Vietnam attends cultural festival in Bangkok — TalkVietnam

Vietnam attends cultural festival in Bangkok — TalkVietnam
Participants included Thai Minister of Culture Sonthaya Khunploem, officials and representatives from ASEAN embassies in Thailand.
Addressing the event, Thai Culture Minister Sonthaya Khunploem noted that his country has made great efforts to raise ASEAN’s image globally and voiced his hope that more exchanges and cooperation activities will be promoted among ASEAN member countries.
Vietnam brought to this year’s event art performances, foods, photographs and documents highlighting its cultural identity and tourist attractions.
The festival will run until August 12.

Vietnam latest news - Thanh Nien Daily | Vietnam to host int’l hot air balloon festival

Vietnam to host int’l hot air balloon festival 

Last Updated: Tuesday, July 17, 2012 05:55:00

Vietnam’s first-ever international hot air balloon festival will be held in the central resort town of Phan Thiet from August 29 to September 3, VnExpress reported Tuesday.

According to the news website, 30 balloons of various shapes, including a golden cat and a dragon fruit, will be operated by pilots  from countries such as the Netherlands, Belgium, France, and Thailand.
The performances were scheduled for 6-7 a.m. and from 5 p.m. each day of the event.
Other parts of the festival will be air sport performances, including paragliding and kiting, the report said, adding that a night performance of over 20 big air balloons to celebrate Independence Day on September 2 will be another highlight of the event.
Organized to celebrate the 67th anniversary of Independence Day and the 20th anniversary of Binh Thuan Province’s foundation, the festival’s scale will be equal to that of other similar events in the ASEAN region, organizers were quoted as saying. 

Cultural activities mark ‘National Tourism Year 2012’ | Look At Vietnam

Cultural activities mark ‘National Tourism Year 2012’

June 12, 2012

The
organisers of ‘National Tourism Year 2012’ and authorities of Thua Thien-Hue
province have announced that a number of cultural activities will take place
during the months of June, July and August.

All the cultural activities aim to promote tourism in the country and lure domestic and international tourists.

- 13th
ASEAN International Open Chess Tournament will take place in the
central province of Thua Thien-Hue from June 10 to 19. Participants will
be divided into different age groups ranging from 8 to 20, and over 50,
to compete for 78 sets of medals in accordance with the Swiss system.
- ‘Central
Coastal Food Festival 2012’ will be organised by the Vietnam National
Administration of Tourism, Vietnam Hotel Association, and departments of
Culture, Sports and Tourism of   Thua Thien-Hue Province and the
northern coastal provinces at Hue Sports Centre from June 28-July 1.
- Lang
Co Festival- World’s Most Beautiful Bay will open on June 16-17 in Phu
Loc District. Lang Co was declared the ‘World’s Most Beautiful Bay’ in
2009, becoming Vietnam’s third bay to be so named after Ha Long Bay and
Nha Trang Bay. Lang Co beach, 30 kilometres north of Hue City, is a
peaceful fishing village famous for its spectacular natural landscapes,
surrounded by mountains and the boundless blue sea with waves playing on
its fine sand beaches. Between the mountains and the sea lies the
mysterious Lap An lagoon, home to flocks of white storks that return to
their nests every evening.
- 39th National Long-Course Swimming Competition will be organised at the Tu Tuong Park from June 18-30.
- 300
artists from 19 art troupes will participate in the National Drama
Stage Festival at Hue City Cultural Centre from July 14-28.
- U17
National Football Champion 2012 will kick off in Tu Do Stadium from
July 11-20. Matches will be broadcast live by Vietnam Television.
- U18 Tennis Championships will take place in An Cuu New Urban from June 18-26.
- Traditional Martial Arts Competition will be held at Hue Sports Centre from August 23-September 1.

SGGP

S. China Sea–the next big power playground | The Jakarta Post

S. China Sea–the next big power playground

Kor Kian Beng, Asia News Network (The Straits Times), Beijing | Wed, 04/25/2012 12:39 PM

