldwide, including Asia Pacific, Europe and North America. BBC is broadcasted in 200 countries and territories. Statistics showed that 276 million families watch BBC and the channel is viewed in 1.5 million hotel rooms worldwide. In Japan, for example, hotel rooms do not have CNN, but have BBC.
Moreover, BBC has good experience in advertising tourism as it has done this for more than 40 nations, including the big tourism countries like Australia, Thailand, Singapore and Malaysia.
The noteworthy thing is that the mode BBC offers to Vietnam proves to be very reasonable. BBC has offered to send a delegation to Vietnam to make a video clip which will be broadcasted on BBC. The total expenses prove to be reasonable, $204,600.
Regarding the main audience of BBC, the official said that at first, Vietnam needs to advertise its national image, so that travelers can have a good impression of the country, and then it needs to advertise tours. The more people the information can reach, the better for Vietnam’s tourism, no matter who the people are.
“It is quite good to aim to businessmen, and it is also good to target popular travelers. Tourists not only watch tourism channels, they also watch other channels, especially news channels.”
“In the global economic crisis, tourists tend to travel to near-by countries. Therefore, Asia Pacific should be the choice. Europe has always been one of the key markets for Vietnam. Meanwhile, North America has always been a big market,” he said.
Meanwhile, Ky thinks that there are four markets Vietnam needs to target on, East Asia, North East Asia (Japan, China and South Korea), ASEAN and inner-region, Australia (which bears less financial crisis’ impacts than Europe and US), and cruise tourism.
Vietnam not keen on advertisement
Pham Hoang Tuan, Deputy Head of the Tourism Promotion Division under Vietnamtourism in Hanoi, said that Vietnam is still not keen on advertisement, pricing and offering tourism products.
Having returned from ITB (in Germany) and MITT (in Russia) trade fairs, Dang Bao Hieu, Director of Focus Travel, said that he was disappointed when seeing that the publications advertising ‘Impressive Vietnam’ were very poor.
Ky from Vietravel said that state management agencies should have overall advertisement campaigns which aim for long-term development, rather than short-term ones.
“I cannot see any bandmaster, who takes the responsibility for promotion tourism at the national level,” said director of a travel firm.
In April, the International Cooperation Agency under the VNAT will kick off the advertisement plan. It remains unclear about the broadcasting time. However, in general, there are two main tourism seasons, in June-July and September-October. Therefore, the advertisement pieces will appear in June 2009 at the soonest.
Ha Yen
Is it feasible?
In fact, the idea of advertising on the BBC was approved by the Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism (MCST) last year. However, at that time, many travel firms voiced concern over the feasibility of the plan. The travel firms wanted to know if MCST thoroughly considered the main audience of the channel and if the travelers watched this channel for tourism information.
According to Nguyen Quoc Ky, Director of Vietravel, it is necessary to set up advertisement plans based on thorough analysis. It is also necessary to know what the key markets are for Vietnam and how high the tourism demand is in the markets.
Meanwhile, Baron Ah Moo, CEO of Indochina Land’s Hotels and Resorts, said that BBC is really a famous politics and economics TV channel, but the main audience of the channel is businessmen.
The businessmen watch BBC in order to get information about political situations, labor markets and investment policies in countries. Therefore, tourism advertisement pieces will not catch the attention from audience, even if they are broadcasted on BBC World.
Luu Duc Ke, Director of Hanoitourist, related that when he asked a Spanish senior marketing expert about the efficiency of tourism advertisement pieces on CNN and BBC, he said that the audience absolutely does not expect to get tourism information on CNN and BBC. The marketing expert said that it would be better to advertise on Discovery or Geographic, which specializes in tourism.
Mr. Baron Ah Moo said that Vietnam needs to thoroughly consider the taste of travelers, listen to advisors and travel firms in order to build up specific advertisement programs for different markets.
The argument of state management agencies
An official from the Culture, Sports and Tourism Centre, who asked to not be named, said that there are three factors for which the International Cooperation Department under MCST decided to advertise on BBC.
BBC is a channel shown worldwide, including Asia Pacific, Europe and North America. BBC is broadcasted in 200 countries and territories. Statistics showed that 276 million families watch BBC and the channel is viewed in 1.5 million hotel rooms worldwide. In Japan, for example, hotel rooms do not have CNN, but have BBC.
Moreover, BBC has good experience in advertising tourism as it has done this for more than 40 nations, including the big tourism countries like Australia, Thailand, Singapore and Malaysia.
The noteworthy thing is that the mode BBC offers to Vietnam proves to be very reasonable. BBC has offered to send a delegation to Vietnam to make a video clip which will be broadcasted on BBC. The total expenses prove to be reasonable, $204,600.
Regarding the main audience of BBC, the official said that at first, Vietnam needs to advertise its national image, so that travelers can have a good impression of the country, and then it needs to advertise tours. The more people the information can reach, the better for Vietnam’s tourism, no matter who the people are.
“It is quite good to aim to businessmen, and it is also good to target popular travelers. Tourists not only watch tourism channels, they also watch other channels, especially news channels.”
“In the global economic crisis, tourists tend to travel to near-by countries. Therefore, Asia Pacific should be the choice. Europe has always been one of the key markets for Vietnam. Meanwhile, North America has always been a big market,” he said.
Meanwhile, Ky thinks that there are four markets Vietnam needs to target on, East Asia, North East Asia (Japan, China and South Korea), ASEAN and inner-region, Australia (which bears less financial crisis’ impacts than Europe and US), and cruise tourism.
Vietnam not keen on advertisement
Pham Hoang Tuan, Deputy Head of the Tourism Promotion Division under Vietnamtourism in Hanoi, said that Vietnam is still not keen on advertisement, pricing and offering tourism products.
Having returned from ITB (in Germany) and MITT (in Russia) trade fairs, Dang Bao Hieu, Director of Focus Travel, said that he was disappointed when seeing that the publications advertising ‘Impressive Vietnam’ were very poor.
Ky from Vietravel said that state management agencies should have overall advertisement campaigns which aim for long-term development, rather than short-term ones.
“I cannot see any bandmaster, who takes the responsibility for promotion tourism at the national level,” said director of a travel firm.
In April, the International Cooperation Agency under the VNAT will kick off the advertisement plan. It remains unclear about the broadcasting time. However, in general, there are two main tourism seasons, in June-July and September-October. Therefore, the advertisement pieces will appear in June 2009 at the soonest.
Ha Yen
Sunday, March 29, 2009
High as a Kite
It was two days and nights of high-flying fun at the International Kite Festival in Vung Tau this week. Local artist Nguyen Thanh Van’s Flying Vietnam was honored as the event’s longest kite.
The soaring 666-meter creation was handmade by Van and his Ho Chi Minh City kite club. But Van says it’s not even finished yet.
“We’ll expand it to 1,000 meters for the International Kite Festival in Hanoi next year.”
The capital city is set to organize the event as part of celebrations for the 1,000 anniversary of its founding in October next year.
Kite fliers prepare before the big show
An Indonesian kite-flier struggles in low wind
Ludo from the French Kite Association says he’s been to hundreds of international kite festivals
The American team’s giant kite
“The foreign kites here are also very impressive,” said Van. “They’re beautiful and high quality. They’re not only huge, but also light and easily portable.”
At the festival’s opening ceremony at Ho Tram Beach Resort and Spa Friday, kite artists from 17 nations and regions performed with ground-kites, couple-massage-kites, somersault-kites and many others.
Since then, the skies have been filled with kites day and night.
International players, Vietnamese impressions
For foreign kite fliers, the festival in the southern beach city of Vung Tau is one of many international kiting events they take part in each year.
Many foreign kite builders participate in 15 to 20 kite festivals per year.
Malaysia alone hosts three major international kite festivals each year: Pasir Gudang, Kelatan and Sevawak.
Some of the kite fliers that make the rounds on the annual festival circuit also run their own kite building companies, like David Gomberg, who is not only president of American Kite Fliers Association, but also chairman of the World Sport Kite Championship Organization.
His business, Gomberg Kite Production, trades in kites worldwide.
The festival has welcomed several other major global kiting names, such as Peter Lynn from New Zealand, whose Kuwaiti flag kite currently holds the Guinness World Record for largest kite ever built.
Indian representative Ashgar Hussian Belylim is also president of Sun City Kite club, one of the oldest kite clubs in the world.
Vietnamese-Canadian Lam Hoac has become world famous for building kites that can fly indoors and without wind.
Then there is 22-year-old Andreas Fischbacher, Germany’s sole representative.
“This is my first time in Vietnam, but I really love this country ... I’m very impressed by the traditional flute kites from Vietnam and [Vietnamese people’s] skillful techniques. I hope to come back to attend the Hanoi kite festival next year.”
Hussin Haron, Deputy President of the Malaysia Kite Council, said Vung Tau is an ideal place for a kite festival.
“Vietnam has a lot of potential in developing kite festivals in the future,” says Hussin Haron.
The Malaysian delegation’s large tiger-shaped kite was one of the event’s most impressive pieces.
The Vung Tau festival’s organizing board said it hopes to make the show an annual event.
The festival ends on Sunday.
Reported by Kim
Saturday, March 28, 2009
Shanghai airlines starts direct route to Hanoi
Shanghai Airlines launched its first direct flight from Shanghai to Hanoi on March 27 and took the return flight the following morning.
This carrier is offering a promotional campaign from now until the end of April with a 35 percent discount on return tickets, normally priced at US$280.
The Hanoi-Shanghai flights will depart on Monday, Wednesday, and Saturday and the return flights on Tuesday, Friday, and Sunday every week.
VietNamNet/VOV
Friday, March 27, 2009
Vietnam inaugurates world’s longest, highest cable car system - Vietnam inaugurates world’s longest, highest cable car system
The Guinness World Records organization has recognized two world records set by the Ba Na Cable Car System in the central city of Danang – the longest single-string cable car system with the biggest height gap between its departure and arrival stations.
The telpherage, which has a total length of more than 5,042m and a height difference of more than 1,291m between its upper and lower stations, was officially inaugurated on March 25 in the presence of State President Nguyen Minh Triet and many other Vietnamese and foreign senior officials.
The system has 22 pillars and 94 cabs to connect the foot of Mountain Ba Na and the peak of Mountain Vong Nguyet within the Ba Na - Suoi Mo tourism area, and can transport 1,500 passengers per hour.
It takes 15.05 minutes to travel safely between the two stations by the system while it takes up to 55 minutes to reach Vong Nguyet through a rough, long and sinuous road.
The cable car system, worth nearly US$300 billion, was built to European standards with Austrian technology and equipment imported from Germany, Switzerland, and Sweden.
Tourists to Ba Na will be served drinks inside each cab as well as at the two stations, which were built as modern centres for recreation and restaurant services.
On April 30, the Ba Na Cable Car Service Company will put into use another system that connects the two peaks of Vong Nguyet and Ba Na.
These telpherage systems are expected to boost the economy of Danang city, which has great potential for tourism./.
The telpherage, which has a total length of more than 5,042m and a height difference of more than 1,291m between its upper and lower stations, was officially inaugurated on March 25 in the presence of State President Nguyen Minh Triet and many other Vietnamese and foreign senior officials.
The system has 22 pillars and 94 cabs to connect the foot of Mountain Ba Na and the peak of Mountain Vong Nguyet within the Ba Na - Suoi Mo tourism area, and can transport 1,500 passengers per hour.
It takes 15.05 minutes to travel safely between the two stations by the system while it takes up to 55 minutes to reach Vong Nguyet through a rough, long and sinuous road.
The cable car system, worth nearly US$300 billion, was built to European standards with Austrian technology and equipment imported from Germany, Switzerland, and Sweden.
Tourists to Ba Na will be served drinks inside each cab as well as at the two stations, which were built as modern centres for recreation and restaurant services.
On April 30, the Ba Na Cable Car Service Company will put into use another system that connects the two peaks of Vong Nguyet and Ba Na.
These telpherage systems are expected to boost the economy of Danang city, which has great potential for tourism./.
Thursday, March 26, 2009
Singapore visitor numbers plunge-27 March, 2009
SINGAPORE: Singapore has seen its worst monthly drop in tourist arrival numbers in six years. 689,000 tourists visited Singapore last month, a 15.2 per cent fall year-on-year.
The largest decline in the country's visitor arrivals was in July 2003, when it registered a 20.4 per cent fall.
The latest figures from the Singapore Tourism Board also revealed that hotels' room revenue plunged 28.7 percent to S$123 million in February, compared to the same month in 2008.
The average room rate for February also fell 20.6 per cent on-year to about S$205. Average occupancy rates reached 76 per cent last month, down nearly 3.3 percentage
The largest decline in the country's visitor arrivals was in July 2003, when it registered a 20.4 per cent fall.
The latest figures from the Singapore Tourism Board also revealed that hotels' room revenue plunged 28.7 percent to S$123 million in February, compared to the same month in 2008.
The average room rate for February also fell 20.6 per cent on-year to about S$205. Average occupancy rates reached 76 per cent last month, down nearly 3.3 percentage
Vietnam discount drive in trouble-26 March, 2009
HANOI –Vietnam National Administration of Tourism (VNAT)’s strategy to create low-cost tours amid the economic downturn is in danger of disintegrating as hotels refuse to reduce prices.
The VNAT announced the strategy after foreign tourist numbers plunged 12 percent in January to 370,000 and analysts predicted things to get worse.
It announced a national campaign to last until the end of September under which tour package prices are to be cut by 30 to 50 percent to attract foreign tourists to the country.
It sought a commitment from travel agencies and hotels to cut room charges by up to 50 per cent and persuaded Vietnamese airlines to join the campaign.
Seventeen hotels and 14 travel firms in HCM City signed up, promising to offer discounts of 30 to 50 per cent.
But only a handful have so far honoured their commitments, though with much lower discounts than promised.
The hotels said they were still waiting for the Government’s incentives for those involved in the campaign, mainly related to taxes and electricity and water prices.
Dietmar Kielnhofer, general manager of Sheraton Saigon - which is not part of the campaign - told Vietnam News that since all businesses and market segments were affected by their own set of market conditions, rather than participating in an overall rate reduction strategy, the hotels chose to support the initiative by individual case-by-case discussions.
"For this type of protracted economic crisis, there is no one-size-fits-all solution," he said.
Nguyen Duc Quynh, deputy executive director of the Furama Resort Danang, said Furama had not participated in the campaign because its room prices were already reasonable.
"To ensure the hotel’s profit and staff’s income, we have maintained the current rates but sometimes we make some reductions for group tourists," Quynh said.
Some hotels did not want to reduce their prices because it could affect their prestige, while others were afraid that if they cut tariffs now, they would be unable to raise them in the future, he said.
The VNAT announced the strategy after foreign tourist numbers plunged 12 percent in January to 370,000 and analysts predicted things to get worse.
It announced a national campaign to last until the end of September under which tour package prices are to be cut by 30 to 50 percent to attract foreign tourists to the country.
It sought a commitment from travel agencies and hotels to cut room charges by up to 50 per cent and persuaded Vietnamese airlines to join the campaign.
Seventeen hotels and 14 travel firms in HCM City signed up, promising to offer discounts of 30 to 50 per cent.
But only a handful have so far honoured their commitments, though with much lower discounts than promised.
The hotels said they were still waiting for the Government’s incentives for those involved in the campaign, mainly related to taxes and electricity and water prices.
Dietmar Kielnhofer, general manager of Sheraton Saigon - which is not part of the campaign - told Vietnam News that since all businesses and market segments were affected by their own set of market conditions, rather than participating in an overall rate reduction strategy, the hotels chose to support the initiative by individual case-by-case discussions.
"For this type of protracted economic crisis, there is no one-size-fits-all solution," he said.
Nguyen Duc Quynh, deputy executive director of the Furama Resort Danang, said Furama had not participated in the campaign because its room prices were already reasonable.
"To ensure the hotel’s profit and staff’s income, we have maintained the current rates but sometimes we make some reductions for group tourists," Quynh said.
Some hotels did not want to reduce their prices because it could affect their prestige, while others were afraid that if they cut tariffs now, they would be unable to raise them in the future, he said.
Wednesday, March 25, 2009
Nike says to stop shipments from China, Vietnam
Sportswear producer Nike said Wednesday it would stop orders with three footwear factories in China and one in Vietnam as the global downturn forces the company to trim output.
It will also terminate shipments from a number of apparel contract plants, Nike said in a statement emailed to AFP. The locations of the apparel factories were not revealed.
"This is part of a long-term consolidation of our supply chain that we began in mid-2007," Erin Dobson, the company's spokeswoman in Beaverton, Oregon, told AFP.
"We are not immune to the current global economic situation and because of this we have accelerated our process."
Nike has given the factories between six and twelve months to find new customers to fill their capacity, she said, adding the company would keep "reviewing (its) supply chain for efficiencies."
The sportswear giant has 640 factories on a contract basis across the world, with 72 focusing on footwear. The factories hire approximately 800,000 workers.
China is Nike's largest sourcing country for footwear, apparel and equipment, with Vietnam, Indonesia, Thailand and South Korea an integral part of its global supply chain network, according to the statement.
It has also announced that it could cut up to 1,400 jobs, or four percent of its 35,000 workforce, due to the global economic crisis.
It will also terminate shipments from a number of apparel contract plants, Nike said in a statement emailed to AFP. The locations of the apparel factories were not revealed.
"This is part of a long-term consolidation of our supply chain that we began in mid-2007," Erin Dobson, the company's spokeswoman in Beaverton, Oregon, told AFP.
"We are not immune to the current global economic situation and because of this we have accelerated our process."
Nike has given the factories between six and twelve months to find new customers to fill their capacity, she said, adding the company would keep "reviewing (its) supply chain for efficiencies."
The sportswear giant has 640 factories on a contract basis across the world, with 72 focusing on footwear. The factories hire approximately 800,000 workers.
China is Nike's largest sourcing country for footwear, apparel and equipment, with Vietnam, Indonesia, Thailand and South Korea an integral part of its global supply chain network, according to the statement.
It has also announced that it could cut up to 1,400 jobs, or four percent of its 35,000 workforce, due to the global economic crisis.
Ngoc Diem and Hoang Yen nominated for Miss Universe
Vo Hoang Yen and Phan Thi Ngoc Diem.
Vietnam’s representative at Miss Universe 2009 pageant will be one of two nominees: The first runner-up of Miss Universe Vietnam 2008 Vo Hoang Yen or Miss Tourism 2008 Phan Thi Ngoc Diem.
After Elite Vietnam announced it would not renew the right to choose the Vietnamese candidate for this pageant, the Vietnam Universe Company assumed the right. The firm asked the PL Modeling Company to introduce some nominees for the pageant.
The Director of PL Modeling, Tran Thanh Long, said: “We recommended Vo Hoang Yen and Phan Thi Ngoc Diem. Hoang Yen has the nice body of a model. She was also the first runner-up of the Miss Universe Vietnam 2008. Ngoc Diem is Miss Tourism 2008, a university student with good knowledge.”
