VietNamNet - Vietnam determined to lower hotel service fees to attract more tourists | Vietnam determined to lower hotel service fees to attract more tourists

Vietnam determined to lower hotel service fees to attract more tourists

VietNamNet Bridge – The hotel service fee now makes up 20 percent of the domestic tour fee, which is one of the most important reasons behind the weak competitiveness of domestic tours in comparison with the outbound tours to Thailand and Cambodia.

Hotels.com, a website on the hotels in Asia Pacific in March 2012 released a report saying that the hotel room rate in Vietnam was the lowest in South East Asia. However, the hotel service fee accounts for a bigger proportion in the tour fee structure than in Thailand, Cambodia, Laos and Malaysia.

On average, a traveler only has to pay 50-60 dollars to spend a night at a five star hotel in Cambodia, 100-120 dollars in Thailand, but he would have to pay 200 dollars in Vietnam.

The big gap in the hotel service fee, plus the high airfares both have made domestic tours more expensive than the outbound tours to neighboring countries.

Nguyet Nga, a senior executive of Saigontourist, said though the airlines have reduced the airfares by 49 percent, the domestic tour fees remain very high. One would have to pay 10 million dong for a tour from HCM City to Ha Long Bay with five days and four nights at a four star hotel. Meanwhile, a tour to Thailand with the same quality just costs 8 million dong.

The reports have also pointed out that the number of travelers booking domestic tours has not seen any increase over the last two months, since the day airlines and travel firmed began joining hands to stimulate the demand.

A survey at Hanoitourist, Du Lich Viet and Vietravel has found out that there is only one domestic tour by air booked for every three tours to Thailand.

Nguyen Cong Hoan, Deputy Director of Hanoi Redtours, said the domestic tour fees remain higher than the tours to South East Asian countries, because the ground service fees have not decreased.

The quoted hotel room rates for separated clients in Thailand are higher than in Vietnam. However, hotels would offer big discounts to travel firms. The hotel room rate applied to the travelers to Thailand is 49 percent lower than the quoted rate.

He went on to say that in Thailand, relating service providers join forces to develop tourists and attract more travelers, Airlines, hotels and restaurants all cooperate with travel firms in order to set up reasonable tour fees. Especially, in some cases, they would accept the tour fees which are lower than the production costs.

However, they still can make profit when travelers go shopping in Thailand and spend money on entertainment services in the country. For example, a gold, silver and gemstone group would accept to pay 70-100 percent of the bus tickets, if the travel firm brings travelers to their shops.

Meanwhile, in Vietnam, it’s nearly impossible for travel firms to persuade involved parties to reduce the fees of the services provided in the tours.

Hotels always say “no” to the proposal by travel firms to reduce the room rate, especially in the high tourism season. Very few agreements on the room rate reductions have been reached so far.

However, Hoan believes that if an alliance, representing travel firms, comes forward and conducts negotiations with hotels, the situation would be improved.

“Hotels would not have any more reasons to refuse to offer room rate discounts, once a lot of travel firms commit to bring clients,” he said.

“The cooperation would not only help reduce the tour fees, but also bring stable profits to the hotels,” he added.

Luu Duc Ke agrees with the view, saying that it would be difficult for one travel firm to spend a big sum of money to book seats at the hotels. However, when hotels have big and stable orders, they would be able to reduce the service fees.

To Quoc

Service providers sting themselves by overcharging travelers | Look At Vietnam

Service providers sting themselves by overcharging travelers

May 10, 2012

LookAtVietnam – Hotel, restaurants, resorts, carriers all try to overcharge
travelers on holidays or in high tourism season, which has made domestic
travelers turn their backs to domestic tours.