A | A | A |

Despite strenuous efforts by China to keep other global powers out of the South China Sea, recent movements suggest that Beijing has failed.
The United States, whom China is most keen to block, has boosted its presence there in the last week. It is holding military exercises with the Philippines and having a naval exchange with Vietnam.
As if that is not irritating enough for Beijing, even Russia has muscled in. Its state gas giant Gazprom signed a deal this month with Vietnam to explore reserves in the resource-rich sea.
It mirrored a similar exploration pact that India signed with Hanoi last year, and comes on the back of Japan's long-held influence in the region through years of infrastructure investments in ASEAN.
The waters China regards as its backyard are fast becoming the world's “next big power playground”, say observers.
And much like the Balkan states in the last century, when big countries fought proxy wars in the region, many fear that the sea could become a conflict zone.
Singapore’s Institute of Southeast Asian Studies senior fellow Ian Storey calls it a potential “focal point” of great power competition.
The big boys hunger for control over the sea lanes where one-third of the world's shipping trade passes through, he said.
“As tensions continue to simmer in the South China Sea, and the waters become increasingly crowded with new warships, I think it's just a question of time before we see a clash at sea leading to fatalities,” he added.
None of the global giants wants to give China free rein over such a precious piece of watery real estate. They have the support of smaller ASEAN countries that are contesting China's claims and seeking to bolster their claims by internationalizing the situation, say observers.
Foreign policy expert Yang Cheng from the East China Normal University said some claimants see merits in playing one major power against another.
Doing so could help the smaller players glean some benefits from the major powers clamoring for their support, he added.
“It seems like the tragedy of great power politics is now the smaller countries' comedy,” said Yang.
He said claimants could also become bolder in challenging China, believing that its army, the world's largest, would be restrained in its response so as to avoid conflicts with major powers.
This could be why Manila took a more hardline approach in the two-week stand-off with China over the Scarborough Shoal, which lies north of the Spratly Islands claimed by China, the Philippines and Vietnam, among others.
“But such mindsets could be dangerous. There is a limit to China's tolerance, especially as the solution to the territorial issues directly relates to the legitimacy of the authorities and many Chinese want the government to be more hardline now that the country is stronger,” said Yang.
Also, conflicts may occur if major powers misread conflicting signals and inconsistent policies emanating from China – a possible result of a struggle for money and power between agencies and local governments, said the International Crisis Group in a report this week.
The International Crisis Group’s Northeast Asia project director Stephanie Kleine-Ahlbrandt said: “Some agencies are acting assertively to compete for a slice of the budget pie, while others such as local governments are focused on economic growth, leading them to expand their activities into disputed waters.”
“Their motivations are domestic in nature, but the impact of their actions is increasingly international.”
To assert its primacy, Beijing has been on a public relations drive to win more ASEAN friends.
Thai Premier Yingluck Shinawatra met top-ranked Chinese leaders in Beijing last week, while China's fourth-ranked leader Jia Qinglin visited Brunei.
Analyst Li Mingjiang of the S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies believes the visits are examples of China reassuring its neighbors of its “benign and cooperative intention”.
“These efforts will partly be helpful in stabilizing the South China Sea contention,” he added.

Indonesian dancers promote cultural ties with Viet Nam | Look At Vietnam

Indonesian dancers promote cultural ties with Viet Nam

April 18, 2012

VietNamNet Bridge – Fantastic dance performances by Indonesian artists and Vietnamese students on Saturday at HCM City’s Youth Cultural House kicked off a week-long cultural festival in HCM City.

Come together: Vietnamese youth watch an Indonesian artist perform a Topeng dance (mask dance) during a public event in HCM City. Ornately costumed performers wear masks and interpret traditional narratives about fabled kings, heroes and myths, accompanied by gamelan music. (Photo: VNS)

Vietnamese youth enjoyed an exciting atmosphere with traditional music, dance and fashion shows about Indonesian national and traditional dress. Short quizzes were held to test attendees’ knowledge of the country.
Besides Indonesian food and drink, Vietnamese youth were invited to join the dancers and taught simple traditional movements.
Speaking at the opening ceremony, Indonesian Consul General Bambang Tarsanto said the event brought Vietnamese youngsters a miniature Indonesia with diversified and special cultural features.
“I hope participants can learn about the atmosphere of Indonesia and feel what it’s like being in the country,” he said.
Indonesia Day titled Glorious Bali was held for the second time in Vi?t Nam to introduce the cultural diversity and wonderful tourist destinations of Indonesia to the public, with several photos exhibited at the cultural house until this Sunday.
The Glorious Bali event is held by the Consulate General of the Republic of Indonesia and supported by the Indonesian community in HCM City in co-operation with the HCM City Union of Friendship Organisation and HCM City Youth Cultural House.
The event aims to promote Indonesia’s culture and to, bring Vietnamese and Indonesian people closer, particularly in the context of the ASEAN Community 2015, according to the Indonesian Consulate General in HCM City.
An Indonesian Cultural Day was held for the first time in the city on April 17 last year.
VietNamNet/Viet Nam News