The Vice Director in charge of marketing of the Vietnam Universe Company, Le Diem Ly, said that firm will choose one candidate for the Performance Art Agency to consider and approve. It will send the file of this contestant to the organising board of Miss Universe 2009 in May.
Ly said the Miss Universe organising board requires that contestants be in the top three of national beauty contests. Vietnam has to select a beauty queen of last year because this year Vietnam will not organise any beauty contest for young girls.
Hoang Yen and Ngoc Diem were surprised by the selection.
“I’m very happy and proud to be trusted. With my experience at the Miss Tourism International 2008, if I’m chosen, I’ll try my best,” Ngoc Diem said.
“I’m really surprised and very happy. Of course, I will be ready for the contest,” said Hoang Yen.
Ngoc Diem, a last-year student at the HCM City Foreign Trade University, was crowned Miss Vietnam Tourism last August. She represented Vietnam at the Miss Tourism International 2008 in Malaysia in December 2008.
Hoang Yen was the first runner-up of the Miss Universe Vietnam and a supermodel.
Miss Universe 2009 will take place in the Bahamas this August.
VietNamNet/VNE
More Australian tourists expected to visit Vietnam
Vietnam has the potential to become an extremely attractive tourist destination for Australians as many of the country’s tourist agencies are promoting low-cost tours.
Australian tourism agencies are currently offering overseas package tours for les than AUD 1,000 (nearly VND 12 million).
A promotion campaign is targeting at Australian households that have received between AUD 900-3000 in subsidies from their government’s economic stimulus package.
Australian students are eager to use this “government gift” to travel and consider it a welcome surprise from Prime Minister Kevin Rudd’s administration.
Vietnam is a popular tourist destination for many students because of lower costs invaded. However, Vietnam currently faces fierce competition from other low cost competitors such as Indonesia and Fiji.
Australian tourism agencies are currently offering overseas package tours for les than AUD 1,000 (nearly VND 12 million).
A promotion campaign is targeting at Australian households that have received between AUD 900-3000 in subsidies from their government’s economic stimulus package.
Australian students are eager to use this “government gift” to travel and consider it a welcome surprise from Prime Minister Kevin Rudd’s administration.
Vietnam is a popular tourist destination for many students because of lower costs invaded. However, Vietnam currently faces fierce competition from other low cost competitors such as Indonesia and Fiji.
Tuesday, March 24, 2009
China Pulls the Plug on YouTube...Again - - Digital Trends
China claims it is "not afraid of the Internet," but the country's regime has pulled the plug on video sharing site YouTube yet again.
Last month, the Chinese government blocked access to video-sharing Web site YouTube because the site played hosts to videos of protests in Tibet, including riots in the Tibetan capital of Llasa. Now, China has blocked access to YouTube yet again, apparently because the site contains videos of Chinese soldiers beating Tibetans, includign monks. Videos from Reuters and other sources show footage of Chinese soldiers and paramilitary groups arresting and beating Tibetan protesters, although much of the footage lacks dates and locations.
A Chinese government spokesperson refused to confirm to the BBC whether YouTube had been blocked, but independent sources indicate YouTube is again inaccessible in mainland China.
China invaded Tibet in 1950, and contends it has dealt "lawfully" with repeated Tibetan protests of Chinese rule.
Last month, the Chinese government blocked access to video-sharing Web site YouTube because the site played hosts to videos of protests in Tibet, including riots in the Tibetan capital of Llasa. Now, China has blocked access to YouTube yet again, apparently because the site contains videos of Chinese soldiers beating Tibetans, includign monks. Videos from Reuters and other sources show footage of Chinese soldiers and paramilitary groups arresting and beating Tibetan protesters, although much of the footage lacks dates and locations.
A Chinese government spokesperson refused to confirm to the BBC whether YouTube had been blocked, but independent sources indicate YouTube is again inaccessible in mainland China.
China invaded Tibet in 1950, and contends it has dealt "lawfully" with repeated Tibetan protests of Chinese rule.
Monday, March 23, 2009
VietNamNet - Vietnamese photo books second to all
Photo books are a vehicle for introducing Vietnam to the world. But according to book sellers in HCM City, if there are photo books by both Vietnamese and foreign authors on the shelf, foreign visitors will choose the foreign books.
On the shelves for photo books about Vietnam, “Bikes of Burden” by photographer Hans Kemp, published by the Visionary World Ltd. Publication, Hong Kong is always displayed in the best position. Simply, it is the best-seller of its kind. We just need to look at the publishing history of the book to know its attractiveness: printed for the first time in 2003, reprinted twice in 2004, twice in 2005, three times in 2006 and twice in 2007.
This book is considered a meaningful cultural gift for foreign visitors before they leave Vietnam. Yet, some bookstores in HCM City say that they are not allowed to directly import this book.
They have to buy this book from companies in the north. It is the same country, but northern provinces permit the import of that photo book, while southern provinces don’t. Southern management agencies reason that this book of photos of motorbikes carrying big loads of goods ‘vilifies’ Vietnam. Actually, these photos are among foreigners’ interesting experiences in Vietnam.
Hans Kemp, the author of that book, is an independent photographer from the Netherlands. He has travelled to many countries to take photos and write books. He has published three photo books about Vietnam, “Bikes of Burden” being the most successful.
Two other favourite photo books about Vietnam were also written by foreign authors: Vietnam: Land of blue dragon by Martine Aepli, published by the French Copydesk Ocean Insurance Bldg Publishing House; and Vietnam Style by Luca Invernizzi and co-workers.
Vietnam: Land of blue dragon introduces Vietnam, its history, culture and religion with photos and captions, which are Vietnamese verses, folk songs and proverbs. This book has been re-printed once.
Because of problems associated with copyrights, the author had to delete some verses, so the book has lost some of its attractiveness.
Vietnam Style is about Vietnamese architecture from traditional to modern, with new and interesting discoveries.
Why don’t photo books about Vietnam by Vietnamese authors capture foreign visitors’ eyes?
Vietnamese authors often don’t pay proper attention to methodology, to discover the depth of life, and the printing quality of products is often very poor. Photographer Hoang The Nhiem recently printed his book in Singapore to distribute in France.
VietNamNet/TN
On the shelves for photo books about Vietnam, “Bikes of Burden” by photographer Hans Kemp, published by the Visionary World Ltd. Publication, Hong Kong is always displayed in the best position. Simply, it is the best-seller of its kind. We just need to look at the publishing history of the book to know its attractiveness: printed for the first time in 2003, reprinted twice in 2004, twice in 2005, three times in 2006 and twice in 2007.
This book is considered a meaningful cultural gift for foreign visitors before they leave Vietnam. Yet, some bookstores in HCM City say that they are not allowed to directly import this book.
They have to buy this book from companies in the north. It is the same country, but northern provinces permit the import of that photo book, while southern provinces don’t. Southern management agencies reason that this book of photos of motorbikes carrying big loads of goods ‘vilifies’ Vietnam. Actually, these photos are among foreigners’ interesting experiences in Vietnam.
Hans Kemp, the author of that book, is an independent photographer from the Netherlands. He has travelled to many countries to take photos and write books. He has published three photo books about Vietnam, “Bikes of Burden” being the most successful.
Two other favourite photo books about Vietnam were also written by foreign authors: Vietnam: Land of blue dragon by Martine Aepli, published by the French Copydesk Ocean Insurance Bldg Publishing House; and Vietnam Style by Luca Invernizzi and co-workers.
Vietnam: Land of blue dragon introduces Vietnam, its history, culture and religion with photos and captions, which are Vietnamese verses, folk songs and proverbs. This book has been re-printed once.
Because of problems associated with copyrights, the author had to delete some verses, so the book has lost some of its attractiveness.
Vietnam Style is about Vietnamese architecture from traditional to modern, with new and interesting discoveries.
Why don’t photo books about Vietnam by Vietnamese authors capture foreign visitors’ eyes?
Vietnamese authors often don’t pay proper attention to methodology, to discover the depth of life, and the printing quality of products is often very poor. Photographer Hoang The Nhiem recently printed his book in Singapore to distribute in France.
VietNamNet/TN
HCM City’s tourism festival 2009
Ho Chi Minh City’s 5th tourism festival 2009 will be held at Dam Sen Cultural Park from April 3-5 by the municipal Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism and the Vietnam Tourism Association.
Local departments of culture, sports and tourism and travel agencies nationwide have been invited to take part in the event.
The festival will feature various activities, including the tourism summer fair attracting 120 stalls from travel agencies, domestic and foreign airlines, food festivals, art performances and photo exhibitions.
Local departments of culture, sports and tourism and travel agencies nationwide have been invited to take part in the event.
The festival will feature various activities, including the tourism summer fair attracting 120 stalls from travel agencies, domestic and foreign airlines, food festivals, art performances and photo exhibitions.
Thursday, March 19, 2009
United Airlines introduces low fares to US, Hong Kong
United Airlines, the only American carrier to operate a daily direct flight between Ho Chi Minh City and the US via Hong Kong, is offering promotional fares for flights between March 15 and June 14 this year.
The return fares to fly from HCM City to San Francisco, Los Angeles, Seattle, and Portland start at US$725. Meanwhile, US$825 is the lowest return fare for flights from HCM City to Denver, Las Vegas, Salt Lake City, and Tucson.
As for farther destinations such as Chicago, New York, Washington D.C, Boston, Greensboro, Miami, Dallas, Minneapolis, and Philadelphia, the return fares start at US$925.
To fly to Ashville, Fayetteville, Salisbury and some other further cities that United Airlines call Zone 5, US$1,005 is the lowest return fare.
At present, the carrier is also offering a promotion fare of US$188 for a HCM City-Hong Kong return trip, not including US$50 for taxes and fees.
The Ho Chi Minh City-Hong Kong route is currently served by Vietnam Airlines, Hong Kong’s Cathay Pacific, and United Airlines. In addition, Cathay Pacific’s subsidiary Dragonair flies daily from Hanoi to the US via Hong Kong.
VietNamNet/SGGP
The return fares to fly from HCM City to San Francisco, Los Angeles, Seattle, and Portland start at US$725. Meanwhile, US$825 is the lowest return fare for flights from HCM City to Denver, Las Vegas, Salt Lake City, and Tucson.
As for farther destinations such as Chicago, New York, Washington D.C, Boston, Greensboro, Miami, Dallas, Minneapolis, and Philadelphia, the return fares start at US$925.
To fly to Ashville, Fayetteville, Salisbury and some other further cities that United Airlines call Zone 5, US$1,005 is the lowest return fare.
At present, the carrier is also offering a promotion fare of US$188 for a HCM City-Hong Kong return trip, not including US$50 for taxes and fees.
The Ho Chi Minh City-Hong Kong route is currently served by Vietnam Airlines, Hong Kong’s Cathay Pacific, and United Airlines. In addition, Cathay Pacific’s subsidiary Dragonair flies daily from Hanoi to the US via Hong Kong.
VietNamNet/SGGP
Wednesday, March 18, 2009
Fork in the Road: Ana Mandara resort in Vietnam serves up street food dinners - Inside Bay Area
IN FRONT OF me, the row of shy, peach silk-clad women are vigorously sauteing, stirring, flipping, ladling and assembling small, tantalizing looking plates of food.
Bowls of fragrant beef broth redolent of star anise and coriander pass under my nose, while sizzling wild tiger shrimp the size of my pinkie are folded into yellow, scallion-studded crepes that look like crisp scraps of lace.
Each dish is a small work of art, the specific specialty of its preparer. The women are not professionally trained chefs, but rather housewives and entrepreneurs, of a sort. They are street food vendors who eke out a living by dishing up classic Vietnamese dishes such as pho, banh cuon, and banh xeo on the bustling sidewalks of Nha Trang, in south central Vietnam. Except that we are not on the street: We are at Ana Mandara, a stunningly beautiful luxury resort located right on the sands of Nha Trang Bay.
Ana Mandara is part of Six Senses, an incredibly progressive family of high end eco-resorts (13 of which are located in Southeast Asia and the Maldives) founded by Eva and Sonu Shivdasani. This privately owned company has a core philosophy of green building design and operations, and emphasizes the hiring of local people in order to support the economy, as well as donating revenue proceeds for community social projects, including education and health care for children.
Ana Mandara has offered its bi-weekly Street
Market Dinner since 2003. To be honest, I was somewhat dubious about the concept, as I like to think of myself as a bit more of a traditionalist (OK, dirtbag backpacker), but when I heard that the dinners were actually prepared by some of the region's top vendors as a way to introduce diners to a beloved Vietnamese culinary tradition, as well as provide economic stability to local families, I was intrigued.
In this part of Vietnam, monsoon rains and flooding mean that the women often have to take days off work. With the implementation of the Street Market Dinner program, the women — most of whom have been there since its inception — are assured steady income at least two days a week, and the results have been stunning: medical care and continuing education for their children, and an overall higher quality of life. Until it was pointed out to me, I had never stopped to consider the devastating impact the wet season could have on a family trying to survive on street food revenue.
From a guest standpoint, Ana Mandara's mission is to introduce guests to Vietnam's "traditional, home-style food" that they may not otherwise try on their own. The produce is purchased from local farms and is organic whenever it is available; and the seafood comes from local family fishermen. Even some of the rice paper used in dishes is produced by the families of the street market women.
Utilizing classic Vietnamese cooking methods such as charcoal-fueled grilling, roasting, steaming and pan-frying (all of which employ the use of charcoal), the women prepare the food to order in front of guests, providing the most authentic and interactive experience possible.
Vietnamese food is, by nature, a very hands-on experience, and eating is intrinsically linked to the way of life. Jeevan Thomas, executive chef at Ana Mandara, explained it to me thus: "Vietnamese cuisine is about the spirit of the food. It is very cool on the palate, not spicy from heat, despite the use of chili. It's not about sophisticated texture. It's about sharing, family-style, about interactive eating such as wrapping ingredients in rice sheets or lettuce leaves, using dipping sauces, about medicinal quality, about freshness. But it's quite complex, as well, due to the balance of the key flavor profiles: Salt, sweet, heat. But the diner, not the cook, controls the seasoning and complexity of a dish."
Before my stay at Ana Mandara, I had a couple of days on my own in Nha Trang, in which I went out and searched out street food for myself. I thoroughly enjoyed the experience, but realized that at Ana Mandara, I would be able to experience food prepared by women known for making particularly excellent renditions, and I would also be able to decode some of the mystery ingredients I was unable to otherwise identify.
It wasn't the full-on street assault I normally crave, but it was a convenient and less frenetic way to indulge. Rather than inhaling clouds of exhaust and eating while squatting on rickety plastic stool on the sidewalk, I was able to relax, enjoy the beachfront setting and sunset, sip French wine, enjoy traditional music and dance as entertainment, and truly contemplate what I was eating and how it was prepared.
None of the women spoke English, although I was still able to ask questions about each dish via a game of pantomime and by employing the few Vietnamese words I knew for specific ingredients. I had betel leaf rolled around strips of beef; their mild taste reminiscent of grape leaves is the perfect foil for the smoky meat. There was duck soup, seafood soup with quail eggs, lemon grass, and lime, bun bo Hue — beef soup with irresistibly thick, chewy rice noodles — and delicate puddings made of coconut or mung bean starch.
Not every dish is amazing, but many are, and all are fascinating in their preparation. It's a gentle introduction to the art of street food cookery, where even die-hard street eaters can get a closer look into the heart of Vietnam.
Bowls of fragrant beef broth redolent of star anise and coriander pass under my nose, while sizzling wild tiger shrimp the size of my pinkie are folded into yellow, scallion-studded crepes that look like crisp scraps of lace.
Each dish is a small work of art, the specific specialty of its preparer. The women are not professionally trained chefs, but rather housewives and entrepreneurs, of a sort. They are street food vendors who eke out a living by dishing up classic Vietnamese dishes such as pho, banh cuon, and banh xeo on the bustling sidewalks of Nha Trang, in south central Vietnam. Except that we are not on the street: We are at Ana Mandara, a stunningly beautiful luxury resort located right on the sands of Nha Trang Bay.
Ana Mandara is part of Six Senses, an incredibly progressive family of high end eco-resorts (13 of which are located in Southeast Asia and the Maldives) founded by Eva and Sonu Shivdasani. This privately owned company has a core philosophy of green building design and operations, and emphasizes the hiring of local people in order to support the economy, as well as donating revenue proceeds for community social projects, including education and health care for children.
Ana Mandara has offered its bi-weekly Street
Market Dinner since 2003. To be honest, I was somewhat dubious about the concept, as I like to think of myself as a bit more of a traditionalist (OK, dirtbag backpacker), but when I heard that the dinners were actually prepared by some of the region's top vendors as a way to introduce diners to a beloved Vietnamese culinary tradition, as well as provide economic stability to local families, I was intrigued.
In this part of Vietnam, monsoon rains and flooding mean that the women often have to take days off work. With the implementation of the Street Market Dinner program, the women — most of whom have been there since its inception — are assured steady income at least two days a week, and the results have been stunning: medical care and continuing education for their children, and an overall higher quality of life. Until it was pointed out to me, I had never stopped to consider the devastating impact the wet season could have on a family trying to survive on street food revenue.
From a guest standpoint, Ana Mandara's mission is to introduce guests to Vietnam's "traditional, home-style food" that they may not otherwise try on their own. The produce is purchased from local farms and is organic whenever it is available; and the seafood comes from local family fishermen. Even some of the rice paper used in dishes is produced by the families of the street market women.
Utilizing classic Vietnamese cooking methods such as charcoal-fueled grilling, roasting, steaming and pan-frying (all of which employ the use of charcoal), the women prepare the food to order in front of guests, providing the most authentic and interactive experience possible.
Vietnamese food is, by nature, a very hands-on experience, and eating is intrinsically linked to the way of life. Jeevan Thomas, executive chef at Ana Mandara, explained it to me thus: "Vietnamese cuisine is about the spirit of the food. It is very cool on the palate, not spicy from heat, despite the use of chili. It's not about sophisticated texture. It's about sharing, family-style, about interactive eating such as wrapping ingredients in rice sheets or lettuce leaves, using dipping sauces, about medicinal quality, about freshness. But it's quite complex, as well, due to the balance of the key flavor profiles: Salt, sweet, heat. But the diner, not the cook, controls the seasoning and complexity of a dish."
Before my stay at Ana Mandara, I had a couple of days on my own in Nha Trang, in which I went out and searched out street food for myself. I thoroughly enjoyed the experience, but realized that at Ana Mandara, I would be able to experience food prepared by women known for making particularly excellent renditions, and I would also be able to decode some of the mystery ingredients I was unable to otherwise identify.
It wasn't the full-on street assault I normally crave, but it was a convenient and less frenetic way to indulge. Rather than inhaling clouds of exhaust and eating while squatting on rickety plastic stool on the sidewalk, I was able to relax, enjoy the beachfront setting and sunset, sip French wine, enjoy traditional music and dance as entertainment, and truly contemplate what I was eating and how it was prepared.