Travel firms have complained that the input service fees have been increasing
dramatically, especially on rush days, thus making domestic tours less
attractive to Vietnamese people. Travelers now tend to choose outbound tours,
which have lower tour fees, instead domestic expensive and monotonous tours.
Boring tours
Nguyen Van My, Director of Lua Viet travel firm, complained that it’s now very
difficult to sell domestic tours because of the high fees.
The fees of the tours to the central region on the May holiday, for example,
jumped to 5-6 million dong per traveler, much higher than the tour fee to
Cambodia at 3.6-3.7 million dong. Especially, the tour fees to Hanoi sometimes
are even higher than that to Singapore.
Outbound tours also attract Vietnamese travelers with their diversified and
interesting schedules. Meanwhile, domestic tours have not been diversified, thus
making travelers bored.
In fact, travel firms realized the problem many years ago. However, they still
hesitate to re-design tours, because this would be very costly. Meanwhile, their
ideas could be easily “stolen” by others, which would lead to the loss.
Vietnamese travelers do not have the habit of booking tours many months or one
year in advance. They only call to book tours in sudden inspiration. This
results in the increases of the hotel room rates due to the overloading, forcing
travelers to return home or move to other hotels.
My has emphasized that in the big difficulties, travel firms need to become more
professional with long term development strategies, instead of “living from hand
to mouth.” It’s now the right time for travel firms to join forces to develop,
instead of spontaneously dumping the market to scramble for clients.
Regional countries are facing the same difficulties like Vietnam in the context
of the global economic crisis. However, they still can stand firmly thanks to
the professional development strategy and the state’s support. They have not
only slashed tour fees to stimulate the demand, but have also diversified
services to attract more travelers.
Local authorities turn deaf ear to overcharging evil
Tran Van Long, Director of Du Lich Viet, complained that domestic tours were
sold very well in previous years, but the sale has been going very slowly so far
this year.
Long has affirmed that this should not be blamed on the economic crisis, because
this is the problem being faced by all countries in the world.
He has pointed out that service providers are killing themselves by overcharging
travelers on peak days. They raise the hotel room rates, meal service and
transport service fees on long holidays, when the travel demand increases. As a
result, Vietnamese travelers have turned their backs to domestic tours.
Nguyen Thi Khanh, Deputy Chair of the HCM City Tourism Association, has affirmed
that local service providers still can overcharge travelers because the local
authorities turn a deaf ear on the problem.
“The fact that local authorities sell excursion tickets to travelers and
visitors to Ha Long Bay has badly affected the image of a destination which has
been recognized as one of the natural wonders,” Khanh said.
The HCM City Tourism Association plans to work out with local authorities to
call on local service providers to reduce the service fees, so as to help travel
firms slash tour fees. After Vietnam Airlines slashes the airfare by 40 percent,
other service providers also need to slash their service fees, so that the
domestic tour fees can be reduced.
Source: NLD

Truly Italian dishes, dim sums on offer at Vietnam’s top hotel | Look At Vietnam

Truly Italian dishes, dim sums on offer at Vietnam’s top hotel 

March 20, 2012

Intercontinental Asiana Saigon, which has been named Vietnam’s top hotel for the past two years, is offering authentic Italian dishes and Chinese dim sums this month.
The hotel says it will use the “finest ingredients” and its “insider knowledge” to create wholly Italian traditional dishes. 
A five course set dinner, exclusively chosen by Italian executive chef Rolando Manesco, is served every day between 6 – 10:30 p.m. at the famous Basilico restaurant on the ground floor for VND888.000 (US$43) per person. Extra Australian beef delicacies cost from VND480.000 per portion.
Meanwhile, Yu Chu, the hotel’s signature Chinese restaurant on the first floor, is offering a dim sum buffet for VND330,000++ ($16) per person between 10:30 a.m. – 2:30 p.m. every day.
The restaurant also has an extensive lunch and dinner menu featuring quality beef, lamb, chicken and seafood dishes.
The lunch buffet, offered from Monday to Saturday, is priced at VND498,000 per person while the buffet dinner from Sunday to Thursday costs VND598,000 person or VND728,000VND to include unlimited red and white wine, beer and soft drinks.
InterContinental Asiana Saigon was named “Vietnam’s leading hotel” for two consecutive years in 2010 and 2011 by the World Travel Awards.
The hotel was last September named one of the “Top 25 Business Hotels in Asia” by the “Best In Travel Poll 2011,” organized by Smart Travel Asia. It was also honored as the “Outstanding InterContinental Hotel” for the Asia-Middle East-Africa region by the InterContinental Hotel Group.