Tourism sector targets Japanese visitors

April 15, 2012

The country has targeted to welcome 1 million Japanese tourists by 2015 as Japan has always been among the top five markets for Viet Nam’s tourism sector for recent years.
Viet Nam ranked the third most attractive destination to Japanese tourirsts in the ASEAN region with nearly 482,000 Japanese coming to the country last year, up 8.9 per cent from the previous year, although it was devastated by the earthquake and tsunami in March last year.
The first two months of the year saw nearly 110,000 Japanese visiting Viet Nam, up 16.9 per cent year-on-year.
Viet Nam has significant advantages to attract Japanese tourists including stable political security, 15 days visa to be exempt from Japanese guests travelling to Viet Nam, near distance between Viet Nam and Japan (only 5 hour direct flight), many cultural similarities between two countries, good diplomatic relationship and various tourism resources of Viet Nam which meet the Japanese people’s tastes.
However, deputy director of the Viet Travel Channel Company Ho Kim Dung said that it was not easy to be access to Japanese tourist market as Japanese arrivals are high demanding while Viet Nam’s tourism service quality has remained restricted.
The Viet Nam National Administration of Tourism (VNAT) also admitted that there remained difficulties to attract Japanese tourists including limited expense for promoting tourism, no tourism promotion office in Japan, lack of marketing strategies for this market and restricted tourism products quality.
Therefore, the goal of attracting 1 million Japanese tourists by 2015 is deemed as ambitious but given available air links, efforts of travel firms in both countries and the appeal of Viet Nam as a favourite destination of Japanese tourists, industry insiders expected that the target would be achievable.
Nguyen Minh Man, director of the Communications Division of Vietravel, which receives roughly 1,000-1,500 Japanese arrivals monthly on average, said that the target would be met if all domestic tourist companies considered the attraction of Japanese visitors a key task from now to 2015 and focused on it to create a comprehensive promotion campaign to attract the visitors.
VNAT has so far drawn up a scheme with various specific activities intended to attract more Japanese visitors, including the inauguration of a representative office in Japan late this year. When the office is in place, marketing and advertising projects on television and in newspapers and direct interactions with customers will be conducted in a more regular basis.
Besides creating website in Japanese language to promote Viet Nam tourism on the base of studying taste characteristics of Japanese market, VNAT will also establish the group of Viet Nam-Japan tourism development and step up training the Japanese tour guides as well as the human resources to improve customer service quality.
An expansion of direct flights between the two countries is also considered a measure to attract more Japanese tourists to Viet Nam.
VNS

Vietnam’s income per capita far lagging behind regional countries | Look At Vietnam

Vietnam’s income per capita far lagging behind regional countries

April 3, 2012

LookAtVietnam – The average income per capita of Vietnamese people is
still far lagging behind the income per capita in ASEAN countries and China,
though the income has been increasing considerably in the last years as a result
of the doi moi (renovation) period.

Vietnamese still poor…
Meanwhile, the scenario that Vietnam can catch up with China and other
ASEAN’s economies would still be a far away dream, if Vietnam lacks the driving
force for reform.
This is the warning released by a scientific research work at the national level
carried out by the Hanoi Economics University. The research work was conducted
at the request of the National Assembly’s Economics Committee, which cited the
figures about the income per capita in Vietnam and in other regional countries
released by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) in 2010.
If considering the exchange rate, the GDP per capita increased from 114 dollars
in 1991 to 1061 dollars in 2010. Meanwhile, China’s GDP per capita increased
from 353 dollars to 3915 dollars during the same time.
As such, the income per capita of Vietnamese people, which was equal to 32
percent of China’s, then dropped to 27 percent in 2010.
If considering the PPP (purchase parity power), the GDP per capita in Vietnam
was 706 dollars in 1991 and then increased to 2948 dollars in 2010. During the
same time, the figures in China rose from 888 dollars to 6786 dollars.
As such, the income per capita in Vietnam was equal to 80 percent of Chinese in
1991, but the figure dropped to 43 percent in 2010.
If comparing with other ASEAN countries, though the gap between Vietnamese and
ASEAN income per capita has been narrowed in the last 20 years, the gap is still
big at this moment.
Thoi bao Kinh te Saigon quoted Dr Pham Hong Chuong from the Hanoi Economics
University as saying that Vietnam’s GDP per capita in PPP was less than a half
of that of the Philippines or Indonesia, 1/5 of Thailand, 1/10 of Malaysia in
1991.
The figures then exceeded the thresholds of ¾, 1/3 and 1/5 of the above said
countries after nearly 20 years.
In general, Vietnam’s GDP per capita in 2010 was 1061 dollars by exchange rate
and 2948 dollars by PPP, which, according to Chuong, are far below the average
levels in Asia and the world.
After more than a quarter of a century of renovation, Vietnam has escaped from
the group of countries with low income to the group with medium income, in
accordance with the World Bank’s standards.
However, according to Chuong, Vietnam’s economic growth still cannot show the
strong determination and its capability to escape from the risk of lagging
behind in the development.
The report also showed the unemployment rate of 4.6 percent in urban areas and
20 percent in rural areas, which means that over 10 million workers stay
unemployed in Vietnam.
In fact, the fact that Vietnam’s income per capita is outdistanced by regional
countries is not a new story.
The 2009 Vietnam Development Report of the World Bank showed that Vietnam’s
income per capita was behind by 51 years in comparison with Indonesia, 95 years
with Thailand and 158 years with Singapore.
… but spend money like water
The fact that Vietnamese are extravagant consumers has become well-known in the
world. Nguyen Tran Bat, a well-known economist, said on Doanh Nhan that his
foreign friends, including billionaires, many times expressed their surprise
about the spending money like water of Vietnamese people.
A friend of Bat’s, a French professor, who arrived in Vietnam in 1970s, saw a
taxi driver smoking a 555 cigarette and asked how many 555 cigarettes could he
buy with his salary. The driver said that his salary was just enough to buy 3-4
cigarettes only. The French professor then said that Vietnamese people even
spend more than American.
C. V