None of the women spoke English, although I was still able to ask questions about each dish via a game of pantomime and by employing the few Vietnamese words I knew for specific ingredients. I had betel leaf rolled around strips of beef; their mild taste reminiscent of grape leaves is the perfect foil for the smoky meat. There was duck soup, seafood soup with quail eggs, lemon grass, and lime, bun bo Hue — beef soup with irresistibly thick, chewy rice noodles — and delicate puddings made of coconut or mung bean starch.
Not every dish is amazing, but many are, and all are fascinating in their preparation. It's a gentle introduction to the art of street food cookery, where even die-hard street eaters can get a closer look into the heart of Vietnam.
Ford to assemble Mondeo in Vietnam
Hanoi, Mar 17, 2009 (Asia Pulse Data Source via COMTEX) -- Ford Vietnam has invested 10 million USD in a new production line to assemble its Mondeo model in Vietnam .
The plant, using a robotic system that uses plasma welding technology, will be able to produce 32 cars per day, or 700 cars a month.
When compared with Mercedes Benz or Toyota models, the Mondeo has the potential to become extremely competitive. Thats why Ford decided to invested in this new assembly line in Vietnam , said the companys General Director Michael Pease.
According to him, the Mondeo is very popular with consumers and local car dealers as it can compete price wise with other more expensive models on the market, especially during the current economic slowdown.
He stated a year ago that if this car could prove to be competitive in Vietnam , his company would assemble it in the country instead of importing from overseas.
The plant, using a robotic system that uses plasma welding technology, will be able to produce 32 cars per day, or 700 cars a month.
When compared with Mercedes Benz or Toyota models, the Mondeo has the potential to become extremely competitive. Thats why Ford decided to invested in this new assembly line in Vietnam , said the companys General Director Michael Pease.
According to him, the Mondeo is very popular with consumers and local car dealers as it can compete price wise with other more expensive models on the market, especially during the current economic slowdown.
He stated a year ago that if this car could prove to be competitive in Vietnam , his company would assemble it in the country instead of importing from overseas.
Tuesday, March 17, 2009
A change in international relations can make for good business
A change in international relations can make for good business
Hundreds of Chinese tourists arrived in Taiwan on Monday on the first luxury cruise ship to sail directly to the island from China, boosting prospects for expanded economic and tourism ties between the rivals.
The Ocean Mystery arrived at Keelung port following a two-day cruise from Shanghai, with well-wishers setting off firecrackers and performing traditional dragon dances. The 1,600 passengers are the first of several large-scale tour groups Chinese officials have promised to send to Taiwan by ship or air.
After disembarking, many of the passengers were bused to an upscale shopping mall in nearby Taipei, where they inspected luxury goods at a local department store. Zhang Yonghong and Hsu Hongying, two female shoppers from Shandong province, told reporters they planned to spend up to USD 1,460 at the store.
Since taking office last year, Taiwanese President Ma Ying-jeou has eased long-strained relations with China by promoting closer economic ties. Last December, the two sides lifted a ban on direct transportation links imposed when they split amid civil war in 1949.
Taiwanese officials hope a significant increase in the number of Chinese tourists could help shore up the island's economy. It contracted 8.36 per cent in the final quarter last year amid the global economic downturn.
Hundreds of Chinese tourists arrived in Taiwan on Monday on the first luxury cruise ship to sail directly to the island from China, boosting prospects for expanded economic and tourism ties between the rivals.
The Ocean Mystery arrived at Keelung port following a two-day cruise from Shanghai, with well-wishers setting off firecrackers and performing traditional dragon dances. The 1,600 passengers are the first of several large-scale tour groups Chinese officials have promised to send to Taiwan by ship or air.
After disembarking, many of the passengers were bused to an upscale shopping mall in nearby Taipei, where they inspected luxury goods at a local department store. Zhang Yonghong and Hsu Hongying, two female shoppers from Shandong province, told reporters they planned to spend up to USD 1,460 at the store.
Since taking office last year, Taiwanese President Ma Ying-jeou has eased long-strained relations with China by promoting closer economic ties. Last December, the two sides lifted a ban on direct transportation links imposed when they split amid civil war in 1949.
Taiwanese officials hope a significant increase in the number of Chinese tourists could help shore up the island's economy. It contracted 8.36 per cent in the final quarter last year amid the global economic downturn.
Monday, March 16, 2009
Hundreds strip for free flights
Hundreds strip for free flights
LONDON - About 400 people have stripped off in London in order to win free flights in a stunt organised by Irish carrier Aer Lingus.
The airline had promised two free flights to people willing to strip off at Jubilee Gardens, in the shadow of the London Eye. The participants were given `shamrocks' to protect their modesty.
The airline had hoped to attract 1000 people for the strip-off, but Metropolitan Police told The Daily Telegraph that less than half that number had turned out, despite the unseasonably warm weather.
A spokesman for the airline said some participants had stripped off completely, despite warnings from the police that they would be fined for doing so.
The airline's stunt was to promote new routes from Gatwick Airport to Europe, tying in with it's "no hidden extras" tagline.
LONDON - About 400 people have stripped off in London in order to win free flights in a stunt organised by Irish carrier Aer Lingus.
The airline had promised two free flights to people willing to strip off at Jubilee Gardens, in the shadow of the London Eye. The participants were given `shamrocks' to protect their modesty.
The airline had hoped to attract 1000 people for the strip-off, but Metropolitan Police told The Daily Telegraph that less than half that number had turned out, despite the unseasonably warm weather.
A spokesman for the airline said some participants had stripped off completely, despite warnings from the police that they would be fined for doing so.
The airline's stunt was to promote new routes from Gatwick Airport to Europe, tying in with it's "no hidden extras" tagline.
'Heritage hotels' give tourists a feel for old India :
Delhi - The bus successfully negotiated the serpentine descent from the Himalayas. Snow-capped mountains were still visible to the left. To the right, the road veered down into the Indo-Gangetic plain. There, somewhere, was the location of the next "heritage hotel," an old fort or mansion now serving as tourist lodgings. The British tourists were eager to find out where they would be spending the coming night.
"Every house, every room is different. You get acquainted with a totally different India," remarked Sue Chandler, a traveller from London.
The latest stop on the itinerary was Pragpur, in the Indian state of Himachal Pradesh. As the bus rolled through the narrow streets of the village, the passengers wondered where on earth they were supposed to stay. Their feeling of nervous anticipation is typical during the final kilometres on the way to a heritage hotel. Then they let out an "aahh" of relief.
In front of them was the Judge's Court, a white-porticoed country manor that was the home of a judge in colonial-era India. A descendant of the judge, Vijay Lal, decided to convert the manor into a hotel.
"At first it felt rather peculiar to see strangers at tables where my forebears once sat. But it became more and more of a pleasure to have guests here," Lal said.
By no means charitable institutions, heritage hotels are basically a business model enabling heirs of opulent patrician houses to keep them in the family's possession.
R.D. Singh, who operates the heritage hotel Nana ki Haveli in Jaipur, capital of the Indian state of Rajasthan, said, "The house was much too large for me and needed to be renovated. Hospitality has always been important for us Rajputs, and my wife had the idea to make an occupation of it."
Devendra Singh has a similar story. In 1992, he converted his villa in the Shekhawati region of north-eastern Rajasthan into the heritage hotel Roop Niwas Kothi.
Tourists who go to Delhi or Jaipur, the Taj Mahal or the banks of the Ganges now have a choice of staying in standard hotels or heritage hotels.
The latter is not a registered trademark, however, and can refer to a wide range of prices and comfort levels, including architectural pearls packed with charm and tradition for just 50 euros (64 dollars) a night, expensive palaces, old-style new buildings and houses that are simply old.
Travellers to India who are considering "heritage-hopping" should decide carefully on their accommodation beforehand. Many people rely on reports from friends and acquaintances, stick with established heritage-hotel chains like Neemrana Hotels or book package deals.
In the view of Anita Gurnani, an Indian travel agent, heritage hotels should be unique and not homogeneous. "Character is more important than comfort," she said.
Character was the main criterion for Giri Singh, who found it between Jaipur and Agra. She bought the Chandra Mahal Haveli, a Mogul-style home in Peharsar village. The house once belonged to a large landowner, but had fallen into disrepair. Singh renovated it and made it a heritage hotel. Her guests are not limited to foreign tourists.
"We have installed air conditioning and heating in the rooms, and now people from Delhi who simply want to get out of the city for a while come in both summer and winter," she said.
Internet: www.chandramahalhaveli.com; www.neemranahotels.com; www.judgescourt.com; www.nanakihaveli.com; www.roopniwaskothi.com
"Every house, every room is different. You get acquainted with a totally different India," remarked Sue Chandler, a traveller from London.
The latest stop on the itinerary was Pragpur, in the Indian state of Himachal Pradesh. As the bus rolled through the narrow streets of the village, the passengers wondered where on earth they were supposed to stay. Their feeling of nervous anticipation is typical during the final kilometres on the way to a heritage hotel. Then they let out an "aahh" of relief.
In front of them was the Judge's Court, a white-porticoed country manor that was the home of a judge in colonial-era India. A descendant of the judge, Vijay Lal, decided to convert the manor into a hotel.
"At first it felt rather peculiar to see strangers at tables where my forebears once sat. But it became more and more of a pleasure to have guests here," Lal said.
By no means charitable institutions, heritage hotels are basically a business model enabling heirs of opulent patrician houses to keep them in the family's possession.
R.D. Singh, who operates the heritage hotel Nana ki Haveli in Jaipur, capital of the Indian state of Rajasthan, said, "The house was much too large for me and needed to be renovated. Hospitality has always been important for us Rajputs, and my wife had the idea to make an occupation of it."
Devendra Singh has a similar story. In 1992, he converted his villa in the Shekhawati region of north-eastern Rajasthan into the heritage hotel Roop Niwas Kothi.
Tourists who go to Delhi or Jaipur, the Taj Mahal or the banks of the Ganges now have a choice of staying in standard hotels or heritage hotels.
The latter is not a registered trademark, however, and can refer to a wide range of prices and comfort levels, including architectural pearls packed with charm and tradition for just 50 euros (64 dollars) a night, expensive palaces, old-style new buildings and houses that are simply old.
Travellers to India who are considering "heritage-hopping" should decide carefully on their accommodation beforehand. Many people rely on reports from friends and acquaintances, stick with established heritage-hotel chains like Neemrana Hotels or book package deals.
In the view of Anita Gurnani, an Indian travel agent, heritage hotels should be unique and not homogeneous. "Character is more important than comfort," she said.
Character was the main criterion for Giri Singh, who found it between Jaipur and Agra. She bought the Chandra Mahal Haveli, a Mogul-style home in Peharsar village. The house once belonged to a large landowner, but had fallen into disrepair. Singh renovated it and made it a heritage hotel. Her guests are not limited to foreign tourists.
"We have installed air conditioning and heating in the rooms, and now people from Delhi who simply want to get out of the city for a while come in both summer and winter," she said.
Internet: www.chandramahalhaveli.com; www.neemranahotels.com; www.judgescourt.com; www.nanakihaveli.com; www.roopniwaskothi.com
Travellers turn to cheap adventures amid downturn
March 16, 2009
Cheaper airfares are compelling increasing numbers of people to book African safaris, Vietnamese bike tours, and Moroccan desert trips as a way to escape news of the depressed - and depressing - world economy.
Adventure travel companies have witnessed an unusual bump in demand in the midst of the global crisis that in recent months has devastated stock markets, slashed jobs and gouged savings.
Many travellers are booking trips at the last minute that are typically planned months ahead of time.
"Beyond belief, we had a record month in January," said Tim Greening, director of KEI Adventure Travel, a British-based trekking, climbing and mountain biking specialist. "It's not all doom and gloom out there," he said.
Canada's GAP Adventures, whose most popular trips are to Peru, China, Egypt, Costa Rica, and Vietnam, benefited from a 40 per cent increase in business in the first two months of 2009.
"Our numbers are up," GAP chief executive Bruce Poon Tip said by e-mail from Australia. "The mid-range and lower-end product is very strong. We are seeing that the younger professional market is still travelling."
Several operators said airline seat sales have spurred quick holiday decisions on the part of professionals whose employment is not at direct risk from the recent economic fallout.
"People who still have jobs have a lot to take advantage of at the moment, with cheaper gas and cheaper mortgages as a result of the recent interest rate cuts," said Jeff Willner, the head of Kensington Tours, which also recorded higher bookings in January and February.
"For those still in the workforce who view their portfolio as a long-term investment, these are actually quite good times."
KEI's Greening described demand for trips to Southeast Asia including Borneo and Laos as "fantastic, brilliant at the moment," and said Africa remains a major draw, though interest in European trips such as Mont Blanc trekking slowed somewhat.
"Everybody wants somewhere exotic that doesn't cost too much," he said.
Others said escapism was the major driver of the unexpected rise in adventure tours amid a broad slowdown for the travel industry, which the World Tourism Organization has projected will experience a 0 to 2 per cent decline in business this year.
Will Weber, director and owner of Journeys International, based in Michigan, said that while many households are likely to cut back on resort trips to save money, out-of-the-ordinary trips will keep attracting people with a passion for travel.
"We are fortunate in that many of our clients are retired or professionals whose jobs are not threatened," he said. "We are using this time to check with our best customers and let them know that we are ready when they are ready."
GAP Adventures is also banking on the positive bent of their clients, who are mainly in the 25-to-45 age bracket.
"These are people who are less affected by the present economic climate. They are educated and professional people who, up to until this point, are still confident that they will be employed in the future," Poon Tip said.
Montana-based Austin Lehman Adventures is also counting on off-the-beaten-track trips retaining allure in tough times ahead. "Our customer base is still going to travel," said company director Dan Austin. "People will need to get away."
Cheaper airfares are compelling increasing numbers of people to book African safaris, Vietnamese bike tours, and Moroccan desert trips as a way to escape news of the depressed - and depressing - world economy.
Adventure travel companies have witnessed an unusual bump in demand in the midst of the global crisis that in recent months has devastated stock markets, slashed jobs and gouged savings.
Many travellers are booking trips at the last minute that are typically planned months ahead of time.
"Beyond belief, we had a record month in January," said Tim Greening, director of KEI Adventure Travel, a British-based trekking, climbing and mountain biking specialist. "It's not all doom and gloom out there," he said.
Canada's GAP Adventures, whose most popular trips are to Peru, China, Egypt, Costa Rica, and Vietnam, benefited from a 40 per cent increase in business in the first two months of 2009.
"Our numbers are up," GAP chief executive Bruce Poon Tip said by e-mail from Australia. "The mid-range and lower-end product is very strong. We are seeing that the younger professional market is still travelling."
Several operators said airline seat sales have spurred quick holiday decisions on the part of professionals whose employment is not at direct risk from the recent economic fallout.
"People who still have jobs have a lot to take advantage of at the moment, with cheaper gas and cheaper mortgages as a result of the recent interest rate cuts," said Jeff Willner, the head of Kensington Tours, which also recorded higher bookings in January and February.
"For those still in the workforce who view their portfolio as a long-term investment, these are actually quite good times."
KEI's Greening described demand for trips to Southeast Asia including Borneo and Laos as "fantastic, brilliant at the moment," and said Africa remains a major draw, though interest in European trips such as Mont Blanc trekking slowed somewhat.
"Everybody wants somewhere exotic that doesn't cost too much," he said.
Others said escapism was the major driver of the unexpected rise in adventure tours amid a broad slowdown for the travel industry, which the World Tourism Organization has projected will experience a 0 to 2 per cent decline in business this year.
Will Weber, director and owner of Journeys International, based in Michigan, said that while many households are likely to cut back on resort trips to save money, out-of-the-ordinary trips will keep attracting people with a passion for travel.
"We are fortunate in that many of our clients are retired or professionals whose jobs are not threatened," he said. "We are using this time to check with our best customers and let them know that we are ready when they are ready."
GAP Adventures is also banking on the positive bent of their clients, who are mainly in the 25-to-45 age bracket.
"These are people who are less affected by the present economic climate. They are educated and professional people who, up to until this point, are still confident that they will be employed in the future," Poon Tip said.
Montana-based Austin Lehman Adventures is also counting on off-the-beaten-track trips retaining allure in tough times ahead. "Our customer base is still going to travel," said company director Dan Austin. "People will need to get away."
Sunday, March 15, 2009
- 55 travel agencies explore central Vietnam
A fam trip comprising representatives of 22 major tourist agencies from Hong Kong, China, surveyed tourist spots in Danang city, Hue city and Quang Nam province in central Vietnam on March 12-13.
The survey trip, held by Vietnam Airlines and the Hoi An Tourist Company, is part of a promotion programme to establish a direct air route that links Hong Kong, Danang and Siem Reap.
On March 13, another fam trip representing 33 domestic and foreign tourist and service companies visited Danang city, starting a survey programme entitled “Impression about central Vietnam tourism” held by Vietnamtourist.
The programme, which lasts four days and three nights, includes visits to such places as Ngu Hanh Son (Marble) moutains, the Champa culture museum and Son Tra peninsula in Danang city, ancient Hoi An city and Cu Lao Cham (Cham islets) in Quang Nam province, and Hai Van pass, Lang Co beach, the Huong (Perfume) river and royal citadel in Hue city.
VietNamNet/VOV
The survey trip, held by Vietnam Airlines and the Hoi An Tourist Company, is part of a promotion programme to establish a direct air route that links Hong Kong, Danang and Siem Reap.
On March 13, another fam trip representing 33 domestic and foreign tourist and service companies visited Danang city, starting a survey programme entitled “Impression about central Vietnam tourism” held by Vietnamtourist.
The programme, which lasts four days and three nights, includes visits to such places as Ngu Hanh Son (Marble) moutains, the Champa culture museum and Son Tra peninsula in Danang city, ancient Hoi An city and Cu Lao Cham (Cham islets) in Quang Nam province, and Hai Van pass, Lang Co beach, the Huong (Perfume) river and royal citadel in Hue city.
VietNamNet/VOV
VietNamTourists snub handicraft villages
The number of tourists visiting traditional handicraft villages has decreased sharply since Viet Nam was hit by the global economic recession.
Van Phuc Village in the west of Ha Noi, one of the country’s most famous traditional silk villages, is suffering from a lack of visitors.
According to the chairman of the Van Phuc Association of Craft Villages, only 200 tourists a day have been visiting the village, a decrease of 30 per cent against last year. Local visitors account for 60 per cent of the total tourists.
Bat Trang pottery village is seeing only 50 arrivals a day compared to 200-300 arrivals per day last year, according to Nguyen Trong Thu, a member of the Bat Trang Ceramics and Pottery Association.
Faced with falling attendance, traditional handicraft villages are striving to improve produce quality and have called for help from authorities to diversify tourism services.
Top priority should be given to improving the image of handicraft villages, said Chinh. "We plan to build a common business area to introduce and sell silk products. In addition, local cultural programmes will be added to existing tours," Chinh said.