Thanh Nien News 

Truly Italian dishes, dim sums on offer at Vietnam’s top hotel  | Look At Vietnam

Hotel management turns overheated | Look At Vietnam - Vietnam news daily update

Hotel management turns overheated

November 10, 2011 about News, Travel

A glimpse at the country’s hospitality industry will reveal not only the fast development of infrastructure facilities, but also the bustling competition among big international brands in hotel management.
As renowned international hotel management firms are vying with one another for a bigger share in the local market, local owners of hotels are standing for much better benefits, from professional services to lower management fee and thus higher profits.
Accor, for instance, is planning to expand its presence on the local market in the next two years by doubling the number of 500 hotel rooms currently under the Novotel brand. As planned, the leading hotel management group in Vietnam in terms of the number of hotel rooms will expand the brand in Danang, Phu Quoc and Hanoi in the coming time, besides some existing Novotel hotels located in Ha Long, Nha Trang and Phan Thiet.
Faster pace
Like Accor, other international hotel brands big and small alike are making great efforts in the race to increase their shares in the domestic market as much as possible.
Despite the current global economic crisis, the local hotel management segment has continued luring investments from foreign hotel service suppliers, helping local investors enjoy a much lower management fee accordingly.
InterContinental Hotel Group (IHG), well-known for its InterContinental and Crowne Plaza brands in Hanoi and HCMC, has built one more Crowne Plaza and developed Holiday Inn in Danang. Similarly, Starwood Hotels and Resort Worldwide, Inc. has approached the local market with its two more brands, namely Le Meridien and Westin, following the establishment of Sheraton hotels in HCMC, Nha Trang and Hanoi.
Not only existing groups but new rivals have also tried to penetrate the domestic market, such as BestWestern or Zinc Vision.



more info--->>>Hotel management turns overheated | Look At Vietnam - Vietnam news daily update

Sheraton Hotel Opens in Nha Trang, Vietnam

Sheraton Opens in Nha Trang, Vietnam

Sheraton Hotels & Resorts

One of the world’s most beautiful bays comes on display like never before next month as the Sheraton Nha Trang Hotel & Spa preps for its grand opening in this beach town on the south central coast.

The 30-story property delivers dazzling sea views from each of its 284 rooms and a collection of restaurants and bars that immediately establish Nha Trang as a culinary destination for a host of new reasons.

Three years under construction, the hotel ranks as the first internationally renown, 5-star brand to cultivate a beach destination within the country.

“This hotel is like a standing ovation on one of Vietnam’s most alluring attractions,” said Scott Hodgetts, general manager of the hotel. “I’ve been looking at this bay, and its islands, for the past two years as we fine-tuned this launch, and I’m still not tired of it. I can’t wait to see our guests’ reaction.”

The hotel’s overarching appeal is exemplified, collectively, by its 10 classes of accommodation, from spacious deluxe rooms to 70-square-meter executive suites and one awe-inspiring 182-square-meter presidential suite.

Outside every room, a balcony juts far enough to admit open-air ogling of the bay and a beach that’s been described by many guidebooks as the best in Vietnam. A Sheraton Sweet Sleeper bed is standard in every room.

The hotel’s décor exudes a deliberate, earthy warmth, with an appealing palate of tawny tones inspired by the beach. The beige and yellow hues, and the custom carpets in jute and cotton evoke familiar Asian themes.

One travel industry writer who toured the hotel prior to its Grand Opening said this about her first impression: “This Sheraton certainly sets a new bar for style.”