‘We”ll be ASEAN bridge” VN tells Kazakh leader

November 1, 2011  about News, Politics

Vietnamese President Truong Tan Sang said yesterday he would help Kazakhstan increase ties with ASEAN countries, adding that Viet Nam was ready to act as a bridge.
President Sang made the statement during talks with his Kazakh counterpart Nursultan Nazarbayev here yesterday.
Sang described the Kazakh leader’s first official state visit to Viet Nam as an important step in developing friendship and co-operation between the two countries.
He said Viet Nam attached importance to consolidating and developing relations with traditional friends, including Kazakhstan.
President Nazarbayev spoke highly of Viet Nam’s achievements in its renewal process, saying that they helped improve the country’s world position.
The two presidents agreed that Viet Nam and Kazakhstan had great opportunities to intensify co-operation in politics, trade and investment.
They expressed hope of making mutual investments in infrastructure, mining, garment and footwear production, and setting up joint ventures for processing Vietnamese rubber, vegetables and seafood, and packaging Vietnamese tea and coffee in Kazakhstan.
They said that with their potential in energy development, the two countries would intensify co-operation in oil and gas exploration.
The two leaders reached consensus on regional and international issues of common concern, affirming their intention to co-operate at international forums and organisations.
They agreed that in the candidacy for the UN Human Rights Council, Viet Nam would run for the 2013-2016 term, and Kazakhstan the 2012-2015 term.
President Sang thanked Kazakh leaders and authorities for their support of the Vietnamese community in their country.
The leaders also witnessed the signing of six documents, including an agreement on judicial assistance in civil matters, an agreement on double taxation avoidance, an agreement on tourism co-operation, a protocol to supplement the agreement on education co-operation signed by the two governments in 2009, an agreement on civil aviation co-operation and a co-operative agreement between the HCM City and Almaty city.
Party General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong also met with President Nazarbayev.
Trong thanked Kazakhstanis for their great support of Viet Nam ’s national construction and defence.
The Kazakh President said that relations between the two countries’ legislative bodies played an important role in considering, assessing and speeding up the implementation of agreements.
NA Chairman Nguyen Sinh Hung also met with President Nazarbayev on the same day.
VNS

VOVNEWS.VN | Vietnam wins prizes in ASEAN Golden Voice Festival 2011 - Vietnam wins prizes in ASEAN Golden Voice Festival 2011

VOVNEWS.VN | Vietnam wins prizes in ASEAN Golden Voice Festival 2011 - Vietnam wins prizes in ASEAN Golden Voice Festival 2011: "The ASEAN Golden Voice Festival 2011 closed in Ho Chi MInh City on January 8, Vietnamese singers Thu Minh and Kasim Hoang Vu won the Gold Cup for folk song, silver medal in pop music and the Favourite Contestant title.

In addition, other Vietnamese singer, H’ Zara Bya, was awarded a silver medal and Tung Lam was awarded bronze medal in the folk song category.

Also, in folk song, silver and bronze medals went to singers Netta Kusumah Dewi from Indonesia and Mohammad Fikri Bin Abdullah from Brunei.

In pop music, gold medals were won by singers Sri Narina Hj Johari from Brunei and Herson Silas Rieuwpassa from Indonesia, while bronze medals were handed to both Pleng Praphun Kingthong from Thailand and Hyaw Zin Min from Myanmar.

