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| Famous Dragon Bridge in the central city of Da Nang |
Accordingly, the event will see the participation of 10 tourism businesses operating in the city and central region. They include Sun Group, Vinpearl, Vietnam Travelmart JSC, Viet Pilgrim Company Limited, Hoiana Resort & Golf, Visit Indochina, Wyndham Danang Golden Bay, Viet Pilgrim, Asian Companion Travel, Da Nang Dreamtrip, and Peony Edu Travel.
They will introduce a number of attractive tourism products and connect with nearly 100 major Malaysian travel companies.
The move aims to boost Da Nang tourism to the Malaysian market, as well as creating opportunities for local tourism enterprises to seek business partners.
Most notably, within the framework of the scheme, Malaysia Airlines will announce its plan to open the Kuala Lumpur - Da Nang air route on September 24 with a frequency of seven flight per week, bringing the total number of airlines operating the air route to three with a frequency of 28 flights per week.
According to reports, Malaysia is among the top 10 international tourist markets of the central city. In the first seven months of the year, the central city welcomed 75,067 Malaysian tourists, almost reaching the level of the entirety of 2019.
Cultural exchange connects Vietnam-Malaysia friendship
According to VNA, the Malaysia-Vietnam Friendship Association (MVFA) and the University of Malaya (Universiti Malaya – UM) organised an international conference on cultural exchange, economic cooperation, and friendship connection between Vietnam and Malaysia on August 23 evening.
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| A Vietnamese dance performance at the event (Source: VNA) |
In her opening speech, Professor Dr. Yvonne Lim Ai Lian, Associate Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Academic and International) at the UM, emphasised the power of cultural exchange in promoting understanding and solidarity between the two countries.
She noted that the event introduced traditional dishes, art performances from both Vietnam and Malaysia, and featured interactions with cultural experts, thus helping participants share similarities and explore the unique aspects of each other's culture.
Deputy Ambassador of Vietnam to Malaysia Nguyen Thi Ngoc Anh said that after more than half a century of diplomatic relations, the two countries have been building a special and close friendship based on mutual trust and understanding. Cooperation has been developed across various fields, including cultural and people-to-people exchanges.
She expressed her hope that in the coming time, the Faculty of Language and Linguistics (FLL) in particular and the UM in general will maintain traditional cultural exchange activities to promote and preserve the image, culture, and people of each country, and create opportunities for further collaboration.
Vietnamese, Indian art exchange held in Vinh Long
The People's Committee of Vinh Long and the Indian Consulate General in Ho Chi Minh City jointly held the Vietnam-Indian art exchange in the Mekong Delta province on August 24, reported VNA.
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| An performance at the event (Photo: VNA) |
Opening the event, Vice Director of the Vinh Long Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism Pham Minh Hoang highlighted the locality’s efforts to promote the solidarity and friendship between Vietnam and India, including expanding all-round cooperation with Indian partners and receiving many Indian delegations coming to explore collaboration opportunities and the local investment and business environment.
The event aims to provide a chance for artists of Vinh Long and India to exchange knowledge of traditional art of each nation, contributing to strengthening the traditional friendship between the two countries.
Indian Deputy Consul General in HCM City Tushar Garg said that India is proud of its diverse culture with dances and arts playing an important role.
Indian folk dances like Odissi and Manipuri performed by Indian artists combined with traditional arts of Vinh Long such as “Don ca tai tu” (amateur singing) and “Hat boi” (classical drama) treated audiences with an impressive art programme.
Quang Ninh holds first sailing, parasailing, jet ski festival in Ha Long Bay
The northeastern province of Quang Ninh on August 24 held a sailing, parasailing and jet ski festival for the first time in Ha Long Bay, reported VNA.
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| A performance at the festival in Ha Long Bay. (Photo: VNA) |
It was the first activity in 31 festivals and events that are planned to be held under a project named "Ha Long – the city of festivals”.