A tourist and commercial service joint stock company will be set up in Bat Trang Village. The company will help develop traditional handicraft village tourism by introducing the village’s culture, history and current products to visitors.
People in Bat Trang Village were looking forward to the establishment of a pottery museum, said Thu.
At present, Van Phuc and Bat Trang are the most popular destinations out of the 11 traditional handicraft villages for tourists in Ha Noi.
Every year 8,000 to 10,000 foreign tourists and hundreds of thousands of local visitors visit the villages.
VietNamNet/VNS
Van Phuc Village in the west of Ha Noi, one of the country’s most famous traditional silk villages, is suffering from a lack of visitors.
According to the chairman of the Van Phuc Association of Craft Villages, only 200 tourists a day have been visiting the village, a decrease of 30 per cent against last year. Local visitors account for 60 per cent of the total tourists.
Bat Trang pottery village is seeing only 50 arrivals a day compared to 200-300 arrivals per day last year, according to Nguyen Trong Thu, a member of the Bat Trang Ceramics and Pottery Association.
Faced with falling attendance, traditional handicraft villages are striving to improve produce quality and have called for help from authorities to diversify tourism services.
Top priority should be given to improving the image of handicraft villages, said Chinh. "We plan to build a common business area to introduce and sell silk products. In addition, local cultural programmes will be added to existing tours," Chinh said.
A tourist and commercial service joint stock company will be set up in Bat Trang Village. The company will help develop traditional handicraft village tourism by introducing the village’s culture, history and current products to visitors.
People in Bat Trang Village were looking forward to the establishment of a pottery museum, said Thu.
At present, Van Phuc and Bat Trang are the most popular destinations out of the 11 traditional handicraft villages for tourists in Ha Noi.
Every year 8,000 to 10,000 foreign tourists and hundreds of thousands of local visitors visit the villages.
VietNamNet/VNS
China twitters over blogger who may be in Canada
SHANGHAI -- It really doesn't matter whether China's most intriguing new blogger is also the country's Public Enemy No. 1, fugitive businessman Lai Changxing, typing missives from his refuge in Vancouver.
The fact that so many Chinese netizens - or cybercitizens - think it is him, is what makes the blogger interesting as does the positive reaction he is garnering.
Fat-Xing, as he is calling himself, posted his first blog on Feb. 27, a fairly benign introduction telling who he was and where he came from. It seemed to some, however, to be a thinly-veiled biography of Lai and less than a week later word went out on the web: "Lai is blogging, what is he trying to say?"
The reaction was immediate - and surprising.
In the past decade Chinese citizens have heard nothing but official denunciations of Lai - a cheat, a smuggler, a man who deserved to be executed more than once.
Faced with what they consider to be his own words, however, the country's cybercitizens appear to be discounting what they were told and are taking a shine to Lai.
Fat-Xing's blog appears to be operating underneath Beijing's radar. Since it isn't dealing with sensitive political issues or blatantly criticizing the regime, it wouldn't immediately attract the attention of China's omni-present Internet censors. When and if it does, it is difficult to say how they will react. The only thing that is certain, is they won't be happy to see a rehabilitation of Lai's reputation underway.
One Chinese web surfer, who called himself "president of the nubi party," wrote: "I heard your name (Lai) everyday before. Now I finally have a chance to respond to you. Waking up from a dream, I found I have been fooled so much and for so long. So are many of my countrymen. Keep blogging. We stand now with your freedom."
Youlongnaida wrote: "As a Xiamen citizen I am proud of you."
And Xuanzi said: "Hope you have a good life in Canada."
Only one dissenting voice stood out among the positive responses on Fat-Xing's blog.
"How come Lai has so many fans? Chinese people's morality has decayed to extreme," Old Ma wrote.
The Chinese government maintains Lai ran a $10 billion US smuggling ring in Xiamen, one of the coastal cities chosen to be a laboratory when China began to experiment with capitalism. One step ahead of the Chinese police, he fled to Canada in 1999 and has used the legal system to remain there ever since.
In February, Lai was even granted a work permit.
Lai's defenders, however, have long argued that his business practices only reflected the wild west atmosphere prevalent in Xiamen in the heady years after Deng Xiaoping declared: "To be rich is glorious." Fat-Xing seems to want to make the same point in his blog.
"Let me talk about smuggling. My understanding is that smuggling is just to bring the good things from abroad to China. Nobody wants bad things. About a decade or two ago, all that is smuggled are of high quality," Fat-Xing wrote.
He goes on to describe smuggling as "a redistribution of wealth" and notes that in Western countries "smugglers are simply fined."
Real crooks harm people, he said, like the dairy bosses so blatantly did when they sold melamine-laced baby milk formula in China last year.
You could almost see netizens nodding in agreement when they read that post.
One wrote, Lai "didn't kill people or cause fire, nor did he disturb society." The blog poster went on - anonymously - to suggest the Chinese government stop putting so much effort into trying to get Canada ("the paradise for criminals") to extradite Lai and use its energy to amend its own laws. "It is better to mend the fence after the sheep is lost than to lose everything."
In his latest post, Fat-Xing, has begun to interact with his fans, notably one who asks the alleged crook for advice on setting up a business in China.
Online, Fat-Xing made one faint-hearted attempt to discourage speculation that he is Lai.
"Please don't guess who, who, who I am," he wrote. "I am not who, who, who."
But later, he pumps up the intrigue by saying, "(I'm) missing my hometown where I've left for over 10 years." That's just how long Lai has been in Canada.
China's demand for Lai's return and Canada's refusal to produce him until he exhausts his legal appeals, have soured Sino-Canadian relations for almost a decade. Perhaps sensitive to this, Lai has kept a low profile for most of his sojourn in Vancouver, giving only a few interviews over the years and saying very little about his case.
And, he may still be lying low now, but you would be hard pressed to convince Chinese netizens of it.
The fact that so many Chinese netizens - or cybercitizens - think it is him, is what makes the blogger interesting as does the positive reaction he is garnering.
Fat-Xing, as he is calling himself, posted his first blog on Feb. 27, a fairly benign introduction telling who he was and where he came from. It seemed to some, however, to be a thinly-veiled biography of Lai and less than a week later word went out on the web: "Lai is blogging, what is he trying to say?"
The reaction was immediate - and surprising.
In the past decade Chinese citizens have heard nothing but official denunciations of Lai - a cheat, a smuggler, a man who deserved to be executed more than once.
Faced with what they consider to be his own words, however, the country's cybercitizens appear to be discounting what they were told and are taking a shine to Lai.
Fat-Xing's blog appears to be operating underneath Beijing's radar. Since it isn't dealing with sensitive political issues or blatantly criticizing the regime, it wouldn't immediately attract the attention of China's omni-present Internet censors. When and if it does, it is difficult to say how they will react. The only thing that is certain, is they won't be happy to see a rehabilitation of Lai's reputation underway.
One Chinese web surfer, who called himself "president of the nubi party," wrote: "I heard your name (Lai) everyday before. Now I finally have a chance to respond to you. Waking up from a dream, I found I have been fooled so much and for so long. So are many of my countrymen. Keep blogging. We stand now with your freedom."
Youlongnaida wrote: "As a Xiamen citizen I am proud of you."
And Xuanzi said: "Hope you have a good life in Canada."
Only one dissenting voice stood out among the positive responses on Fat-Xing's blog.
"How come Lai has so many fans? Chinese people's morality has decayed to extreme," Old Ma wrote.
The Chinese government maintains Lai ran a $10 billion US smuggling ring in Xiamen, one of the coastal cities chosen to be a laboratory when China began to experiment with capitalism. One step ahead of the Chinese police, he fled to Canada in 1999 and has used the legal system to remain there ever since.
In February, Lai was even granted a work permit.
Lai's defenders, however, have long argued that his business practices only reflected the wild west atmosphere prevalent in Xiamen in the heady years after Deng Xiaoping declared: "To be rich is glorious." Fat-Xing seems to want to make the same point in his blog.
"Let me talk about smuggling. My understanding is that smuggling is just to bring the good things from abroad to China. Nobody wants bad things. About a decade or two ago, all that is smuggled are of high quality," Fat-Xing wrote.
He goes on to describe smuggling as "a redistribution of wealth" and notes that in Western countries "smugglers are simply fined."
Real crooks harm people, he said, like the dairy bosses so blatantly did when they sold melamine-laced baby milk formula in China last year.
You could almost see netizens nodding in agreement when they read that post.
One wrote, Lai "didn't kill people or cause fire, nor did he disturb society." The blog poster went on - anonymously - to suggest the Chinese government stop putting so much effort into trying to get Canada ("the paradise for criminals") to extradite Lai and use its energy to amend its own laws. "It is better to mend the fence after the sheep is lost than to lose everything."
In his latest post, Fat-Xing, has begun to interact with his fans, notably one who asks the alleged crook for advice on setting up a business in China.
Online, Fat-Xing made one faint-hearted attempt to discourage speculation that he is Lai.
"Please don't guess who, who, who I am," he wrote. "I am not who, who, who."
But later, he pumps up the intrigue by saying, "(I'm) missing my hometown where I've left for over 10 years." That's just how long Lai has been in Canada.
China's demand for Lai's return and Canada's refusal to produce him until he exhausts his legal appeals, have soured Sino-Canadian relations for almost a decade. Perhaps sensitive to this, Lai has kept a low profile for most of his sojourn in Vancouver, giving only a few interviews over the years and saying very little about his case.
And, he may still be lying low now, but you would be hard pressed to convince Chinese netizens of it.
Saturday, March 14, 2009
Downturn puts air travelers on cloud nine - Washington Post- msnbc.com
An airfare war has broken out in recent weeks — a boon for anyone with money to travel.
Airlines have rushed out coast-to-coast travel deals for as little as $99 each way for the spring and summer as the economic downturn has taken hold. Continental Airlines and United Airlines, fighting it out on routes between Washington and Los Angeles, have priced round-trip tickets under $200. Airlines in recent weeks have cut ticket prices as much as 50 percent from a year ago, travel analysts say.
"If you are paying over $300 for an airline ticket right now, you are probably paying way too much," said Rick Seaney, chief executive of FareCompare.com. "We'll never see these prices again outside of a recession."
The fare war comes as American companies scale back business travel and skittish consumers put off vacation plans, putting new pressure on airlines that only a year ago were fighting high fuel costs.
In addition to lower fares for domestic flights, international travel has suddenly become cheaper, with many round-trip tickets to Europe priced at less than $500 for travel in April and May.
'Can I really afford this?'
Yet some travel analysts are skeptical that travelers will buy, even at those prices.
"I think people's interest in buying those fares are heading downward," said George Hobica, creator of AirfareWatchdog.com. "With 600,000 or 700,000 people losing their jobs every month, they are asking themselves, 'Can I really afford this?' "
Airlines began the year thinking the passenger market wouldn't be so bad. Many had spent 2008 cutting less profitable routes and scaling back the number of flights, giving them more room to boost prices on the seats that remained.
Operationally, flight cutbacks mean fewer planes stacking up at airports, alleviating congestion. The government has reported that airline on-time rates are at their best level in years, even at busy New York airports.
Though airlines have been aided by lower fuel prices and the recent strengthening of the U.S. dollar, the cratering economy has dashed hopes of fat profits. Globally, airlines are projected to lose $2.5 billion in 2009, according to the International Air Transport Association
Airlines began offering discounted fares in October after Wall Street banks began to buckle, grounding bankers and other financial executives who paid top dollar for transatlantic tickets. The steady stream of price cuts continued over the winter holidays. Now the discounting is spreading into the spring and summer — historically the strongest profit period for airlines as travelers take vacations.
"This is a major war," said Tom Parsons, chief executive of BestFares.com, a discount travel Web site. "We never expected airfares like this in June or July of last year. We would have expected air fares double this."
Southwest Airlines, which has a hub at Baltimore-Washington International Marshall Airport, has cut fares to $78 round trip (with $20 security fee) for nonstop travel from Baltimore to Albany and Buffalo, N.Y.; Providence, R.I.; Hartford, Conn.; Manchester, N.H.; Cleveland; Norfolk; and Raleigh, N
Looking to get away? Cheap airfares abound
March 8: If you think that jetting off to Europe during a recession is out of the question, think again. NBC’s George Lewis reports.
Nightly News
Fares to Europe have also fallen sharply. A year ago, a flight from Washington to Paris would have cost about $815 with taxes and fees, according to a price check by BestFares.com. Today, a round-trip ticket on United for travel in May costs about $570. Prices on flights to London are also falling. United and British Airways are promoting fares of $510 for travel in May.
Strengthening dollar
Hobica warns that summer nonstop international flights from Washington airports still remain pricey compared with other international gateways such as New York, Chicago and Los Angeles. But he said prices are generally $200 lower than a year ago.
Americans traveling abroad are getting a big lift from the rising buying power of the dollar. The dollar's value has grown 27 percent against the euro and 40 percent against the British pound from last summer.
For the best deals, analysts say travelers should first look for midweek flights. And even with the sales, they should be aware that the best deals probably won't be available for Memorial Day weekend or the Fourth of July. They are cautioning that travelers should pack light because most airlines charge baggage fees that they didn't have a year ago.
And travelers with job worries need not stay home. The airlines are trying to be helpful. JetBlue, whose passenger traffic fell 8.3 percent last month, is offering refunds for ticketholders who are terminated from full-time jobs. Sebastian White, a JetBlue spokesman, said the airline won't report how many people have asked for their money back. But he notes that the deal "came at just the right time" for many customers.
Airlines have rushed out coast-to-coast travel deals for as little as $99 each way for the spring and summer as the economic downturn has taken hold. Continental Airlines and United Airlines, fighting it out on routes between Washington and Los Angeles, have priced round-trip tickets under $200. Airlines in recent weeks have cut ticket prices as much as 50 percent from a year ago, travel analysts say.
"If you are paying over $300 for an airline ticket right now, you are probably paying way too much," said Rick Seaney, chief executive of FareCompare.com. "We'll never see these prices again outside of a recession."
The fare war comes as American companies scale back business travel and skittish consumers put off vacation plans, putting new pressure on airlines that only a year ago were fighting high fuel costs.
In addition to lower fares for domestic flights, international travel has suddenly become cheaper, with many round-trip tickets to Europe priced at less than $500 for travel in April and May.
'Can I really afford this?'
Yet some travel analysts are skeptical that travelers will buy, even at those prices.
"I think people's interest in buying those fares are heading downward," said George Hobica, creator of AirfareWatchdog.com. "With 600,000 or 700,000 people losing their jobs every month, they are asking themselves, 'Can I really afford this?' "
Airlines began the year thinking the passenger market wouldn't be so bad. Many had spent 2008 cutting less profitable routes and scaling back the number of flights, giving them more room to boost prices on the seats that remained.
Operationally, flight cutbacks mean fewer planes stacking up at airports, alleviating congestion. The government has reported that airline on-time rates are at their best level in years, even at busy New York airports.
Though airlines have been aided by lower fuel prices and the recent strengthening of the U.S. dollar, the cratering economy has dashed hopes of fat profits. Globally, airlines are projected to lose $2.5 billion in 2009, according to the International Air Transport Association
Airlines began offering discounted fares in October after Wall Street banks began to buckle, grounding bankers and other financial executives who paid top dollar for transatlantic tickets. The steady stream of price cuts continued over the winter holidays. Now the discounting is spreading into the spring and summer — historically the strongest profit period for airlines as travelers take vacations.
"This is a major war," said Tom Parsons, chief executive of BestFares.com, a discount travel Web site. "We never expected airfares like this in June or July of last year. We would have expected air fares double this."
Southwest Airlines, which has a hub at Baltimore-Washington International Marshall Airport, has cut fares to $78 round trip (with $20 security fee) for nonstop travel from Baltimore to Albany and Buffalo, N.Y.; Providence, R.I.; Hartford, Conn.; Manchester, N.H.; Cleveland; Norfolk; and Raleigh, N
Looking to get away? Cheap airfares abound
March 8: If you think that jetting off to Europe during a recession is out of the question, think again. NBC’s George Lewis reports.
Nightly News
Fares to Europe have also fallen sharply. A year ago, a flight from Washington to Paris would have cost about $815 with taxes and fees, according to a price check by BestFares.com. Today, a round-trip ticket on United for travel in May costs about $570. Prices on flights to London are also falling. United and British Airways are promoting fares of $510 for travel in May.
Strengthening dollar
Hobica warns that summer nonstop international flights from Washington airports still remain pricey compared with other international gateways such as New York, Chicago and Los Angeles. But he said prices are generally $200 lower than a year ago.
Americans traveling abroad are getting a big lift from the rising buying power of the dollar. The dollar's value has grown 27 percent against the euro and 40 percent against the British pound from last summer.
For the best deals, analysts say travelers should first look for midweek flights. And even with the sales, they should be aware that the best deals probably won't be available for Memorial Day weekend or the Fourth of July. They are cautioning that travelers should pack light because most airlines charge baggage fees that they didn't have a year ago.
And travelers with job worries need not stay home. The airlines are trying to be helpful. JetBlue, whose passenger traffic fell 8.3 percent last month, is offering refunds for ticketholders who are terminated from full-time jobs. Sebastian White, a JetBlue spokesman, said the airline won't report how many people have asked for their money back. But he notes that the deal "came at just the right time" for many customers.
Searching Saigon for Boutique Comfort - NYTimes.com
FOR more than 12 years now, I’ve been visiting Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, and I’ve watched as it’s grown bigger and richer, faster and hipper, more cosmopolitan and more connected. Saigon, as it’s still known to most, has an anything-can-happen energy that embraces me the moment I step off the plane, and I feel more at home there than perhaps anywhere else in the world.
Hotel Review: The Opposite House in Beijing »
Store Review: The Shop in Beijing »And yet after all these years, I have yet to claim a local hotel as my favorite — a refuge to offer relief and comfort. I’ve stayed in numerous mini-hotels, the skinny, multistory accommodations favored by backpackers (generally $5 to $25 a night). I’ve stayed in the grand hotels that date back to the French colonial era — the Majestic and the Continental (from about $150). I’ve stayed in the ultramodern Sheraton tower ($225 and up for a deluxe room).
But none of these places have seduced me with that magical combination of décor, service, convenience, location, character and price to make me ever really want to return. Simply put, in my experience, Saigon had no exceptional, reasonably priced hotels.
During my most recent visit, in February — to see friends and attend a wedding — I was more hopeful. A friend had told me about the Ordinary Hotel (25 Dong Du Street), right in the middle of Saigon’s central downtown District 1. “Very boutique, very funky,” she wrote in an e-mail message. And affordable too: around $50 a night for a deluxe room.
Booking proved to be a challenge. The hotel’s Web site and e-mail address didn’t work, nor, for a while, did its phones. I had to ask another friend actually to go to the hotel and reserve a room. When I got there, however, the desk clerk had no record of it. Luckily, a fourth-floor room was available. Unluckily, an elevator wasn’t.