One prize for a promising young singer was given to Ikhwal Hafiz Bin Ismail from Malaysia and a prize for a guest folk song performance and pop music went to two Japanese singers, Kumami and Annabel Yu.

The festival, which had attracted 17 participants from ASEAN nations, was overall a great success. This was an opportunity for contestants to introduce their national cultures, as well as for the ASEAN countries to strengthen the ties of their friendship.

- Sent using Google Toolbar"

Thailand auto industry to benefit hugely from AFTA

The 5-per cent tax on automobiles and parts traded among the six founding Asian countries -Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore, Brunei, the Philippines and Indonesia - was abolished on January 1, in a move towards turning Asean into a single market.

This would help Asean nations become more competitive against other Asian giants - particularly China and India.

Despite the global recession last year, auto sales in China reached 13 million units and in India 2.2 million units, while combined sales in Asean hit 1.8 million units.

Since major markets such as the US, Europe and Japan are saturated and stagnant, due to the financial crisis, any growth in the auto industry would have to take place in the Asian region, analysts say.

Adisak Rohitasune, vice chairman of the Federation of Thai Industries and vice president of Asian Honda Motor, says the liberalisation of the auto and parts trade will not only help Asean manufacturers, but also draw investment into the region.

"This will help increase sourcing of raw materials and parts within the region, and expand the automobile market across the region," he said.

With the tariff barrier in Asean markets lifted, it would not be surprising to see a particular product being manufactured in one country and exported to other countries within the region, he said.

"But it will also depend on the policy and risk management of each company. For Honda, we have assembly plants in several Asean countries and have been utilising the Aico (Asean Industrial Cooperation) scheme and AFTA to dramatically lower the cost for purchasing parts. This has helped strengthen our manufacturing in each country and raised the level of competitiveness," he said.

According to Kasikorn Research Centre (KResearch), Thailand's exports of auto parts could expand by 18-22 per cent this year to Bt150 billion-Bt155 billion after plunging by 23 per cent to Bt127 billion last year due to drop in demand from the global recession.

"OEM (original) auto parts will be the main category benefiting from these changes, given their high export value that is nine times higher than REM (spare) items," it stated in research published earlier this month.

KResearch said that among the six founding Asean countries, Indonesia is expected to be the most promising market for Thai parts exports, followed by Malaysia and the Philippines.

"Auto parts for small Japanese passenger cars and commercial vehicles, such as electronic components, engines and drive-train components that are of high value, have been embraced by these markets for their OEM quality. In addition, relocation of manufacturing bases of foreign automakers into Thailand is likely to boost demand for locally-made REM parts, especially for export-oriented production," KResearch said in its report.

Ninnart Chaithirapinyo, vice chairman of Toyota Motor Thailand, the country's largest producer and exporter of vehicles, said the scrapping of the import duty could help the Asean auto market increase by as much as 10 per cent.

"Thailand would benefit greatly from this, with more income for the government from the increased excise, value-added and corporate taxes," he said.

The arrival of new models produced under the Thai government's eco car project will also serve as a boost for Thai auto exports to Asean.

Nissan will be the first company to launch an eco car in March, while Honda is expected to unveil its model at the end of this year or early next year.

Other companies in the project are Mitsubishi, Tata, Suzuki and Toyota.

According to the eco car guidelines, each manufacturer must produce at least 100,000 eco cars a year by the fifth year of production, with 50,000 units exported.

more info>>>>Thailand auto industry to benefit hugely from AFTA - Nationmultimedia.com

Vietnam invites Obama to visit regional summit in Hanoi

HANOI, Vietnam — Vietnam has invited President Barack Obama to visit the Southeast Asian country later this year for a regional summit.

Vice Foreign Minister Dao Viet Trung told reporters Thursday that Vietnam was hopeful Obama would attend the Association of Southeast Asian Nations summit, which will be held in Hanoi in October.

Vietnam took over the ASEAN chairmanship from Thailand this year. Heads of state from the 10 ASEAN nations will also meet with leaders from China, Japan, South Korea, India, Russia and the United States at the summit.

A U.S. Embassy spokesman said it was too early to know whether Obama would accept the invitation.