The Sheraton Nha Trang’s charms reach their zenith in Altitude, a multi-purpose events room on the 28th floor with panoramic views of a bay renowned as one of the world’s most beautiful (www.world-bays.com) and wonderful environs replete with hills, rivers and an array of cultural attractions.

Three floors below, the Sheraton Club Lounge, which Hodgetts describes as an awe-inspiring modern lounge, delivers a sumptuous, multi-dimensional, uplifting guest experience. Business travelers and leisure travelers who crave extra-special treatment and amenities, and who’ll be staying in a room or suite on floors 22 through 26, will check in here.

If Altitude is the hotel’s zenith, then the 6th floor is its heart and soul. The pools include an infinity-edged pool expansive enough to accommodate lap swimmers, a reflecting pool for sun deck sun soaking and a kid’s pool.

Thirsty? Turn to Plunge, where pina coladas and strawberry daiquiris rule the bartop. Tired? Perk up at Sheraton Fitness, featuring Life Fitness equipment and specially tailored regimens by Core Performance. Got the kids? Steer them into the Sheraton Adventure Club.

While the kids explore new horizons, the Cooking School — Vietnam’s first purpose-built cooking school! — beckons older guests keen to explore the culinary heritage of Vietnam.

On the 7th and 8th floors, Shine Spa makes its mainland Asia debut. In nine treatment rooms, therapists practice treatments borne of the Mediterranean, Arabia, India and Asia with a particular emphasis on Vietnamese traditions.

However attractive the Cooking School, most of the hotel’s culinary adventures will take place in a number of singular restaurants and bars. Another first at the Sheraton — this time for the entire Starwood group of hotels — is Steam ‘n Spice, a restaurant that celebrates the best of Asia’s streets with a cheery indoor space.

The hotel’s largest restaurant, Feast, is a tried-and-true culinary concept that taps the culinary heritage of Italy, India and a number of distinct Asian locales and turns out a la carte dishes a la minute.

Outside Feast, a gallery lords over the lobby. On the far side of the open space, the Wine Bar and its glass walls position casual drinkers with opportunities for both bay-watching and people-watching in the lobby below.

This same floor also features the Link@Sheraton experienced with Microsoft, a unique WiFi lounge launched by Sheraton last year. In the Link@Sheraton, guests can surf the Internet, send email, watch TV on a plasma screen or indulge such old-fashioned media as newspapers and magazines.

Down the circular stairway into the lobby, Connexions and Toastina offer additional opportunities to quench a thirst or partake of deli favorites, to-go style.

For less leisurely pursuits, the hotel is shaping up as a magnet for businesses and conferences that require as much as 1,600-square meters of ballroom space. Although Nha Trang can feel like a destination apart, the 24-hour business centre ensures that guests can get right into the thick of it as necessary.

For more information about the Sheraton Nha Trang Hotel & Spa, or to make a reservation, visit www.starwoodhotels.com.

Marriott to open first hotels in Algeria, Morocco

To open first hotels in Algeria, Morocco, Ghana by 2012

* Sees strongest growth opportunities in Asia

* Aiming for about 70 hotels in Middle East, Africa by 2015

By Jason Benham

DUBAI, Nov 11 (Reuters) - Marriott International (MAR.N) will open its first hotels in Algeria, Morocco and sub-Saharan Africa by 2012 and sees further opportunities to grow in Asia as the global economic downturn recedes.

"Asia is in the lead and the Middle East and Africa is right up there with it," Ed Fuller, president and managing director of Marriott Lodging International, one of the hotel operator's five business segments, said at a news conference in Dubai on Wednesday.

The U.S-based company, which aims to have more than 70 hotels in the Middle East and Africa by the end of 2015, will open a hotel in Algeria, Morocco and Ghana, and two more in Egypt.

"We've made several forays but have been unable to break into Africa until this point," Fuller said.