About 50 vehicles, including sailboats, jet skis, and parasailing from clubs in and out the province joined performances on Ha Long Bay, wowing audiences.
Vice Chairman of the Ha Long city People's Committee Nguyen Ngoc Son said that the event is part of activities to celebrate the 79th anniversary of the August Revolution (August 19, 1945 - 2024) and National Day (September 2, 1945 - 2024).
He said the locality considers making it an annual event that helps promote local tourism, offer a new tourism product to visitors to Quang Ninh and provide a playground for those who love adventure sports such as sailing, jet skiing, and paragliding.
Air tickets on holiday rise by 20%, but night flights are cheaper
According to Vietnamnet, the Civil Aviation Authority of Vietnam (CAAV) has recommended that passengers book flights with departures early in the morning or late at night to be able to buy cheaper tickets.
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| Photo for illustration |
Travel demand at the end of summer before children return to school, plus the 4-day National Day holiday, have pushed airfares up. Airfares have increased by 20% for flights during the National Day holiday,
Passengers have to pay VND8 million for a return ticket on Hanoi – Phu Quoc Island route though it is not the most beautiful season on the island. Vietjet Air is the only carrier that still has tickets for direct flights to the island, with 3 flights each day.
Vietnam Airlines does not have more tickets for direct Hanoi – Phu Quoc flights. If passengers want to book Vietnam Airlines’ flights to Phu Quoc, they have to transit in HCM City, which means that it would take five hours more to reach the destination.
Meanwhile, the price is VND5.2 million for a return ticket from Hanoi to Da Lat if passengers accept departure time night, and VND6 million if departing in daytime.
CAAV reported that from August 30 to September 3, domestic airlines will provide 4,257 flights, or 840 flights a day, an increase of three percent compared with the week before the holiday.
These include 600 domestic flights a day (+ 5%) and 241 international flights (- 2%) compared with the week before the holiday.
There will be 171 flights a day on domestic tourism routes and 187 flights to other localities, up 2% and 4%, respectively.
The total number of seats to be offered for domestic flights on August 30 - September 3 is 600, or 122,000 seats a day, up 5%.
Tourism routes and North - South backbone route will still have the highest number of additional flights, increasing by 6.8% compared with the week before the holiday.
Analysts noted that the air tickets for August 30 and for National Day holiday have increased by 20% compared with ordinary days.
The most expensive air tickets for daytime flights on August 30 on Hanoi – HCM City route offered by Vietnam Airlines is VND2.6 million/one way, up 8%.
Meanwhile, tickets for the same time offered by Vietjet Air is VND2.3 million, up 25%.
For the Hanoi – Nha Trang route, the quoted prices are between VND2.4 million and VND3 million/one way, up 24%.
A CAAV representative noted that airfares tend to increase, but mostly for flights on the first and last days of the National Day holiday, while airfares are stable for other days.
The airfares for National Day holiday are considerably lower than those for the April-May Holiday.
Passengers flying from Hanoi to Nha Trang now have to pay VND6.6 million for a return ticket if they depart at a good time. But if they depart late at night and return early in the morning, they pay VND4.1 million only.
Analysts noted that it is cheaper to fly from HCM City to tourism sites. The tickets for flights from HCM City to Nha Trang, for example, are cheaper than from Hanoi to Nha Trang, just VND3.7 million.
Particularly, tickets from HCM City to Phu Quoc are just half of that from Hanoi to Phu Quoc, ranging from VND2.7 million to VND3.1 million per return ticket.
CAAV has advised passengers to book tickets soon to have more options. They should also keep a close watch over flight schedules to arrive in the airports on time to avoid traffic jams.
Travel firms reported that the number of bookings for domestic and outbound tours remains high.
In previous years, August, September, October and November were the off-peak months of the domestic tourism season. But more people choose to travel in these months, because they can enjoy good airfares, avoid traffic congestion and admire beautiful landscapes in autumn, according to Tran Thi Bao Thu from Vietluxtour./.