Vietnam-Fifth Season’ photo competition - ‘Vietnam-Fifth Season’ photo competition

The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism on January 3 organised a prize-giving ceremony of the ‘Vietnam-Fifth Season’ photo competition on tourism as part of activities to welcome the ASEAN Tourism Forum (ATF) '09 to be held in Vietnam from January 5-12.
The competition, which was launched from August 25 to December 15, 2008, attracted more than 2,200 entries by hundreds of photographers nationwide.
The first prize for photo collections was given to ‘Le Hoi Cau Dinh’ (Temple Festival) by Vu Duc Huy. Also in the collection category, the second prize belonged to ‘Cho Phien Dong Van’ (Dong Van Market Day) by Pham Binh and the third prize was presented to ‘My Son-Destination’ by Do Cao Dung.
Van Phuc won the first prize for solo photos while the second and third prizes went to Lai Dien Dam and Thai Tuan Kiet, respectively.
The prize-winning photos will be gathered into albums accompanied by CD ROMs and be used as gifts to ATF guests. The album and CD-ROM will also be used to promote the image of Vietnam at international tourism fairs.
The ‘Vietnam-Fifth Season’ exhibition will open its doors to audiences at 29 Hang Bai, Hanoi, on January 5.

Vietnam makes efforts towards successful ASEAN –Tourism Forum 2009

The ASEAN Tourism Forum 2009 (ATF) with the theme “Towards to New Height” will be held in Hanoi from January 5-12 in Hanoi.
The event attracts the concern of tourism sectors and tourism corporations from different countries who want to look for chances of business co-operation and advertise their products. This is also an opportunity to popularise the land and people as well as history and culture of Vietnamese people to international friends and investors.
ATF is considered the most important event and the largest-scale activity in the ASEAN tourism co-operation framework. The 8-day forum is expected to draw the participation of around 1.500 delegates including tourism ministers, leaders of national tourism offices, travel agents, tour operators, press corps… in the region and worldwide. This is also a big event of political, economic and social significances; a collective initiative aiming to turn ASEAN into an united tourist destination and at sustainable tourism development, thus contributing to visitor exchanges, friendly cooperation, cultural exchanges, peace and prosperous development in the region.
Vietnam Tourism has been participated in ATF since 1998 by having attended all meetings and activities in ATF framework. During these ATF, apart from attending Travex Expo together with businesses, Vietnam Tourism had organised tourism promotion activities such as: press conferences, entertainment shows and banquets to advertise the land, the people, and the culture of Vietnam.
Through workgroup meetings and meetings of leaders of National Tourism Offices, Vietnam Tourism and member countries have formulated ASEAN Tourism Agreement (T-ASEAN), concentrating on such issues as: Facilitating travelling; Opening up ASEAN’s tourism service market; Improving tourism quality; Promoting tourism industry human resources; Ensuring tourism security; Promoting tourism towards a Common ASEAN by 2015. At Vietnam’s imitative, from 2001, Meetings of ASEAN+3 Tourism Ministers (ASEAN and China, Japan and South Korea) have been formed and gather annually within ATF Framework.
As with ATF, this is the first time Vietnam has hosted the ATF and ASEAN Tourism Ministers Conference.
There will be various activities within ATF 2009 framework such as Meetings of Task Forces on ASEAN Tourism Integration; Meetings of leaders of National Tourism Offices (NTOs); Meetings of ASEAN Tourism Ministers and Dialogue Countries; ASEAN Travel Expo (Travex)and ASEAN Tourism Conference.
Through meetings, participants will review the implementation of ASEAN Tourism Agreement, put forth orientations for co-operation and realise the regional integration towards setting up ASEAN tourism community in 2019.
The ASEAN Travel Expo (Travex) is a large-scale and important part of the ATF. Participants are representatives of NTOs, tour operators, hotels, airlines and tourism-related associations, etc. Travex is a professional event, where service providers, tour sellers and tour operators meet buyers of the destination markets to seek contract-signing opportunities targeted at the tourism market. In order to attract tourists from target markets, ASEAN will invite buyers who are tour operators from the region’s destination markets, including North America, Europe, Northeast Asia and Australia. According to convention, the host country has to cover all expenses of participating buyers.
The opening ceremony will be held at the National Convention Centre and the closing ceremony is scheduled to be organised at Deawoo Hotel. At the closing ceremony, the host country will hand over the ATF Flag to the country that will host the next ATF in the following year.
To ensure the success of the event, at present, eight sub-committees for ARF have been set up. Information on the event has now been disseminating by all means of media, hotels and airlines. Along with security forces, around 100 students will be mobilised as volunteers to give their services to activities of the event. The tourism sector now sets up a plan for room stay for delegates as well as free of charge sight seeing tours for guests.
This is the first time Vietnam is to organise such a big event so it is a good chance for the host country to promote its tourism potential and expand tourism co- operation with foreign countries. A successful organisation will help raise the image of Vietnam in the region and the world.
(Source: Nhan Dan)