"Africa has great potential."

The company, which operates the Marriott, Ritz-Carlton and Renaissance Hotels, will focus its African expansion on Algeria, Angola, Morocco, Nigeria and South Africa, its chief development officer for the Middle East and North Africa, Jean-Marc Grosfort, told the conference.

Fuller told Reuters that while he believed the worst of the financial crisis was over, it was "premature" to say that hotel bookings in the Middle East were picking up.

In October, Marriott said its worldwide revenue per available room (revPAR) for the third quarter fell 23.5 percent, and it could be flat to down 5 percent for hotels worldwide in 2010.

RevPAR is a benchmark measure for the hotel industry.

Many hotels have struggled during the global downturn as recession-hit customers reduce spending on travel while businesses also look to cut costs. (Editing by Mike Nesbit)

A hotel costing 20 cents-29 October, 2009

Would you believe a hotel room for as low as 20 cents? The new low-cost Tune Hotel near Kuala Lumpur’s airport is the brain child of AirAsia’s Tony Fernandes.


“The no-frills hotel, one of a slew popping up across Asia, is the definition of budget digs and anything above the basics will cost you,” say wire services.


Despite having a no-star rating, a standard room comes with a 5-star queen bed, a hot "power shower" and a ceiling fan.


Average prices are more like US$3 but there are rooms for less than a dollar as packages.


But the room is small - to say the least - albeit clean and modern, according to several reports.
Tune hotels, similar to low-cost airlines, employ a self-service online booking system and the rates are kept low by offering limited service.


The rooms are also available for three-hour stopovers, which the hotel calls its refresher pack.


There is no television or refrigerator. Want a towel? There’s a cost. Ditto for air conditioning.


It can get steamy and hot in Malasia but Fernandes thinks bargain-hunters will pass up creature comforts.


By David Wilkening

Unprecedented drop in US hotel prices-29 September, 2009

The average price of a hotel room in the US fell 17 percent in the first six months of 2009 compared to the same period in 2008. Room rates in the US now cost, on average, $115 a night, down from $139 the year before.

So says the recently released Hotels.com Hotel Price Index (HPI).

"This is by far the most significant change in prices we've seen since we created the Hotel Price Index. Americans' travel dollars have never gone farther than in 2009," said David Roche, President of hotels.com. He added:

"As properties continue to roll out discounts and other incentives to attract guests, the gap between the top star categories has narrowed, giving travelers more value and making luxury more accessible than any other time in the past five years."

The United States followed a larger global trend with room rates around the world down 17 percent in the first half of the year, according to the HPI.

The fall in room rates was driven by price drops across every continent with hotel rooms in Europe down 16 percent, rates in North America and Asia both declining 17 percent, and hotel prices in Latin America falling 18 percent.

Hotels.com's HPI revealed that Las Vegas overtook New York City as the favorite domestic destination for US travelers in the first half of 2009, with room rates in Las Vegas hotels just $82 a night on average.

Destinations rounding out the top five U.S. favorites included New York City, Orlando, Chicago hotels and San Francisco.

By David Wilkening

Hotel chain offers a first: air tickets-29 September, 2009

Hotel chain offers a first: air tickets

Offering new meaning to the phrase, “the sky’s the limit,” InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG) announced its newest reward: Flights Anywhere.

The offering is the first of its kind, according to IHG.

“This new program lets members redeem Priority Club® points, or combine points and cash, to book flights on more than 400 airline carriers worldwide without restrictions on availability,” the chain says.

“Our customers are looking for ways to stretch their wallets when they travel; with Flights Anywhere they can now pay directly for airline tickets using Priority Club points,” said Don Berg, vice president, Loyalty Programs, IHG. He added:

“They’ll never have to worry about seat availability or blackout dates when redeeming Priority Club points for flights.”

IHG has more than 4,300 hotels worldwide.

It says the program is “the first and only hotel loyalty program to offer the flexibility to redeem points and cash for flights.”