The room itself had a sheen of cool: it was spacious, with antique wooden furniture and a wide white divan under a broad bank of windows. The walls were a neat mix of magenta and pea-soup green. Wi-Fi signals flowed freely into my laptop.
But the sheen soon faded. The desk chair kept breaking. The paint on the walls was peeling. The Wi-Fi signal was strong, but the Internet connection spotty. The divan was dingy. The shower-head mount collapsed the instant I turned on the water.
Where, I wondered as I checked out after two nights, are Saigon’s true boutique hotels? The city is full of French colonial villas and Art Deco houses ripe for transformation into properties of character and class. And while real estate is expensive, labor remains cheap — and that should translate into bargains for travelers.
“As an investment, it doesn’t work,” said Jean-Marc Merlin, chairman of the Apple Tree Group, a Vietnam-based company that owns and operates hotels all over Southeast Asia. “The annoyance factor of having to complete a project is too high. If you have to turn gray over two years, you’d rather do it over 200 rooms.”
In the meantime, there’s A & Em (848-3-822-7245; www.a-emhotels.com), a chain of five small, design-savvy hotels. I checked into the newest location, at 66 Le Thanh Ton Street just a few streets away from the Ordinary in District 1. Slick and clean, this month-old A & Em branch featured tasteful, minimalist interiors — flower patterns were everywhere, from the pillowcases to the frosted-glass walls of the bathroom — and, more importantly, a reasonable level of comfort. The linens were soft, the mattress was real. The TV was a Samsung flat-screen, not some boxy knockoff. The bathtub was huge and deep, with whirlpool jets.
There were, of course, a couple of design misfires, like a toilet-paper holder wedged inaccessibly between tank and wall and no mount for the shower head. But I was willing to let those issues go, especially since the desk had given me $5 off the $50 deluxe-room rate — a sweet gesture. Even better, a shower-head mount miraculously appeared above the bathtub one morning, without my having said a thing — just the sort of attention to detail that makes boutique hotels an attractive option.
Still, one incident disturbed me, albeit briefly: One morning, on my way to breakfast, I took the stairs instead of the elevator. Halfway down, I was suddenly grabbed by an employee and bundled into the elevator, just so I wouldn’t have to step around a platter of food that was on the stairway landing. Annoyance flared, then subsided. Saigon may be changing, but it’s still Saigon: rough, intimate, improvised and surprising — all qualities that make the city my home away from home.
Hotel Review: The Opposite House in Beijing »
Store Review: The Shop in Beijing »And yet after all these years, I have yet to claim a local hotel as my favorite — a refuge to offer relief and comfort. I’ve stayed in numerous mini-hotels, the skinny, multistory accommodations favored by backpackers (generally $5 to $25 a night). I’ve stayed in the grand hotels that date back to the French colonial era — the Majestic and the Continental (from about $150). I’ve stayed in the ultramodern Sheraton tower ($225 and up for a deluxe room).
But none of these places have seduced me with that magical combination of décor, service, convenience, location, character and price to make me ever really want to return. Simply put, in my experience, Saigon had no exceptional, reasonably priced hotels.
During my most recent visit, in February — to see friends and attend a wedding — I was more hopeful. A friend had told me about the Ordinary Hotel (25 Dong Du Street), right in the middle of Saigon’s central downtown District 1. “Very boutique, very funky,” she wrote in an e-mail message. And affordable too: around $50 a night for a deluxe room.
Booking proved to be a challenge. The hotel’s Web site and e-mail address didn’t work, nor, for a while, did its phones. I had to ask another friend actually to go to the hotel and reserve a room. When I got there, however, the desk clerk had no record of it. Luckily, a fourth-floor room was available. Unluckily, an elevator wasn’t.
The room itself had a sheen of cool: it was spacious, with antique wooden furniture and a wide white divan under a broad bank of windows. The walls were a neat mix of magenta and pea-soup green. Wi-Fi signals flowed freely into my laptop.
But the sheen soon faded. The desk chair kept breaking. The paint on the walls was peeling. The Wi-Fi signal was strong, but the Internet connection spotty. The divan was dingy. The shower-head mount collapsed the instant I turned on the water.
Where, I wondered as I checked out after two nights, are Saigon’s true boutique hotels? The city is full of French colonial villas and Art Deco houses ripe for transformation into properties of character and class. And while real estate is expensive, labor remains cheap — and that should translate into bargains for travelers.
“As an investment, it doesn’t work,” said Jean-Marc Merlin, chairman of the Apple Tree Group, a Vietnam-based company that owns and operates hotels all over Southeast Asia. “The annoyance factor of having to complete a project is too high. If you have to turn gray over two years, you’d rather do it over 200 rooms.”
In the meantime, there’s A & Em (848-3-822-7245; www.a-emhotels.com), a chain of five small, design-savvy hotels. I checked into the newest location, at 66 Le Thanh Ton Street just a few streets away from the Ordinary in District 1. Slick and clean, this month-old A & Em branch featured tasteful, minimalist interiors — flower patterns were everywhere, from the pillowcases to the frosted-glass walls of the bathroom — and, more importantly, a reasonable level of comfort. The linens were soft, the mattress was real. The TV was a Samsung flat-screen, not some boxy knockoff. The bathtub was huge and deep, with whirlpool jets.
There were, of course, a couple of design misfires, like a toilet-paper holder wedged inaccessibly between tank and wall and no mount for the shower head. But I was willing to let those issues go, especially since the desk had given me $5 off the $50 deluxe-room rate — a sweet gesture. Even better, a shower-head mount miraculously appeared above the bathtub one morning, without my having said a thing — just the sort of attention to detail that makes boutique hotels an attractive option.
Still, one incident disturbed me, albeit briefly: One morning, on my way to breakfast, I took the stairs instead of the elevator. Halfway down, I was suddenly grabbed by an employee and bundled into the elevator, just so I wouldn’t have to step around a platter of food that was on the stairway landing. Annoyance flared, then subsided. Saigon may be changing, but it’s still Saigon: rough, intimate, improvised and surprising — all qualities that make the city my home away from home.
Thursday, March 12, 2009
Foreign visitors to Lao Cai increase
- The northern mountainous province of Lao Cai received 58,000 holiday-makers, including 26,000 foreigners, in the past two months, a year-on-year increase of 33 percent.
Of the total, 10,500 came from China’s southwestern region through the Lao Cai border gate.
The figures showed a good sign for the provincial tourism industry amidst forecasts that 2009 would be a difficult year for tourism services due to the impact of the global economic crisis.
However, the number of domestic tourists to Lao Cai and Sa Pa tourist resort plunged by 49.2 percent year on year as it is not the tourism season in Vietnam and many Vietnamese have tightened their belt as a result of the economic difficulties.
In addition, many restaurants and hotels in Sa Pa haven’t yet lowered the prices of their services to stimulate tourism demands in response to the industry’s promotion campaign.
VietNamNet/VOV
Of the total, 10,500 came from China’s southwestern region through the Lao Cai border gate.
The figures showed a good sign for the provincial tourism industry amidst forecasts that 2009 would be a difficult year for tourism services due to the impact of the global economic crisis.
However, the number of domestic tourists to Lao Cai and Sa Pa tourist resort plunged by 49.2 percent year on year as it is not the tourism season in Vietnam and many Vietnamese have tightened their belt as a result of the economic difficulties.
In addition, many restaurants and hotels in Sa Pa haven’t yet lowered the prices of their services to stimulate tourism demands in response to the industry’s promotion campaign.
VietNamNet/VOV
Tuesday, March 10, 2009
Obama lifts restrictions in Cuba-10 March, 2009
Cubans applauded the passage of a bill today by U.S. Congress that would ease some travel and trade restrictions against the communist island. They hope for more changes under President Barack Obama.
The bill, which appropriates $410 billion to fund the U.S. government, includes provisions allowing Cuban-Americans to visit their families in Cuba more frequently and makes it easier to sell agricultural and medical goods to Cuba.
It undoes some Bush administration rules that toughened the 47-year-old U.S. trade embargo against Cuba, a Cold War policy which Havana blames for the perennial economic woes afflicting the island just 90 miles (145 km) from Florida.
In Miami, there were mixed reactions from the Cuban exile community, which is split between those who favor greater contact and opening between Washington and Havana and some anti-communist hard-liners who oppose any easing of U.S. sanctions on Cuba under the rule of Fidel and Raul Castro.
The bill, which Obama still must sign into law, would allow Cuban-Americans to visit the island annually instead of once every three years as the Bush government mandated. They could also stay longer than the current two weeks.
"People-to-people contact is the number one factor of change in a closed society like the one in Cuba. It's also the right of a Cuban to be able to return to his country," Ramon Saul Sanchez, head of the Democracy Movement, said in Miami.
He urged President Obama to use his authority to completely lift restrictions on travel. "He can do it with the stroke of a pen," he said.
Source: Reuters
The bill, which appropriates $410 billion to fund the U.S. government, includes provisions allowing Cuban-Americans to visit their families in Cuba more frequently and makes it easier to sell agricultural and medical goods to Cuba.
It undoes some Bush administration rules that toughened the 47-year-old U.S. trade embargo against Cuba, a Cold War policy which Havana blames for the perennial economic woes afflicting the island just 90 miles (145 km) from Florida.
In Miami, there were mixed reactions from the Cuban exile community, which is split between those who favor greater contact and opening between Washington and Havana and some anti-communist hard-liners who oppose any easing of U.S. sanctions on Cuba under the rule of Fidel and Raul Castro.
The bill, which Obama still must sign into law, would allow Cuban-Americans to visit the island annually instead of once every three years as the Bush government mandated. They could also stay longer than the current two weeks.
"People-to-people contact is the number one factor of change in a closed society like the one in Cuba. It's also the right of a Cuban to be able to return to his country," Ramon Saul Sanchez, head of the Democracy Movement, said in Miami.
He urged President Obama to use his authority to completely lift restrictions on travel. "He can do it with the stroke of a pen," he said.
Source: Reuters
Kuching to host the new Four Points by Sheraton
Four Points by Sheraton Kuching is set to be the first international hotel to open in Kuching, Malaysia, in almost twenty years.
The announcement by Starwood also indicates the first Four Points by Sheraton to be constructed in South East Asia.
The 421 room property is owned by Global Ulpine, and located mere minutes from Kuching International Airport.
The property is only fifteen minutes south of the city centre, and is located in close proximity to Sarawak Cultural Village, Damai Beach and orangutans of Borneo in the Semenggoh Wildlife Centre.
“Four Points by Sheraton is delighted to welcome guests to Kuching, one of Malaysia’s most colorful and dynamic cities,” said Sandy Swider, Vice President, Four Points by Sheraton.
“Four Points by Sheraton gives guests just what they need – comfortable rooms, an inviting social atmosphere and extras to help them feel fulfilled at the end of the day.”
The property boasts high ceilings and tall glass windows, a spacious lobby and contemporary styling.
Each room will provide the comfort of a signature Four Points by Sheraton Comfort Bed, a workspace and ergonomic desk chair, a 32” plasma television and a laptop sized safe.
“We’re extremely excited to introduce the Four Points by Sheraton brand to Malaysia,” said Mal McArdle, General Manager of Four Points by Sheraton Kuching. “We offer guests approachable and straightforward hospitality – a style that will work really well for the Kuching market."
The property will also be host to conferences and meetings, with extensive facilities and a Rainforest Ballroom, which can accommodate up to 1,300 people for a sit-down banquet.
Four Points by Sheraton Kuching also has a host of cuisine options, with three restaurants and lounges on the lobby level, buffets with live cooking stations and a cafe-deli.
Developed and owned by Global Upline Sdn. Bhd., Four Points by Sheraton Kuching combines modern architectural design with practical use of space. The hotel is opening just 11 months following the start of construction.
“The simple functionality of our design allows us to introduce the Four Points’ honest, uncomplicated hospitality to a market that’s hungry for a new international hospitality brand,” said Bobby Ting, Assistant Managing Director of Global Upline.
“This property is testament to our ability to deliver turnkey projects to the market in an accelerated timeframe.”
After all, the construction of the Global Upline owned hotel was completed within eleven months.
The fitness centre offered by Four Points by Sheraton Kuching has modern Technogym equipment, and is complemented by an outdoor swimming pool and pool bar, spa, steam room and sauna.
As an added service to guests, Four Points by Sheraton Kuching will be the first hotel in the city to offer guests complimentary shuttle transfers between the hotel and the airport as well as to and from the city’s commercial centre.
The announcement by Starwood also indicates the first Four Points by Sheraton to be constructed in South East Asia.
The 421 room property is owned by Global Ulpine, and located mere minutes from Kuching International Airport.
The property is only fifteen minutes south of the city centre, and is located in close proximity to Sarawak Cultural Village, Damai Beach and orangutans of Borneo in the Semenggoh Wildlife Centre.
“Four Points by Sheraton is delighted to welcome guests to Kuching, one of Malaysia’s most colorful and dynamic cities,” said Sandy Swider, Vice President, Four Points by Sheraton.
“Four Points by Sheraton gives guests just what they need – comfortable rooms, an inviting social atmosphere and extras to help them feel fulfilled at the end of the day.”
The property boasts high ceilings and tall glass windows, a spacious lobby and contemporary styling.
Each room will provide the comfort of a signature Four Points by Sheraton Comfort Bed, a workspace and ergonomic desk chair, a 32” plasma television and a laptop sized safe.
“We’re extremely excited to introduce the Four Points by Sheraton brand to Malaysia,” said Mal McArdle, General Manager of Four Points by Sheraton Kuching. “We offer guests approachable and straightforward hospitality – a style that will work really well for the Kuching market."
The property will also be host to conferences and meetings, with extensive facilities and a Rainforest Ballroom, which can accommodate up to 1,300 people for a sit-down banquet.
Four Points by Sheraton Kuching also has a host of cuisine options, with three restaurants and lounges on the lobby level, buffets with live cooking stations and a cafe-deli.
Developed and owned by Global Upline Sdn. Bhd., Four Points by Sheraton Kuching combines modern architectural design with practical use of space. The hotel is opening just 11 months following the start of construction.
“The simple functionality of our design allows us to introduce the Four Points’ honest, uncomplicated hospitality to a market that’s hungry for a new international hospitality brand,” said Bobby Ting, Assistant Managing Director of Global Upline.
“This property is testament to our ability to deliver turnkey projects to the market in an accelerated timeframe.”
After all, the construction of the Global Upline owned hotel was completed within eleven months.
The fitness centre offered by Four Points by Sheraton Kuching has modern Technogym equipment, and is complemented by an outdoor swimming pool and pool bar, spa, steam room and sauna.
As an added service to guests, Four Points by Sheraton Kuching will be the first hotel in the city to offer guests complimentary shuttle transfers between the hotel and the airport as well as to and from the city’s commercial centre.
Park Hyatt Saigon named “world’s best hotel in Asia” 2008
Park Hyatt Saigon has been voted “World’s Best Hotel in Asia” in the 13th Annual World’s Best Awards Readers’ Survey conducted by Travel + Leisure, the US’s leading luxury travel and lifestyle magazine.
“This prestigious accolade is wonderful recognition for the international standards of product and service provided by Park Hyatt Saigon. Our authentic hospitality is setting the benchmark for service in Vietnam and places Ho Chi Minh City on the world stage in travel. Our goal is to continue to raise the bar in service excellence and further develop Vietnam as a luxury travel destination catering to the discerning traveller,” said Michael Golden, General Manager, Park Hyatt Saigon.
In Travel + Leisure’s 13th annual poll, the readers once again selected their favourite providers of travel facilities around the globe. According to editors Jennifer V. Cole and Amy Farley, Travel + Leisure’s readers name the very best in travel, from hotels, spas, airlines and cruise liners to cities and islands, along with all the operators and outfitters who make a journey possible. This year’s winners reveal readers’ evolving but always exacting standards of excellence.
In 2008, Park Hyatt Saigon was also voted “Best Hotel in Ho Chi Minh City” for the third consecutive year by DestinAsian magazine, Asia’s leading luxury travel and lifestyle publication. “Best Luxury Hotel” by the TripAdvisor travel community. Business Traveller Asia Pacific magazine named Park Hyatt Saigon the “Best Business Hotel in Ho Chi Minh City” in its annual Readers’ Choice Awards.
“This prestigious accolade is wonderful recognition for the international standards of product and service provided by Park Hyatt Saigon. Our authentic hospitality is setting the benchmark for service in Vietnam and places Ho Chi Minh City on the world stage in travel. Our goal is to continue to raise the bar in service excellence and further develop Vietnam as a luxury travel destination catering to the discerning traveller,” said Michael Golden, General Manager, Park Hyatt Saigon.
In Travel + Leisure’s 13th annual poll, the readers once again selected their favourite providers of travel facilities around the globe. According to editors Jennifer V. Cole and Amy Farley, Travel + Leisure’s readers name the very best in travel, from hotels, spas, airlines and cruise liners to cities and islands, along with all the operators and outfitters who make a journey possible. This year’s winners reveal readers’ evolving but always exacting standards of excellence.
In 2008, Park Hyatt Saigon was also voted “Best Hotel in Ho Chi Minh City” for the third consecutive year by DestinAsian magazine, Asia’s leading luxury travel and lifestyle publication. “Best Luxury Hotel” by the TripAdvisor travel community. Business Traveller Asia Pacific magazine named Park Hyatt Saigon the “Best Business Hotel in Ho Chi Minh City” in its annual Readers’ Choice Awards.
Tourism in crisis: Vietnam tour fees higher, tourists fewer
Vietnam tour in crisis, it is clear that the financial crisis is the main reason for the difficulties of the world’s tourism industry. As for Vietnam’s tourism, there is one more reason for the gloomy tourism season – high tour fees.
Tourists cancel tours
October is the high tourism season in Vietnam, but the numbers of foreign tourists booking tours to Vietnam remains modest. Travel firms all have forecast that the number of foreign travellers will decrease sharply this season.
Nguyen Van Lang from Exotissimo, specialising in inbound tourism, predicted that his company’s clients would decrease by 20-30% over the same period of last year. Tran The Dung from Fiditour said that the number of his company’s clients is forecast to decrease by 15-20%. Meanwhile, Hoang Tuan Lang, Head of the Marketing Division of Continental Hotel, quoted Japanese travel firms which specialise in bringing tourists to Vietnam as saying that the number of Japanese travellers will be 40% lower this year.
The travel firms all say that the financial crisis has led to the lower number of tourists as people now tend to take domestic tours or travel to nearby countries. However, they have also pointed out that the high tour fees offered by Vietnamese travel firms are also turning foreign travellers off.
In the last year, while tours to Thailand, Malaysia and Singapore have increased by 5-10% only, tours to Vietnam have increased by 15-30%.
A tour from Ho Chi Minh City to Thailand (six days and five nights) offered by Vietnamese travel firms is at $400-410/person. Meanwhile, a similar tour from Bangkok to Vietnam is $550-560/person. As for a tour from Singapore to Thailand, a round-trip ticket is just $37, while airfare to Vietnam is $300.