Culture ship to berth in HCM City

The Nippon Maru, a ship that set sail from Japan carrying 328 youth ambassadors from Japan and the 10 member nations of the ASEAN grouping at the end of October, will dock at HCM City's Sai Gon Port tomorrow.
The sailing trip spanning 11 countries takes place every year under a cultural exchange programme funded by the Japanese Government.The sailing trip spanning 11 countries takes place every year under a cultural exchange programme funded by the Japanese Government.
The programme aims at promoting friendship and mutual understanding among the youth of Japan and Southeast Asian countries, broadening their perspectives and acquainting them with the history and culture of each nation.
The programme is open to exceptional young people between 18 and 30 years of age who have been chosen from many hopeful candidates to represent their countries on the ship's annual voyage.
This year, Viet Nam has 29 representatives aboard the cultural exchange vessel.
Le Quoc Phong, deputy secretary of the municipal Communist Youth Union, says that after arriving HCM City, the young people will live with local families in the city to directly experience local culture and lifestyles.
Around 200 families from nine districts in the city will host the youth delegates.
Also tomorrow, the' youth will present cultural facets of their respective countries in a performance at the Youth Cultural House; and on Thursday, they visit the Dai Nam Tourist Cultural Historical Zone in Binh Duong Province.
Japan first launched the programme in conjunction with Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore and Thailand in 1974. Viet Nam sent its first representatives in 1996, after joining the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN).
Programme organisers hope it will foster in all of the participants a spirit of leadership they can take back to their respective countries.
The Nippon Maru will leave for Manila, the Philippines on Saturday.
(Source: Viet Nam News)

President Pratibha Patil arrives in Vietnam

President Pratibha Patil [Images] arrived in the Vietnamese capital, Ho-Chin-Minh City on Monday, as part of a ten-day visit to Vietnam and Indonesia to bilateral ties with these economically and strategically important neighbours in the ASEAN region.
Besides attending a business delegation meeting organised by FICCI and Vietnam Chambers of Commerce and official level talks, Patil would have meeting with her Vietnamese counterpart Nguyen Minh Triet and Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung

Vietnam anxious about Cambodia-Thailand border tension

Vietnam voiced concern over new tensions arising on the Cambodia-Thailand border.
“We are monitoring the new tensions in the border area between Cambodia and Thailand,” foreign ministry spokesman Le Dzung told reporters Thursday.
“Vietnam wants both Cambodia and Thailand to maintain restraint, avoid the use of force and solve existing issues peacefully in the spirit of friendship and solidarity of ASEAN, for the sake of their common interests, and for peace, stability and development in the region,” Dung said.
Source: VNA

Ha Long wins ’ASEAN Environmentally Sustainable City’ Award

Ha Long, the coastal city famous for its thousands of natural islands won 'ASEAN Environmentally Sustainable City' Award hosted by the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment in Hanoi yesterday.

Ha Long won 'ASEAN Environmentally Sustainable City' Award hosted by the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment in Hanoi yesterday.This is the first time the 2008 ASEAN Environmentally Sustainable City Award to be presented to ten ASEAN representative cities which have achievements on enhancing living environment quality as well as on raising awareness of environmental protection and sustainable development among ASEAN member nations' people and leaders.
Vice President Nguyen Thi Doan, Minister of Natural Resources and Environment Pham Khoi Nguyen, Deputy Secretary-General of ASEAN Nicholas Tandi Dammen, Chairperson of ASEAN Working Group on Environmentally Sustainable Cities Liana Bratasida and officials attended the award presentation ceremony.
This activity lies within the framework of the activities of 11th ASEAN Ministerial Meeting on Environment held in Hanoi from October 5-10

-Travel Blackboard: Luxury travel increasing in Vietnam

Recent statistics from VNAT have shown that Vietnam’s tourist arrivals from Western European countries are seeking luxury travel.

In 2007, 170,000 travelers came from France, 100,000 from the UK and 100,000 from Germany, whilst Russian visitors increased 50%. From Japan and South Korean, the figures were positive with 430,000 and 470,000 visitors respectively.

Another major market for Vietnam’s tourism sector is ASEAN, where Thailand rose 38% in 2007 and Malaysia by 50%. And in 2007, nine out of the fifteen leading markets grew over 20%.

Ha Pham, founder and CEO of the Luxury Travel Company explained that travelers are seeking to holiday in style and that Vietnam has potential to capture that market by selling niche products rather than “sell the same tourism products since 10 years ago”.

He added, “Golfing, spa, beach vacation, family travel, junk and sampan cruises, honeymoon and romance moved up to the top notch and favorites for upscale travelers. Vietnam’s appeal is vast”

Luxury Travel Company believes that Vietnam’s tourism sector is in an “image crisis as a destination”, where products and services must be developed to cater for that niche market.