Priority Club points can be redeemed for the entire cost of an airline ticket (including all taxes and applicable fees), or combined with cash for a ticket, enabling consumers to “buy” a ticket at a discount.

Also, there are no blackout dates or limits on available tickets.

By David Wilkening

Four Points by Sheraton debuts in India -

hotStarwood Hotels and Resorts has opened its first Four Points by Sheraton property in India, near Mumbai, with a second property in Jaipur to follow in October.
Four Points by Sheraton Navi Mumbai, Vashi is located in the business centre of Navi Mumbai, one of the main suburbs to the north of the Maharashtra capital. The 151-room hotel has a health club and swimming pool, with a spa due to open in December, plus a bar, a café and two restaurants.
Sky Grill restaurant specializes in barbecue specialties served al fresco by the pool, while the second restaurant Asia Kitchen serves east Asian cuisine, cooked in an interactive live kitchen. Meeting facilities at the hotel include nine meeting rooms, with the largest measuring 43sqm.
Four Points by Sheraton Jaipur, City Square, located near the city's commercial hub on MI Road, will open on October 1. The hotel will feature 115 guest rooms, a bar/deli and an all-day dining restaurant plus nearly 369sqm of meeting and function space.
Brian McGuinness, senior vice president of specialty select brands for Starwood Hotels & Resorts said: "In keeping with Four Points by Sheraton's commitment to providing honest, uncomplicated comfort, these two hotels will offer travellers to and within India a new kind of style combined with spirited 'can do' service at an honest value."
The Four Points by Sheraton brand has 12 hotels in Asia Pacific and nearly 20 under development in China, Cambodia, Taiwan Malaysia, Thailand and India.
Miguel Ko, president of Starwood Hotels & Resorts, Asia Pacific said: "Starwood has spent the last two years laying the groundwork for the debut of the Four Points by Sheraton brand in India, and we are thrilled to see our plans come to fruition with the opening and signing of these new hotels. We look forward to continuing to grow this brand in key markets throughout India and Asia Pacific."
The Starwood group currently operates 21 hotels in India under the brands Luxury Collection, Le Meridien, Westin, Sheraton and now Four Points by Sheraton. Another 15 hotels are due to open in the subcontinent by 2012, across the Sheraton, Westin, Four Points by Sheraton and Aloft brands.

Terrorist new target: hotels -10 September, 2009

Terrorist new target: hotels
The new target for terrorists are hotels and other easier-to-access tourist areas as security continues to be beefed up at military and government facilities, says a global inelligence organization.
“Al-Qaida is changing from a centralized organization with global goals to regional ‘franchises’ with more parochial aims and strong grass-roots support, according to a report from STRATFOR,” says the AP.
These smaller cells get less training and less money, so they set their sights lower.
That doesn't mean they aren't dangerous, "particularly if they are attempting to prove their value or if they are able to link up with someone who is highly tactically skilled," the report says.
The number of attacks on hotels has more than doubled since the 9/11 attacks in 2001, according to STRATFOR.
Why have hotels become a soft target for Islamic extremists? Answer: a fixed location, a lot of human traffic and shallow security.
Hotels also attract many Westerners, giving militants high probabilities of killing or injuring large numbers of them in a single attack, according to the report.
Although hotel security guards try to monitor suspicious people and activities, extremists know how to get around this: check in as a guest, giving them full access to the grounds. As an example, the report says the bombers who carried out the July twin suicide attacks at the J.W. Marriott and Ritz-Carlton hotels in Jakarta, Indonesia, had registered two days earlier.
“The first step for large hotel operators in dealing with this threat is to undertake a vulnerability assessment to identify properties that are most likely to be at risk,” the report says.
Despite the increasing attacks in hotels, the report says many owners and managers have been reluctant to equip their buildings with more security measures, which can be cumbersome and inconvenience guests, says the report. But in the wake of lawsuits, that may be changing.
Measures for countering terrorism include more security guards and prominently placed security cameras.
By David Wilkening