The return Tokyo-Bangkok-Tokyo airfare is $400-500, while Tokyo-Ho Chi Minh City-Tokyo is $900.
A 3-star hotel room rate in Thailand is $70-80/day, while the rate is $100-100/day in Vietnam.
What does Vietnam’s tourism industry expect?
Vietnam’s tourism industry may not reach the goal of receiving 4.8-5mil travellers this year as only 3.2mil travellers arrived in Vietnam in the first nine months of the year.
Lam Tran Huong, Head of the Hotel Faculty at Viet Giao Tourism Vocational School, has attributed the decreased number of tourists to bad management. He said that in 2006 and 2007, when Vietnam joined the WTO and neighbouring countries faced political crisis, it was easy for the country to attract tourists.
However, Vietnam could not take full advantage of its opportunity because it did not prepare well. Vietnam seriously lacked hotel rooms to welcome foreign tourists. Meanwhile, Vietnam did not do anything to lure foreign investors. It even raised hotel room rates to make tours to Vietnam more expensive. Many hotels reportedly raised room rates by 50% in 2007 over the previous year.
“Tour fees are decided by hotel room rates, meals and transport. Vietnam tour fees will only decrease if the prices of services decrease,” said Vo Anh Tai, Director of Saigontourist.
A lot of hotels have been trying to rescue themselves by cutting hotel room rates by 10% and providing free services. However, the decreases prove to be nothing compared to the sharp increases they made last year.
(Source:Saigon tiep thi)
Tourists cancel tours
October is the high tourism season in Vietnam, but the numbers of foreign tourists booking tours to Vietnam remains modest. Travel firms all have forecast that the number of foreign travellers will decrease sharply this season.
Nguyen Van Lang from Exotissimo, specialising in inbound tourism, predicted that his company’s clients would decrease by 20-30% over the same period of last year. Tran The Dung from Fiditour said that the number of his company’s clients is forecast to decrease by 15-20%. Meanwhile, Hoang Tuan Lang, Head of the Marketing Division of Continental Hotel, quoted Japanese travel firms which specialise in bringing tourists to Vietnam as saying that the number of Japanese travellers will be 40% lower this year.
The travel firms all say that the financial crisis has led to the lower number of tourists as people now tend to take domestic tours or travel to nearby countries. However, they have also pointed out that the high tour fees offered by Vietnamese travel firms are also turning foreign travellers off.
In the last year, while tours to Thailand, Malaysia and Singapore have increased by 5-10% only, tours to Vietnam have increased by 15-30%.
A tour from Ho Chi Minh City to Thailand (six days and five nights) offered by Vietnamese travel firms is at $400-410/person. Meanwhile, a similar tour from Bangkok to Vietnam is $550-560/person. As for a tour from Singapore to Thailand, a round-trip ticket is just $37, while airfare to Vietnam is $300.
The return Tokyo-Bangkok-Tokyo airfare is $400-500, while Tokyo-Ho Chi Minh City-Tokyo is $900.
A 3-star hotel room rate in Thailand is $70-80/day, while the rate is $100-100/day in Vietnam.
What does Vietnam’s tourism industry expect?
Vietnam’s tourism industry may not reach the goal of receiving 4.8-5mil travellers this year as only 3.2mil travellers arrived in Vietnam in the first nine months of the year.
Lam Tran Huong, Head of the Hotel Faculty at Viet Giao Tourism Vocational School, has attributed the decreased number of tourists to bad management. He said that in 2006 and 2007, when Vietnam joined the WTO and neighbouring countries faced political crisis, it was easy for the country to attract tourists.
However, Vietnam could not take full advantage of its opportunity because it did not prepare well. Vietnam seriously lacked hotel rooms to welcome foreign tourists. Meanwhile, Vietnam did not do anything to lure foreign investors. It even raised hotel room rates to make tours to Vietnam more expensive. Many hotels reportedly raised room rates by 50% in 2007 over the previous year.
“Tour fees are decided by hotel room rates, meals and transport. Vietnam tour fees will only decrease if the prices of services decrease,” said Vo Anh Tai, Director of Saigontourist.
A lot of hotels have been trying to rescue themselves by cutting hotel room rates by 10% and providing free services. However, the decreases prove to be nothing compared to the sharp increases they made last year.
(Source:Saigon tiep thi)
Monday, March 9, 2009
Ships idle in Philippine port as global trade slows
SUBIC BAY, Philippines (Reuters) - It's 11 a.m. on a weekday but huge, bulky cargo ships scattered in this Philippine port are quiet and nearly deserted, save for a handful of workers repainting chipped handrails on some vessels.
About 22 ships -- mostly empty cargo vessels -- have anchored in this former U.S. naval base northwest of Manila, some as long as three months running. It's cheaper than most other ports in the region to park a ship and most crews are dominated by Filipinos so it's a popular choice.
Before August, when the global economic crisis started to stymie trade, cargo ships rarely stayed in Subic for more than a week. At any one time there were no more than 10 ships at the port.
"We don't usually get ships docked for a prolonged period," said Armand Arreza, administrator at the Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority. "We would usually get a few ships which would be on lay up, but never to the extent that we have about 22 ships and for a prolonged period of time."
Lay ups refer to the temporary shutdown of cargo ships during periods of surplus and depressed freight rates.
Since September, Subic Bay management has been swamped with e-mails and calls from owners seeking to dock their cargo ships at the port to cut costs following the collapse in shipping charges as global trade fell to multi-year lows.
About 12 other ships have left Subic Bay since the end of 2008 to pick up cargo around Asia, waiting two weeks to three months to get a client. But for the remaining 22 ships, the wait continues.
"There is no cargo," said the captain of a European-owned container vessel docked at the bay since December who asked not to be named as he was not authorized to talk to the media.
"This ship is a feeder vessel. And it depends mostly on mother vessels. Since there are no mother ships bringing cargo from US and Europe, smaller container vessels like this are affected," said the 54-year old Filipino captain.
SHIPPING RATES FALL
Average shipping rates slumped beginning August 2008 and hit a six-year low of $15,000 per day in November. That represented a 67 percent to 70 percent drop from highs of $45,000-$50,000 per day in June 2008, based on an internal publication of a European container ship firm in January.
Freight rates for dry bulk ships have plummeted from the highs hit during the commodities bull run last year.
Rates for capesize vessels -- the largest that can ferry iron ore, coal and grains -- on the key route between Brazil and China have fallen to $21 a tonne, down from above $100 a tonne in June last year, according to Reuters data.
The International Monetary Fund, predicting the world economy will stagnate this year overall with the deepening global financial crisis, forecasts world export volumes will contract 2.8 percent.
In Asia, most export-driven countries like Japan, Korea and Taiwan have suffered steep double-digit declines in shipments, paralyzing their economies and resulting in region-wide ship lay ups. Continued...
About 22 ships -- mostly empty cargo vessels -- have anchored in this former U.S. naval base northwest of Manila, some as long as three months running. It's cheaper than most other ports in the region to park a ship and most crews are dominated by Filipinos so it's a popular choice.
Before August, when the global economic crisis started to stymie trade, cargo ships rarely stayed in Subic for more than a week. At any one time there were no more than 10 ships at the port.
"We don't usually get ships docked for a prolonged period," said Armand Arreza, administrator at the Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority. "We would usually get a few ships which would be on lay up, but never to the extent that we have about 22 ships and for a prolonged period of time."
Lay ups refer to the temporary shutdown of cargo ships during periods of surplus and depressed freight rates.
Since September, Subic Bay management has been swamped with e-mails and calls from owners seeking to dock their cargo ships at the port to cut costs following the collapse in shipping charges as global trade fell to multi-year lows.
About 12 other ships have left Subic Bay since the end of 2008 to pick up cargo around Asia, waiting two weeks to three months to get a client. But for the remaining 22 ships, the wait continues.
"There is no cargo," said the captain of a European-owned container vessel docked at the bay since December who asked not to be named as he was not authorized to talk to the media.
"This ship is a feeder vessel. And it depends mostly on mother vessels. Since there are no mother ships bringing cargo from US and Europe, smaller container vessels like this are affected," said the 54-year old Filipino captain.
SHIPPING RATES FALL
Average shipping rates slumped beginning August 2008 and hit a six-year low of $15,000 per day in November. That represented a 67 percent to 70 percent drop from highs of $45,000-$50,000 per day in June 2008, based on an internal publication of a European container ship firm in January.
Freight rates for dry bulk ships have plummeted from the highs hit during the commodities bull run last year.
Rates for capesize vessels -- the largest that can ferry iron ore, coal and grains -- on the key route between Brazil and China have fallen to $21 a tonne, down from above $100 a tonne in June last year, according to Reuters data.
The International Monetary Fund, predicting the world economy will stagnate this year overall with the deepening global financial crisis, forecasts world export volumes will contract 2.8 percent.
In Asia, most export-driven countries like Japan, Korea and Taiwan have suffered steep double-digit declines in shipments, paralyzing their economies and resulting in region-wide ship lay ups. Continued...
Saturday, March 7, 2009
Tonnes of elephant tusks smuggled into Vietnam: reports
HANOI (AFP) — Vietnam customs officials have uncovered up to five tonnes of elephant tusks smuggled in from Tanzania, state media said Saturday.
The tusks were found Friday hidden in around 114 boxes of plastic waste after being transported from Africa through Malaysia to Vietnam's northern Hai Phong port, said the Tuoi Tre newspaper.
The Thanh Nien newspaper quoted Dang Tat The, a national wild animal expert, as saying the tusks were from African elephants.
It was not yet clear if the tusks were for selling in Vietnam or if they were smuggled in for onward movement, the papers said, but officials were chasing the owner of the goods.
Ivory and ivory-based products sell well in Vietnam, with the main buyers including Chinese, Thai and local and overseas Vietnamese, wildlife trade monitoring organisation Traffic said last month.
According to a Traffic survey, ivory prices in Vietnam could be the world's highest, with tusks reportedly selling for up to 1,500 dollars per kilogram and small, cut pieces selling for up to 1,863 dollars per kilogram.
The trend has put elephants in Indochina under increasing threat, it said, adding that wild elephant numbers in Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia dropped from an estimated 6,250 in the late 1980s to 1,510 in 2000.
Vietnam outlawed the ivory trade in 1992 but shops can still sell ivory dating from before the ban. This allows some to restock illegally with recently-made carved items, the organisation said
The tusks were found Friday hidden in around 114 boxes of plastic waste after being transported from Africa through Malaysia to Vietnam's northern Hai Phong port, said the Tuoi Tre newspaper.
The Thanh Nien newspaper quoted Dang Tat The, a national wild animal expert, as saying the tusks were from African elephants.
It was not yet clear if the tusks were for selling in Vietnam or if they were smuggled in for onward movement, the papers said, but officials were chasing the owner of the goods.
Ivory and ivory-based products sell well in Vietnam, with the main buyers including Chinese, Thai and local and overseas Vietnamese, wildlife trade monitoring organisation Traffic said last month.
According to a Traffic survey, ivory prices in Vietnam could be the world's highest, with tusks reportedly selling for up to 1,500 dollars per kilogram and small, cut pieces selling for up to 1,863 dollars per kilogram.
The trend has put elephants in Indochina under increasing threat, it said, adding that wild elephant numbers in Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia dropped from an estimated 6,250 in the late 1980s to 1,510 in 2000.
Vietnam outlawed the ivory trade in 1992 but shops can still sell ivory dating from before the ban. This allows some to restock illegally with recently-made carved items, the organisation said
Wednesday, March 4, 2009
Dollar rises vs yen as China news lifts risk appetite
NEW YORK (Reuters) - The dollar scaled four-month peaks against the yen on Wednesday, as news about China's latest stimulus package and data suggesting its economy is beginning to recover revived investors' risk appetite.
The news fueled a rally on Wall Street, lifting it from 12-year lows hit on Monday, and prompted selling in the greenback versus the euro and other higher-yielding currencies such as the Australian and New Zealand dollars.
"The biggest news today came out of China and that seems to have a bigger impact on risk appetite than market activity," said Robert Blake, senior currency strategist, at State Street Global Markets in Boston.
"The news of the stimulus package is supporting riskier currencies and generating an unwind in the safe-havens that is now more or less limited to the dollar," he added.
China on Wednesday said it would increase infrastructure and manufacturing spending, raising hopes of stimulus for the global economy. In addition, an important measure of Chinese manufacturing improved in February for a third straight month.
The report on China overshadowed data showing another slide in U.S. private sector employment for February.
In early afternoon New York trading, the dollar rose to 99.29 yen, up 1.0 percent on the day. Earlier, it climbed to 99.49 yen, the highest level since November 5, according to electronic trading platform EBS.
The yen was also weighed down by concerns about Japan's economy, which is mired in recession. That along with zero interest yields have spurred an outflow of funds from Japanese investors themselves.
BOJ CONCERNS; UNCHANGED GLOBAL BACKDROP
Bank of Japan board member Miyako Suda echoed those worries on Wednesday, saying it was difficult to judge whether the Japanese economy had hit bottom and voiced concerns over tumbling share prices.
The euro was trading at $1.2616, up 0.4 percent on the day after earlier hitting a three-month trough below $1.25. Sterling rose 0.4 percent to $1.4117 after dipping below $1.40.
"Improved equity markets have helped sentiment today and people are taking some profits" after the dollar's recent rally brought it near or beyond important psychological levels against a number of major currencies, said David Watt, senior currency strategist at RBC Capital Markets in Toronto.
The global backdrop, though, hasn't changed, and "financial markets are still a mess, credit markets are still tight, and we are still a long way from recovery," Watt said.
Anxiety about the U.S. and world economies has supported the dollar in recent months as investors cut exposure to stocks and other currencies and sought safety in the greenback, which benefits from its role as the world's reserve currency.
Also on Wednesday, data showed Australia's economy shrank in the fourth quarter for the first time in eight years, although hopes of increased Chinese spending helped the Australian dollar recover to US$0.6484, up 1.5 percent. Continued...
The news fueled a rally on Wall Street, lifting it from 12-year lows hit on Monday, and prompted selling in the greenback versus the euro and other higher-yielding currencies such as the Australian and New Zealand dollars.
"The biggest news today came out of China and that seems to have a bigger impact on risk appetite than market activity," said Robert Blake, senior currency strategist, at State Street Global Markets in Boston.
"The news of the stimulus package is supporting riskier currencies and generating an unwind in the safe-havens that is now more or less limited to the dollar," he added.
China on Wednesday said it would increase infrastructure and manufacturing spending, raising hopes of stimulus for the global economy. In addition, an important measure of Chinese manufacturing improved in February for a third straight month.
The report on China overshadowed data showing another slide in U.S. private sector employment for February.
In early afternoon New York trading, the dollar rose to 99.29 yen, up 1.0 percent on the day. Earlier, it climbed to 99.49 yen, the highest level since November 5, according to electronic trading platform EBS.
The yen was also weighed down by concerns about Japan's economy, which is mired in recession. That along with zero interest yields have spurred an outflow of funds from Japanese investors themselves.
BOJ CONCERNS; UNCHANGED GLOBAL BACKDROP
Bank of Japan board member Miyako Suda echoed those worries on Wednesday, saying it was difficult to judge whether the Japanese economy had hit bottom and voiced concerns over tumbling share prices.
The euro was trading at $1.2616, up 0.4 percent on the day after earlier hitting a three-month trough below $1.25. Sterling rose 0.4 percent to $1.4117 after dipping below $1.40.
"Improved equity markets have helped sentiment today and people are taking some profits" after the dollar's recent rally brought it near or beyond important psychological levels against a number of major currencies, said David Watt, senior currency strategist at RBC Capital Markets in Toronto.
The global backdrop, though, hasn't changed, and "financial markets are still a mess, credit markets are still tight, and we are still a long way from recovery," Watt said.
Anxiety about the U.S. and world economies has supported the dollar in recent months as investors cut exposure to stocks and other currencies and sought safety in the greenback, which benefits from its role as the world's reserve currency.
Also on Wednesday, data showed Australia's economy shrank in the fourth quarter for the first time in eight years, although hopes of increased Chinese spending helped the Australian dollar recover to US$0.6484, up 1.5 percent. Continued...
5-star hotels, resorts reluctantly slash service fees
It is quite a surprise that in the context of the global economic recession, when the Vietnam National Administration of Tourism (VNAT) and travel firms are calling for tour fee reductions, luxury hotels and resorts have not slashed service fees at all.
High-class hotels should not slash service fees?
Foreign tourists to Furama resort
Nguyen Tri Phong in Hanoi, while booking a room at Furama Resorts in Da Nang City for the holiday at the end of March, realised that room rates had not been slashed as he expected.
Phong said that the staffs of Furama Resorts said that the room rate was $327/night, including a pick-up and drop-off at the airport.
Meanwhile, Luong Duy Khiem, Deputy Director of ANZ Travel, said that travellers in groups can book rooms at 4-star and less luxurious hotels at much cheaper rates, 1.5 times or 2 times lower than the rates applied to separate travellers.
River Side, a 4-star hotel in Da Nang city, for example, is offering $50/night, while a 3-star $35-40/night. However, these rates are applied to travel firms, much lower than the officially announced rates. If groups of travellers use more than eight rooms, the room rate would be $36-37/night (4-star hotel).
Meanwhile, 5-star hotels even do not accept slashing room rates for tourists in groups, or just slash by a little of 10%. At Furama resort, the lowest room rate is $195/night.
Explaining the big gap between the room rates at high-grade and lower-grade hotels and resorts, Khiem said that high-grade and lower-grade hotels have different subjects of clients. The main clients of high-grade hotels are businessmen and high-income earners who do not care much about room rates.
Nguyen Duc Quynh, Managing Director of Furama resort in Da Nang city, said that every hotel has its own pricing policy.
High room rates can bring high profit, low profit and many clients bring less profit because hotels have to pay high commissions. Meanwhile, it is easier to slash room rates than raise prices.
However, “the market will define the right prices. Hotels are adjusting room rates in order to attract travellers,” he said.
Quynh said that Furama has not joined ‘Impressive Vietnam’ because it believes that Furama’s room rates are now reasonable. As for travellers in groups, the room rates will still depend on different times. However, Furama is considering slashing room rates or providing free meals to groups of travellers, or even one free night if the travellers stay for many days.
Once tour fees down, travellers up
When hotels have high rates of idle rooms, turnover is low. Therefore, all hotels, both luxury and less luxury ones, need to attract clients with special offers.
The 5-star Sheraton Hotel in Hanoi, after two months of shaking hands with several travel firms, slashing room rates for travellers from Australia, South Korea, Europe and the US, has seen the number of travellers increasing significantly.
According to VNAT, the number of foreign travellers to Vietnam has decreased by 10.3% in total, but the number of travellers from the US has still risen by 40% (89,500 travellers). The number of travellers from Australia has increased by 14.4% (49,500), France 12.4% (31,200), Canada 30% (22,500).