In order to start the trend, Luxury Travel Vietnam Company will take part in the ITB Asia Singapore from October 22 to 24, 2008 to showcase Vietnam as a luxury destination.

Vietnam Tourism in lack of advertisement and marketing for development

Nhan Dan- Vietnam is now known as an attractive and safe destination in the region and is considered to have great potential for more development. However, the sector’s activities is still inefficient. This is due to the lack of professional marketing and advertisement.
Vietnam has not yet to set up a national tourism trademark. Even the current slogan “Vietnam-The Hidden Charm" is not powerful enough to attract visitors. Professor, Doctor L K Jago, director of the research centre of tourism and hotel of the Victoria University in Australia held that such a slogan is not clear and transparent so it would fail to attract international visitors. He took the example of other countries with more attractive slogan such as "Malaysia - Truly Asia" , "Uniquely Singapore" or "Incredible India".
Ms Ton Nu Thi Ninh, former vice chairwoman of the National Assembly’s Committee for External Affairs, shared the same view with Doctor Jago “the current slogan of tourism sector is not a clear message and doesn’t feature Vietnamese characteristics.
Images using for advertising the land and people of Vietnam is not impressive while souvenirs selling at shops are not unique.
It’s reported that the sector will spend around VND 16 billion (US $ 1milllion) in late months of the year on advertising tourism on international media. This is not the first time the sector has spent such an amount for the advertisement. However, the amount is unable to ensure the efficiency of advertisement.
Last October the image of Vietnam was broadcast on CNN for three months with a 30 second long clip. This cost US $30,000. However, it did not bring a high result as Vietnam’s potential tourists from the Republic of Korea, Japan and China did not see this English channel. While European audiences could not access the information as the it was broadcast on CNN for Asia.
Patrick Gaveau, marketing director of Focus Asia tourism company held that Vietnam tourism is still week in advertisement. “Strengthening image abroad is an active movement to attract international guests,” he said.
In the coming time, Vietnam will host many international events such as the ASEAN tourism forum 2009. This will be a good chance to advertise Vietnam image to international friends.

AirAsia launches highly popular free seat campaign

AirAsia’s on May 13 announced that it is offering free seats including the routes serviced by its long haul low-cost affiliate, AirAsia X. The 3 days offer is available exclusively online at www.airasia.com commencing 14-16 May 2008 for the travel period of 12 January to 30 April 2009 involving all of its six hubs located in Kuala Lumpur, Johor Bahru, Kota Kinabalu, Kuching, Jakarta and Bangkok. A true blue low cost airline, this international free seat campaign is AirAsia’s commitment to the lowest fare online to our guests. And the best part is, despite rising fuel cost, AirAsia’s fuel surcharge for its international routes is the lowest in the region. The free seat campaign includes over 100 routes in ASEAN and China network including AirAsia X’s long haul destinations. Some of the hottest international destinations included in this campaign and which only AirAsia flies directly from Kuala Lumpur are Krabi, Chiang Mai, Shenzhen, Haiko, Bandung and Vientiane. Other destinations include Bali, Jakarta, Bangkok, Phuket, Singapore, Macau, Siem Reap and many others. And to make the deal sweeter, AirAsia’s new destinations like Hong Kong, Haikou, Ho Chi Minh alongside Gold Coast (Australia) and Hangzhou (China) serviced by AirAsia X’s are also included in this campaign. According to Kathleen Tan, Regional Head of Commercial, AirAsia Berhad, the response to its free seats campaign has always been very overwhelming, a strong indicator that AirAsia not only pioneers low-cost concept in Asia but have also created a new and huge travel economy within ASEAN. There’s always something ideal for people of all ages and interests; from great cosmopolitan cities like Singapore, Bangkok, Jakarta, Hangzhou, Hong Kong, Ho Chi Minh City to world heritage sites located at Yogyakarta (Borobudur and Prambanan temples), Cambodia (Angkor Wat), Kota Kinabalu (Kinabalu park), Vietnam (Hue monuments) or the sandy white beaches, tropical rainforest and water sports just to name a few. “Our extensive network, mobility and connectivity of feeding traffic between AirAsia and AirAsia X have eased point to point travel for leisure and business travelers across Asia. Now guests could travel to connect and visit their loved ones working or studying abroad on our young and brand new fleet of Airbus A320 with a wide selection of in-flight food”, Kathleen said. Additionally, guests are also able to enjoy substantial savings when they do their bookings online at our fun and friendly website, they could save up to 40% on surcharges and also save 10% or more on hot meals when they pre-order online.