Terrorist new target: hotels -10 September, 2009

Choose your dinner, daily: Vietnam resort conquers menu fatigue

HANOI (Reuters Life!) - Hotel menus can quickly go stale, so aluxury resort in Vietnam has come up with a unique solution: ask the guests what they want to eat, every day.
After consulting patrons, the main restaurant at the recently opened Princess D'Annam Resort on Ke Ga Bay on Vietnam's southern coast comes up with a new menu card every day based on that day's fresh produce.
The restaurant, headed by Chef La Thuan An, specializes in French and Vietnamese food, and each evening's menu includes choices from either cuisine.
One recent menu included pan fried prawns marinated with lemongrass and seafood risotto as the Eastern option and roasted lamb tenderloin as the Western option.
"There is no default menu," Jean-Philippe Beghin, general manager of the 57-villa resort, said in a statement.
"In the same way that performance artists feed off their audience, we've charged our chef and food and beverage manager with acquiring new information about that day's group of guests and using that information to develop that evening's menu."
Guests can also accompany An on his shopping trips to the local fishing village to choose their dinner.
"It happens all the time," said Thierry Mounon, food and beverage manager.
"When people are on holiday, they want their gastronomic experience to be much more than selecting items from a one-size-fits-all list. Many want an interactive dining experience."
The hotel is located some 150 km (93 miles) from Ho Chi Minh City.
Tourism is a small but growing part of the Vietnamese economy, although the global economic slowdown and H1N1 flu outbreak have eaten into the number of visitors traveling to the Southeast Asian country this year.
The country is targeting 4.5 million visitors this year, but state media have said it may only see just over 3 million.
(Writing by Miral Fahmy, editing by John Ruwitch)

© Thomson Reuters 2009 All rights reserved

VietNamNet - TRAVEL IN BRIEF 21/11

\In October HCM City’s Grand Hotel received more than 500 cruise tourists from Japan and the US. Its management said the French-style architecture of the hotel, first built in 1930, is one of the attractions for European guests.
To better serve MICE (meetings, incentives, conventions, and exhibitions) and business tourists, last year Saigontourist Holdings Co, the hotel owner, spent US$20 million to turn Grand into a five-star hotel, one of the best in the city.
Vung Tau to hold cultural festival on daily life
The coastal resort town of Vung Tau will host the Culture-Tourism Festival of Ba Ria – Vung Tau 2009 from January 26 to February 4. It will focus on cultural, tourist, and mundane daily activities.
To be held at Loc An Wharf, the monument of "the Ho Chi Minh Trail on the sea" in Xuyen Moc District, and on Con Dao Island, the festival will feature many cultural, sporting, and tourist events, including beach volleyball, beach football, Chinese chess, folk games, art performances, and exhibitions of calligraphy and tourist photos.
Budget Car Rental launches short tours
Well-known car rental company Budget Car Rental has launched World-Class Drives, a collection of 15 short trips out of HCM City. The half and full-day trips include the Mekong Delta, the seaside resort town of Vung Tau, Binh Chau Hot Springs. Dan Cohen. Budget Viet Nam’s general manager said these short tours are targeted at war veterans, cooking buffs, families and golfers.
Provinces safeguard tourists against storm
Khanh Hoa and Binh Thuan provinces on the south-central coast and Ba Ria-Vung Tau in the south took precautions to protect visiting tourists from the impact of tropical storm Noul, which was forecast to hit them earlier this week and has since blown over.
Resorts in Binh Thuan warned tourists to stay away from the sea and in safe places. Ba Ria-Vung Tau authorities issued an alert to protect tourists while Khanh Hoa cancelled all boat trips to bays and islets on Monday afternoon. The storm weakened into a tropical low shortly after it reached the central coastline on Monday night.
(Source: Viet Nam News)