As for separate travellers, Sheraton has offered special hotel room rates, $145/night, applied until the end of April 30 in Hanoi, and $275/night from now to March 31 in HCM City.
Many other 5-star hotels are also offering special programmes to attract MICE travellers. In the last time, a lot of MICE tours were cancelled in the context of economic difficulties.
Do Khanh Tra, Foreign Affairs Director of InterContinental Hanoi, said that the occupancy rate reached 98% last week after the hotel launched a discount programme applied to travellers in groups who stay for three nights and more.
Tra said that InterContinental Hanoi has also slashed service fees for workshops and conferences with associated free services, to be applied to events confirmed prior to June 30, 2009.
Ha Yen
High-class hotels should not slash service fees?
Foreign tourists to Furama resort
Nguyen Tri Phong in Hanoi, while booking a room at Furama Resorts in Da Nang City for the holiday at the end of March, realised that room rates had not been slashed as he expected.
Phong said that the staffs of Furama Resorts said that the room rate was $327/night, including a pick-up and drop-off at the airport.
Meanwhile, Luong Duy Khiem, Deputy Director of ANZ Travel, said that travellers in groups can book rooms at 4-star and less luxurious hotels at much cheaper rates, 1.5 times or 2 times lower than the rates applied to separate travellers.
River Side, a 4-star hotel in Da Nang city, for example, is offering $50/night, while a 3-star $35-40/night. However, these rates are applied to travel firms, much lower than the officially announced rates. If groups of travellers use more than eight rooms, the room rate would be $36-37/night (4-star hotel).
Meanwhile, 5-star hotels even do not accept slashing room rates for tourists in groups, or just slash by a little of 10%. At Furama resort, the lowest room rate is $195/night.
Explaining the big gap between the room rates at high-grade and lower-grade hotels and resorts, Khiem said that high-grade and lower-grade hotels have different subjects of clients. The main clients of high-grade hotels are businessmen and high-income earners who do not care much about room rates.
Nguyen Duc Quynh, Managing Director of Furama resort in Da Nang city, said that every hotel has its own pricing policy.
High room rates can bring high profit, low profit and many clients bring less profit because hotels have to pay high commissions. Meanwhile, it is easier to slash room rates than raise prices.
However, “the market will define the right prices. Hotels are adjusting room rates in order to attract travellers,” he said.
Quynh said that Furama has not joined ‘Impressive Vietnam’ because it believes that Furama’s room rates are now reasonable. As for travellers in groups, the room rates will still depend on different times. However, Furama is considering slashing room rates or providing free meals to groups of travellers, or even one free night if the travellers stay for many days.
Once tour fees down, travellers up
When hotels have high rates of idle rooms, turnover is low. Therefore, all hotels, both luxury and less luxury ones, need to attract clients with special offers.
The 5-star Sheraton Hotel in Hanoi, after two months of shaking hands with several travel firms, slashing room rates for travellers from Australia, South Korea, Europe and the US, has seen the number of travellers increasing significantly.
According to VNAT, the number of foreign travellers to Vietnam has decreased by 10.3% in total, but the number of travellers from the US has still risen by 40% (89,500 travellers). The number of travellers from Australia has increased by 14.4% (49,500), France 12.4% (31,200), Canada 30% (22,500).
As for separate travellers, Sheraton has offered special hotel room rates, $145/night, applied until the end of April 30 in Hanoi, and $275/night from now to March 31 in HCM City.
Many other 5-star hotels are also offering special programmes to attract MICE travellers. In the last time, a lot of MICE tours were cancelled in the context of economic difficulties.
Do Khanh Tra, Foreign Affairs Director of InterContinental Hanoi, said that the occupancy rate reached 98% last week after the hotel launched a discount programme applied to travellers in groups who stay for three nights and more.
Tra said that InterContinental Hanoi has also slashed service fees for workshops and conferences with associated free services, to be applied to events confirmed prior to June 30, 2009.
Ha Yen
Tuesday, March 3, 2009
Air India to fly Chicago, New York daily
In the summer schedule effective March 29, Air India will be introducing a daily flight between Hyderabad and Chicago via Delhi/Frankfurt and also between Hyderabad and New York via Mumbai.
Passengers will have the option to travel via Mumbai to Chicago and via Delhi to New York at the same fare. The transit time at Delhi/Mumbai had been reduced to all destinations in Europe/UK/US. The departure time from Hyderabad to London/Frankfurt/Newark would be advanced to 2130 hrs on all days. Passengers can complete departure/arrival/immigration/emigration/customs formalities at Hyderabad and destination airport.
The Hyd-Chicago-Hyd flight (AI-127) will depart at 2100 hrs and land in Chicago at 1050 hrs. The return flight (AI-126) will leave Chicago at 1600 hrs and arrive Hyderabad at 0205 hrs. The daily flight to New York (AI-141) will depart Hyderabad at 2130 hrs and will reach its destination at 0710 hrs. The return flight (AI-140) will leave New York at 2130 hrs and reach here at 0200 hrs.
Passengers will have the option to travel via Mumbai to Chicago and via Delhi to New York at the same fare. The transit time at Delhi/Mumbai had been reduced to all destinations in Europe/UK/US. The departure time from Hyderabad to London/Frankfurt/Newark would be advanced to 2130 hrs on all days. Passengers can complete departure/arrival/immigration/emigration/customs formalities at Hyderabad and destination airport.
The Hyd-Chicago-Hyd flight (AI-127) will depart at 2100 hrs and land in Chicago at 1050 hrs. The return flight (AI-126) will leave Chicago at 1600 hrs and arrive Hyderabad at 0205 hrs. The daily flight to New York (AI-141) will depart Hyderabad at 2130 hrs and will reach its destination at 0710 hrs. The return flight (AI-140) will leave New York at 2130 hrs and reach here at 0200 hrs.
Kien Giang receives high influx of tourists
Half a million tourists, including 20,000 foreigners, visited the southern province of Kien Giang in the first two months of 2009, bringing it total revenue of roughly VND70 billion.
Phu Quoc Island, a historic site, welcomed more than 40,000 tourists, double the figure of the same period last year.
However, the influx of tourists to Kien Giang revealed weaknesses in the province’s tourism sector.
Kien Giang has poor infrastructure, with limited and unsynchronized hotels, restaurants, recreational areas and means of transport. It is also short of competent managers for tourism.
The local tourism industry has launched almost no new tourism options for a long time, and those that were established were later suspended because they did not cater to tourists’ tastes.
There is a very low number of tourists who return to Kien Giang, which is not on a par with its high potential for tourism.
Kien Giang lies in the Mekong Delta, one of the country’s four major regions for tourism.
VietNamNet/VOV
Co Le – cathedral-styled pagoda-Vietnam
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From Nam Dinh City, 15 km past Treo pagoda, is Co Le town. This quiet town is home to a special pagoda of the same name. This is one of biggest and nicest pagodas in the north. Besides its’ special architecture, Co Le pagoda has the largest bell in Vietnam.
The original wood Co Le pagoda was built in the 12th century by Zen monk Minh Khong. The current pagoda was built in 1920 by bricks and mortar made of lime, molasses, and giay ban (one kind of paper).
Co Le pagoda is a complex of architectural works, featuring typical architecture of northern pagodas, with tam quan (three-door temple gate), tower, major pagoda, club-house, ancestor’s house, and sanctuary.
The pagoda is surrounded by a lot of trees. Besides two sanctuaries are two ancient gao trees, which blossom red flowers in March.
Co Le pagoda’s pride is a 4.2m high, 9 ton bell, which was cast in 1936. Its uniqueness is the central chamber with gothic architecture. The chamber looks like a catholic cathedral.
The pagoda has a 12-storey tower named Cuu Pham Lien Hoa, which lies on a big turtle. The tower is 32m in height, with eight sides, and 62 stairs to the peak.
The tower is linked with the Buddist club house by a small bridge. On the left of the club house is Tran Hung Dao temple. Next to it is Lieu Hanh Temple.
Co Le pagoda festival takes place from the 13th-16th of the ninth lunar month. The festival is very bustling with folk games, particularly a boat race. This festival is the most famous festival in the north.
VietNamNet/DNSG
From Nam Dinh City, 15 km past Treo pagoda, is Co Le town. This quiet town is home to a special pagoda of the same name. This is one of biggest and nicest pagodas in the north. Besides its’ special architecture, Co Le pagoda has the largest bell in Vietnam.
The original wood Co Le pagoda was built in the 12th century by Zen monk Minh Khong. The current pagoda was built in 1920 by bricks and mortar made of lime, molasses, and giay ban (one kind of paper).
Co Le pagoda is a complex of architectural works, featuring typical architecture of northern pagodas, with tam quan (three-door temple gate), tower, major pagoda, club-house, ancestor’s house, and sanctuary.
The pagoda is surrounded by a lot of trees. Besides two sanctuaries are two ancient gao trees, which blossom red flowers in March.
Co Le pagoda’s pride is a 4.2m high, 9 ton bell, which was cast in 1936. Its uniqueness is the central chamber with gothic architecture. The chamber looks like a catholic cathedral.
The pagoda has a 12-storey tower named Cuu Pham Lien Hoa, which lies on a big turtle. The tower is 32m in height, with eight sides, and 62 stairs to the peak.
The tower is linked with the Buddist club house by a small bridge. On the left of the club house is Tran Hung Dao temple. Next to it is Lieu Hanh Temple.
Co Le pagoda festival takes place from the 13th-16th of the ninth lunar month. The festival is very bustling with folk games, particularly a boat race. This festival is the most famous festival in the north.
VietNamNet/DNSG
Sunday, March 1, 2009
Save Money in an Exotic Destination: Top Three Tips for Cheaper Egypt Holidays
Egypt holidays are as popular as ever. Egypt is a divers' heaven, legendary snorkelling country packed with wonderful sea life. Water sports score high and the country's thriving purpose-built resorts are renowned for their excellent facilities. Not to mention the pyramids, Cairo and more camels than you can shake a stick at.
London, England (PRWEB) March 1, 2009 -- But in today's wobbly economy can you afford a long haul holiday in an exotic place, complete with the risk of unforeseen expenses and the need for lashings of spending money? The short answer is 'yes'! An exotic destination needn't be an expensive one. Use a combination of resourcefulness, patience and lateral thinking and you can save a small fortune.
Holiday price comparison website http://www.beatthebrochure.com reveal their top three tips for saving money on Egypt holidays.
Top tip number one: Shop around. Let the internet find you the best value holiday clothes, sun lotions, hats… squeeze the best value out of every single thing you take with you. It all adds up.
Most importantly of all, shop around for the cheapest Egypt holidays online. While your local travel agent is probably wonderful, they won't have access to the entire package holiday market. And buying online invariably nets you excellent discounts on brochure prices.
"We use unique data search and retrieval software to track down the lowest cost holidays from a raft of major suppliers including Thomson, First Choice and Thomas Cook." Says a BeatTheBrochure.com spokesman. "If you find cheaper Egypt holidays in any brochure, anywhere, at any time, we want to know about it!"
Top tip number two: DIY. Instead of eating out, buy fresh local foods and enjoy picnics. Don't spend a fortune on entertainment, just chill out. Buy local wines and lounge around watching the world go by. Rediscover what real relaxation's all about. Walk a lot and take in the scenery. Read books. Sit in the warm sea. Think. Keep life simple, pared down to the bone. Holidays needn't be active. And chilling will save you a load of cash!
Top tip number three: Experience life without shopping, our national pastime. You might be surprised how much pointless shopping you do without even consciously realising it, buying stuff just for the sake of it. Give shopping a rest on holiday. Buy the stuff you really need but nothing else. Lie on the beach and enjoy your Egypt holidays to the full without so much as sniffing the inside of a shop.
How much do you think you can save on your http://www.beatthebrochure.com Egypt holidays by shunning shopping, making your own entertainment and doing a spot of very effective online research? BeatTheBrochure recommends that you suck it and see!
Details for editors:
London, England (PRWEB) March 1, 2009 -- But in today's wobbly economy can you afford a long haul holiday in an exotic place, complete with the risk of unforeseen expenses and the need for lashings of spending money? The short answer is 'yes'! An exotic destination needn't be an expensive one. Use a combination of resourcefulness, patience and lateral thinking and you can save a small fortune.
Holiday price comparison website http://www.beatthebrochure.com reveal their top three tips for saving money on Egypt holidays.
Top tip number one: Shop around. Let the internet find you the best value holiday clothes, sun lotions, hats… squeeze the best value out of every single thing you take with you. It all adds up.
Most importantly of all, shop around for the cheapest Egypt holidays online. While your local travel agent is probably wonderful, they won't have access to the entire package holiday market. And buying online invariably nets you excellent discounts on brochure prices.
"We use unique data search and retrieval software to track down the lowest cost holidays from a raft of major suppliers including Thomson, First Choice and Thomas Cook." Says a BeatTheBrochure.com spokesman. "If you find cheaper Egypt holidays in any brochure, anywhere, at any time, we want to know about it!"
Top tip number two: DIY. Instead of eating out, buy fresh local foods and enjoy picnics. Don't spend a fortune on entertainment, just chill out. Buy local wines and lounge around watching the world go by. Rediscover what real relaxation's all about. Walk a lot and take in the scenery. Read books. Sit in the warm sea. Think. Keep life simple, pared down to the bone. Holidays needn't be active. And chilling will save you a load of cash!
Top tip number three: Experience life without shopping, our national pastime. You might be surprised how much pointless shopping you do without even consciously realising it, buying stuff just for the sake of it. Give shopping a rest on holiday. Buy the stuff you really need but nothing else. Lie on the beach and enjoy your Egypt holidays to the full without so much as sniffing the inside of a shop.
How much do you think you can save on your http://www.beatthebrochure.com Egypt holidays by shunning shopping, making your own entertainment and doing a spot of very effective online research? BeatTheBrochure recommends that you suck it and see!
Details for editors:
Millions of Chinese migrant workers lose jobs | The Australian
LAST week's announcement by Pacific Brands that 1850 Australians were to lose their jobs to China spread gloom among workers at large-scale local manufacturing industries. But in reality Chinese migrant workers are faring much worse. More than the equivalent of the whole population of Australia, 20-30 million people, have already lost their jobs and thus also their housing in the factory towns.
They travelled from their rural homes where they had long been underemployed, barely scraping a living, to stay for extended periods in dormitories in factories in coastal cities, making goods mostly bought in the US, Britain and elsewhere in the West.
Credit and confidence have collapsed in the West, and so has the demand for the clothes, the toys, the plasma television screens they make.
And despite growing rhetoric from Beijing about broadening the base of China's economy by boosting consumer demand, the policies that would have achieved this were not put in place before the country's main export markets collapsed.
The Communist Party rules by consensus as well as control, and the leadership has found it difficult to balance the country's conflicting interests -- including between the developed coast, with the jobs, and the less developed heartland, with the struggling farmers -- while introducing a fresh wave ofreforms.
But there are signs that at last reforms to modernise the economy are under way. It is easier for party leaders to explain this on the grounds that without change now, the Government will be forced to confront scores of thousands more "mass incidents" as it calls the demonstrations and protests already stirring in rural China.
He Guangping, the deputy head of the public security department in Guangdong, the southern province that makes a third of China's exports, says: "Faced with the complicated changes in public security in society, especially given the impact of the international financial crisis, we expect the public security situation to be grim.
"All kinds of illegal and criminal activities will continue to increase ... The task of safeguarding social stability, law and order overall, is arduous."
China is big on anniversaries, and it has only just finished celebrating 30 years since Deng Xiaoping opened the door to business, beginning with the farmers.
Since then, China's remarkable development -- which has seen hundreds of millions of people emerge from poverty -- has been driven substantially by its becoming the world's factory.
About 60 per cent of China's exports are made by foreign-owned or foreign-invested companies, chiefly from Taiwan and Hong Kong, and some simply locked the doors after giving their workers their tickets home for their annual leave at Chinese New Year a month ago.
Most had made profits for years, but were confronting ever-narrowing margins as costs rose and the big buyers, such as Wal-Mart, kept screwing prices down.
And they lacked access to financial support. China's banks, all state-owned, rarely lend to the private sector and especially not to small or medium businesses.
The rural communities that have depended on the money sent home by the women and men working away -- about 200 million in all, 15 per cent of the population -- are deprived of the income on which they had grown to depend. Many now also have to sustain an influx of adults who have not lived there for years.
more info->>>Millions of Chinese migrant workers lose jobs | The Australian
They travelled from their rural homes where they had long been underemployed, barely scraping a living, to stay for extended periods in dormitories in factories in coastal cities, making goods mostly bought in the US, Britain and elsewhere in the West.
Credit and confidence have collapsed in the West, and so has the demand for the clothes, the toys, the plasma television screens they make.
And despite growing rhetoric from Beijing about broadening the base of China's economy by boosting consumer demand, the policies that would have achieved this were not put in place before the country's main export markets collapsed.
The Communist Party rules by consensus as well as control, and the leadership has found it difficult to balance the country's conflicting interests -- including between the developed coast, with the jobs, and the less developed heartland, with the struggling farmers -- while introducing a fresh wave ofreforms.
But there are signs that at last reforms to modernise the economy are under way. It is easier for party leaders to explain this on the grounds that without change now, the Government will be forced to confront scores of thousands more "mass incidents" as it calls the demonstrations and protests already stirring in rural China.
He Guangping, the deputy head of the public security department in Guangdong, the southern province that makes a third of China's exports, says: "Faced with the complicated changes in public security in society, especially given the impact of the international financial crisis, we expect the public security situation to be grim.
"All kinds of illegal and criminal activities will continue to increase ... The task of safeguarding social stability, law and order overall, is arduous."
China is big on anniversaries, and it has only just finished celebrating 30 years since Deng Xiaoping opened the door to business, beginning with the farmers.
Since then, China's remarkable development -- which has seen hundreds of millions of people emerge from poverty -- has been driven substantially by its becoming the world's factory.
About 60 per cent of China's exports are made by foreign-owned or foreign-invested companies, chiefly from Taiwan and Hong Kong, and some simply locked the doors after giving their workers their tickets home for their annual leave at Chinese New Year a month ago.
Most had made profits for years, but were confronting ever-narrowing margins as costs rose and the big buyers, such as Wal-Mart, kept screwing prices down.
And they lacked access to financial support. China's banks, all state-owned, rarely lend to the private sector and especially not to small or medium businesses.
The rural communities that have depended on the money sent home by the women and men working away -- about 200 million in all, 15 per cent of the population -- are deprived of the income on which they had grown to depend. Many now also have to sustain an influx of adults who have not lived there for years.
more info->>>Millions of Chinese migrant workers lose jobs | The Australian
Nine destinations for 2009
ROME -- People always ask me how I decide where to go.
I read, I see movies, I stare at maps, I dream.
And in doing so, I arrived at these nine places that are tops on my list for 2009. Some are old favorites that are newly affordable. Others have a special reason to shine this year or suddenly are being talked about by well-traveled people I know. A few are raw, off-the-beaten-track destinations that I doubt can long remain un-transformed by globalization.
Money's tight, so I know I won't get to them all. But tough times have forced travel providers to reduce prices, meaning that now might be the time to take the grand tour.
Alaska
See Rome and die, they say. But it would be a sad thing to kick the bucket without having been to Alaska.
America's 49th state has as much knockout scenery as all the lower 48 put together. And it's celebrating its 50th anniversary of statehood this year with special events and travel deals on items as diverse as national park lodges and RV rentals, described at www.travelalaska.com.
Alaska touring options abound: taking the train from Anchorage to Fairbanks, passing 20,320-foot Denali; kayaking around 3.3-million acre Glacier Bay National Park; or staying at a fishing lodge where guides can help you catch a 50-pound salmon.
But my favorite way to see the great northern wonderland is the Alaska Marine Highway Ferry System, which covers the nooks and crannies of the coast from Dutch Harbor in the Aleutian Islands to Bellingham, Wash.
Four routes are described at www.dot.state.ak.us/amhs, including the 600-mile Inside Passage, which weaves through a maze of coastal islands. The facilities are spartan compared with a cruise ship, but the fellowship and scenery are unparalleled.
Botswana
Get a copy of "The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency," by mystery writer Alexander McCall Smith, starring a "traditionally built" lady sleuth who tracks down clues in a little white van along the rutted roads of Botswana.
There are nine books in the series, with a new installment, "Tea Time for the Traditionally Built," out in April. In March, HBO will air a seven-part series based on the books filmed on location in Botswana.
The true beauty of these books is their setting: dry, land-locked Botswana with its vast, empty Kalahari Desert and wildlife-rich Okavango Delta.
Prime time to visit is from April to October, the dry season when elephants and lions congregate in Chobe National Park, Moremi Wildlife Reserve and the Linyanti Marshes. For information on these and other Botswana attractions, see www.botswanatourism.co.bw.
To track down settings used in Smith's mysteries, check www.alexandermccallsmith.co.uk.
Hawaii
Each of the Hawaiian Islands has its devotees, but for scenic diversity, big is best, if you ask me.
Five times as large as Maui, its nearest neighbor, the island of Hawaii has the highest mountain in the chain, snow-capped, 13,796-foot Mauna Kea; awesomely active Kilauea volcano; Hilo, the island's funky county seat; the breathtakingly scenic Saddle Road; historic Parker Ranch; deep Waipio Valley; orchid farms; beaches; sugar mills; and Kona coffee.
Since the beginning of the year, airlines, tour companies and hotel chains serving Hawaii have been offering deals that make a Big Island visit too attractive to postpone.
Check out www.gohawaii.com and look for good rates from resort chains with lush properties near Kona International Airport on the island's beachy western coast.
Other sites to explore: www.hawaii.com; www.travel-hawaii.com; www.hawaiianairlines.com; www.pleasantholidays.com; www.nps.gov/havo/ (Hawaii Volcanoes National Park).
Katmandu Valley
After a decade of political turmoil that kept travelers away, peace has broken out in Nepal.
The monarchy formally was abolished last year, leaving the landlocked Himalayan nation a struggling young democracy, dependent on tourism for development.
That's why I want to go back to Katmandu this year. Nepal needs encouragement.
Of course, my motives aren't purely altruistic. The temperate valley encircled by rice terraces has seven UNESCO World Heritage Sites, including the exquisitely restored town of Bhaktapur; white-domed Boudhanath Temple, a center for displaced Tibetan Buddhists; eerie, shrine-filled Palace Square in Katmandu; and the Hindu "ghats" at Pashupatinath.
Katmandu also has attractively priced hotels, the colorful old hippie neighborhood of Thamel, world-class shopping, all the cuisines of Asia and warm, winning people.
From the centrally located valley, bus and van tours are available to Pokhara in the Annapurnas, Mount Everest and Lhasa, the Tibetan capital.
The U.S. State Department has issued a warning about Nepal, based on sporadic political unrest. But that hasn't stopped major tour companies, including Myths and Mountains and Geographic Expeditions, from taking tour groups there.
Info: www.welcomenepal.com.
Malacca, Malaysia
It's OK if you have to check a map to find Malacca. Almost everybody does, which is what makes the city seem so exotic and elusive.
It's on the western coast of the Malaysian peninsula, overlooking the fabled Strait of Malacca.
Malacca was founded in the 14th century by a prince from the island of Sumatra and settled by Chinese, Malaysians and Indians. In 1511, it was conquered by the Portuguese, followed by the Dutch and the English. By the 19th century, nearby Singapore had eclipsed it in importance.
The cultural melange gave Old Malacca its singular, spicy Chinese-Malay cuisine and richly layered architecture. This UNESCO World Heritage Site has a Portuguese-era fortress, a Dutch city hall, Chinese cemeteries and shophouses, a sultan's palace and St. Paul's Church, where St. Francis Xavier served as a missionary.
Best of all, Malacca remains off the beaten track, although it's an easy hop from Singapore, Kuala Lumpur and the beaches of southwestern Thailand.
Info: www.melaka.net.
Scottish Borders
When the pound was worth $2 about a year ago, many people believed they could not afford to visit Britain ever again. Since then, the British currency has plummeted to a seven-year low, meaning now is the time to check out flights to Heathrow.
London's cool, 250-year-old Kew Gardens is blooming, and Shakespeare still haunts Stratford-upon-Avon. But I'm putting my money on Scotland, especially the border country, an easy drive south of Edinburgh. The region, beloved by Sir Walter Scott, who lived at Abbotsford House near the town of Melrose, is still as gloriously wild and woolly as when it was a lair for outlaws, known as reivers.
The Borders, drained by the meandering River Tweed and bounded on the east by the rocky Berwickshire coast, is wide-open territory for walkers, bikers and equestrians. Established routes, including the South Upland Way and Berwickshire Coastal Path, cross lonely upland moors, skirt cliffs along the North Sea, wander through dark forests and pass fortresslike peel towers.
Meanwhile, there's succor for travelers in old market towns -- Hawick and Peebles come to mind -- and at historic estates such as Traquair House. There, bed-and-breakfast guests can sleep down the hall from the chamber where Mary Queen of Scots stayed in 1566.
Info: www.scot-borders.co.uk.
Syria
Some trips you actually take; others you take only in your mind, which might be the case with Syria. The U.S. State Department says it harbors terrorist organizations and notes that it has been the scene of anti-American demonstrations.
So why does everyone I know who has been there -- including archaeologists and foreign correspondents -- say that Syrians are friendly to Americans and that tourists have not been the targets of violence?
They also say it's a Middle Eastern idyll, at the heart of the ancient cradle of civilization. Syrian cuisine, highlighted by hundreds of varieties of "mezes", or appetizers, must be tasted to be believed, and the country's "souks" or marketplaces teem with treasures. Best of all, isolation has left it untrammeled and intense. I don't know how long that will last, so I want to go now.
My dream Syria tour would take in the capital Damascus with its Umayyad Mosque, one of Islam's holiest sites; the ruins of ancient Palmyra, where legendary Queen Zenobia mounted a rebellion against Rome in the third century; Aleppo, a Silk Road trading mecca with its miles-long covered souk, citadel and nearby Simeon, the Stylite monastery where the ascetic early-Christian saint lived atop a pillar for 37 years.
Info: www.syriatourism.org.
Utah Highway 12
Highway 12 gets my vote for most scenic road in the United States, although few people know about it. Plus, it's in south-central Utah, where prices for just about everything are relatively low. Put it all together and you get a great, affordable Wild West vacation.
East of Bryce Canyon National Park, it takes a 120-mile bend across the rugged Colorado Plateau, which descends toward the Grand Canyon in a series of majestic cliffs known as the Grand Staircase. That geological feature gave its name to the region's 1.9-million acre Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument.
The scenery along the way is one long hymn to the American West, including lonely little ranching communities such as Tropic and Cannonville, the weird sandstone chimneys of Kodachrome Basin State Park and 10,188-foot Powell Point.
From Head of the Rocks just north of the dusty town of Escalante, you can see the vast, impregnable Kaiparowits Plateau, lonely Henry Mountains and 100-mile-long Waterpocket Fold. Then the highway climbs over Boulder Mountain to the pleasant town of Torrey at the threshold of Capitol Reef National Park.
Take a tent or a camper if you don't mind roughing it; otherwise book a comfy room at Ruby's Inn near Bryce or the historic Lodge at Red River Ranch west of Torrey.
Info: www.utah.com/byways/highway 12.htm.
Valparaiso, Chile
Valparaiso has stuck in my mind since I visited it briefly about 10 years ago. I never got back but figure that now may be the time to nab a South American cruise bargain or discounted air fare from Lan (www.lan.com).
The Pacific Rim seaport on the coast of Chile was mentioned in Herman Melville's "Moby Dick" and thrived as a stopover for California Gold Rushers who preferred the harrowing nautical route around the Strait of Magellan to the long, tough overland trail across the American mainland.
Situated on steep, earthquake-prone hillsides overlooking the apparently endless Pacific, it has a transit system that features Portuguese-style funiculars and a compellingly seedy air. Cruise ships have begun to dock there, which I hope won't ruin it.
Valparaiso sightseers can take in South America's oldest stock exchange and La Sebastiana, the eccentrically decorated home of Chilean Nobel Prize-winning poet Pablo Neruda.
Info: www.visit-chile.org.
I read, I see movies, I stare at maps, I dream.
And in doing so, I arrived at these nine places that are tops on my list for 2009. Some are old favorites that are newly affordable. Others have a special reason to shine this year or suddenly are being talked about by well-traveled people I know. A few are raw, off-the-beaten-track destinations that I doubt can long remain un-transformed by globalization.
Money's tight, so I know I won't get to them all. But tough times have forced travel providers to reduce prices, meaning that now might be the time to take the grand tour.
Alaska
See Rome and die, they say. But it would be a sad thing to kick the bucket without having been to Alaska.
America's 49th state has as much knockout scenery as all the lower 48 put together. And it's celebrating its 50th anniversary of statehood this year with special events and travel deals on items as diverse as national park lodges and RV rentals, described at www.travelalaska.com.
Alaska touring options abound: taking the train from Anchorage to Fairbanks, passing 20,320-foot Denali; kayaking around 3.3-million acre Glacier Bay National Park; or staying at a fishing lodge where guides can help you catch a 50-pound salmon.
But my favorite way to see the great northern wonderland is the Alaska Marine Highway Ferry System, which covers the nooks and crannies of the coast from Dutch Harbor in the Aleutian Islands to Bellingham, Wash.
Four routes are described at www.dot.state.ak.us/amhs, including the 600-mile Inside Passage, which weaves through a maze of coastal islands. The facilities are spartan compared with a cruise ship, but the fellowship and scenery are unparalleled.
Botswana
Get a copy of "The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency," by mystery writer Alexander McCall Smith, starring a "traditionally built" lady sleuth who tracks down clues in a little white van along the rutted roads of Botswana.
There are nine books in the series, with a new installment, "Tea Time for the Traditionally Built," out in April. In March, HBO will air a seven-part series based on the books filmed on location in Botswana.
The true beauty of these books is their setting: dry, land-locked Botswana with its vast, empty Kalahari Desert and wildlife-rich Okavango Delta.
Prime time to visit is from April to October, the dry season when elephants and lions congregate in Chobe National Park, Moremi Wildlife Reserve and the Linyanti Marshes. For information on these and other Botswana attractions, see www.botswanatourism.co.bw.
To track down settings used in Smith's mysteries, check www.alexandermccallsmith.co.uk.
Hawaii
Each of the Hawaiian Islands has its devotees, but for scenic diversity, big is best, if you ask me.
Five times as large as Maui, its nearest neighbor, the island of Hawaii has the highest mountain in the chain, snow-capped, 13,796-foot Mauna Kea; awesomely active Kilauea volcano; Hilo, the island's funky county seat; the breathtakingly scenic Saddle Road; historic Parker Ranch; deep Waipio Valley; orchid farms; beaches; sugar mills; and Kona coffee.
Since the beginning of the year, airlines, tour companies and hotel chains serving Hawaii have been offering deals that make a Big Island visit too attractive to postpone.
Check out www.gohawaii.com and look for good rates from resort chains with lush properties near Kona International Airport on the island's beachy western coast.
Other sites to explore: www.hawaii.com; www.travel-hawaii.com; www.hawaiianairlines.com; www.pleasantholidays.com; www.nps.gov/havo/ (Hawaii Volcanoes National Park).
Katmandu Valley
After a decade of political turmoil that kept travelers away, peace has broken out in Nepal.
The monarchy formally was abolished last year, leaving the landlocked Himalayan nation a struggling young democracy, dependent on tourism for development.
That's why I want to go back to Katmandu this year. Nepal needs encouragement.
Of course, my motives aren't purely altruistic. The temperate valley encircled by rice terraces has seven UNESCO World Heritage Sites, including the exquisitely restored town of Bhaktapur; white-domed Boudhanath Temple, a center for displaced Tibetan Buddhists; eerie, shrine-filled Palace Square in Katmandu; and the Hindu "ghats" at Pashupatinath.
Katmandu also has attractively priced hotels, the colorful old hippie neighborhood of Thamel, world-class shopping, all the cuisines of Asia and warm, winning people.
From the centrally located valley, bus and van tours are available to Pokhara in the Annapurnas, Mount Everest and Lhasa, the Tibetan capital.
The U.S. State Department has issued a warning about Nepal, based on sporadic political unrest. But that hasn't stopped major tour companies, including Myths and Mountains and Geographic Expeditions, from taking tour groups there.
Info: www.welcomenepal.com.
Malacca, Malaysia
It's OK if you have to check a map to find Malacca. Almost everybody does, which is what makes the city seem so exotic and elusive.
It's on the western coast of the Malaysian peninsula, overlooking the fabled Strait of Malacca.
Malacca was founded in the 14th century by a prince from the island of Sumatra and settled by Chinese, Malaysians and Indians. In 1511, it was conquered by the Portuguese, followed by the Dutch and the English. By the 19th century, nearby Singapore had eclipsed it in importance.
The cultural melange gave Old Malacca its singular, spicy Chinese-Malay cuisine and richly layered architecture. This UNESCO World Heritage Site has a Portuguese-era fortress, a Dutch city hall, Chinese cemeteries and shophouses, a sultan's palace and St. Paul's Church, where St. Francis Xavier served as a missionary.
Best of all, Malacca remains off the beaten track, although it's an easy hop from Singapore, Kuala Lumpur and the beaches of southwestern Thailand.
Info: www.melaka.net.
Scottish Borders
When the pound was worth $2 about a year ago, many people believed they could not afford to visit Britain ever again. Since then, the British currency has plummeted to a seven-year low, meaning now is the time to check out flights to Heathrow.
London's cool, 250-year-old Kew Gardens is blooming, and Shakespeare still haunts Stratford-upon-Avon. But I'm putting my money on Scotland, especially the border country, an easy drive south of Edinburgh. The region, beloved by Sir Walter Scott, who lived at Abbotsford House near the town of Melrose, is still as gloriously wild and woolly as when it was a lair for outlaws, known as reivers.
The Borders, drained by the meandering River Tweed and bounded on the east by the rocky Berwickshire coast, is wide-open territory for walkers, bikers and equestrians. Established routes, including the South Upland Way and Berwickshire Coastal Path, cross lonely upland moors, skirt cliffs along the North Sea, wander through dark forests and pass fortresslike peel towers.
Meanwhile, there's succor for travelers in old market towns -- Hawick and Peebles come to mind -- and at historic estates such as Traquair House. There, bed-and-breakfast guests can sleep down the hall from the chamber where Mary Queen of Scots stayed in 1566.
Info: www.scot-borders.co.uk.
Syria
Some trips you actually take; others you take only in your mind, which might be the case with Syria. The U.S. State Department says it harbors terrorist organizations and notes that it has been the scene of anti-American demonstrations.
So why does everyone I know who has been there -- including archaeologists and foreign correspondents -- say that Syrians are friendly to Americans and that tourists have not been the targets of violence?
They also say it's a Middle Eastern idyll, at the heart of the ancient cradle of civilization. Syrian cuisine, highlighted by hundreds of varieties of "mezes", or appetizers, must be tasted to be believed, and the country's "souks" or marketplaces teem with treasures. Best of all, isolation has left it untrammeled and intense. I don't know how long that will last, so I want to go now.
My dream Syria tour would take in the capital Damascus with its Umayyad Mosque, one of Islam's holiest sites; the ruins of ancient Palmyra, where legendary Queen Zenobia mounted a rebellion against Rome in the third century; Aleppo, a Silk Road trading mecca with its miles-long covered souk, citadel and nearby Simeon, the Stylite monastery where the ascetic early-Christian saint lived atop a pillar for 37 years.
Info: www.syriatourism.org.
Utah Highway 12
Highway 12 gets my vote for most scenic road in the United States, although few people know about it. Plus, it's in south-central Utah, where prices for just about everything are relatively low. Put it all together and you get a great, affordable Wild West vacation.
East of Bryce Canyon National Park, it takes a 120-mile bend across the rugged Colorado Plateau, which descends toward the Grand Canyon in a series of majestic cliffs known as the Grand Staircase. That geological feature gave its name to the region's 1.9-million acre Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument.
The scenery along the way is one long hymn to the American West, including lonely little ranching communities such as Tropic and Cannonville, the weird sandstone chimneys of Kodachrome Basin State Park and 10,188-foot Powell Point.
From Head of the Rocks just north of the dusty town of Escalante, you can see the vast, impregnable Kaiparowits Plateau, lonely Henry Mountains and 100-mile-long Waterpocket Fold. Then the highway climbs over Boulder Mountain to the pleasant town of Torrey at the threshold of Capitol Reef National Park.
Take a tent or a camper if you don't mind roughing it; otherwise book a comfy room at Ruby's Inn near Bryce or the historic Lodge at Red River Ranch west of Torrey.
Info: www.utah.com/byways/highway 12.htm.
Valparaiso, Chile
Valparaiso has stuck in my mind since I visited it briefly about 10 years ago. I never got back but figure that now may be the time to nab a South American cruise bargain or discounted air fare from Lan (www.lan.com).
The Pacific Rim seaport on the coast of Chile was mentioned in Herman Melville's "Moby Dick" and thrived as a stopover for California Gold Rushers who preferred the harrowing nautical route around the Strait of Magellan to the long, tough overland trail across the American mainland.
Situated on steep, earthquake-prone hillsides overlooking the apparently endless Pacific, it has a transit system that features Portuguese-style funiculars and a compellingly seedy air. Cruise ships have begun to dock there, which I hope won't ruin it.
Valparaiso sightseers can take in South America's oldest stock exchange and La Sebastiana, the eccentrically decorated home of Chilean Nobel Prize-winning poet Pablo Neruda.
Info: www.visit-chile.org.
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