 |
| Sightseeing double-decker bus tours in HCM City (Photo: VNA) |
Ho Chi Minh City-based travel companies have offered a multitude of tours at discounts as they are holding out for robust business during the Liberation Day (April 30) and Day holidays and summer peak.
Communications Director of Viet Media Travel JSC Pham Anh Vu said there is an increase in the number of bookings of tours from the city to such renowned destinations as Vung Tau, Nha Trang, Phu Quoc, Ninh Thuan, and Can Tho, or from Hanoi to Moc Chau, Sa Pa, and Thanh Hoa.
An additional discount of up to 40% will be offered to customer groups, he said, adding tours to coastal localities such as Nha Trang, Phu Quoc, and Vung Tau will be sold at tempting discounts for the upcoming holidays.
The company also prioritises in-city tours on the occasion, including those for sunset watching on the Sai Gon river, community-based activities in Can Gio district, and on double deckers.
Meanwhile, Saigontourist is ramping up activities to popularise Vietnam’s tourist destinations in foreign markets. Most recently, it attended the SEATRADE Cruise Global in Miami, the US.
With its offerings, the company has provided its international tourists with various experience in stopovers such as Ba Ria – Vung Tau, HCM City, Nha Trang, Hue, Da Nang, and Ha Long.
To support local firms, the municipal Department of Tourism has announced the second HCM City River Festival which will take place from May 31 to June 9 with a view to promote the development of local standout tourism offerings.
Director of the department Nguyen Thi Anh Hoa said the event, themed “The Legendary Voyage”, is amed at building the river into a cultural symbol of the southern metropolis, and promoting waterway tourism.
It will be organised at the Sai Gon-Khanh Hoi port, Bach Dang Wharf Park, Nhieu Loc – Thi Nghe Canal, and various tourist sites across the city, she added.
RoK plans to lure more Vietnamese tourists to destinations
Several travel firms from the Republic of Korea (RoK) have unveiled plans to attract more Vietnamese tourists to many of their popular destinations at the recent Vietnam International Travel Mart (VITM) 2024, VOV reported the data of the Korea Tourism Organization (KTO).
 |
| RoK plans to lure more Vietnamese tourists to destinations |
Most notably, Gangwon province captured a great deal of attention from visitors at the event with a huge tourism space introducing the locality’s tourism development potential, including local cultural identities as well as new tourism products to attract Vietnamese visitors.
Choi Sung Hyun, director of Gangwon Tourism Organization, revealed that Vietnamese people are very keen on Korean culture, especially K-pop and Korean dramas, and that the number of Vietnamese visitors to the RoK ranked fifth among the total number of tourists visiting last year.
He went on to unveil that Gangwon aims to raise the number of Vietnamese travelers heading to the RoK by 10fold in comparison to last year’s figure of 76,000 people.
For his part, Wu Yong, director of Woori Global Tour Company, said that Korean tourism businesses have recently shown a keen interest in the Vietnamese market which boasts several advantages as it strives to become an industrial hub, thereby emerging as the RoK’s best cooperation partner in Southeast Asia.
Vietnam shares a lot of similarities with the RoK in terms of culture, natural resources, population, and economic growth, while many major corporations in the world are starting to shift their operations to the market, he added.
According to the KTO Office in Vietnam, as many as 420,000 Vietnamese people visited the RoK last year, making it the Southeast Asian country with the highest number of visitors heading to the RoK.
In contrast, the RoK was also Vietnam's largest source of international visitors last year with nearly 3.6 million visitors.
At present, the KTO has been promoting the introduction of the scheme “Top 100 Korean tourist destinations” in the Vietnamese market, of which Gangwon boasts 10 tourist attractions, including Nami Island, Mureung Valley, Samaksan Lake cable car, Gangneung Coffee Road, and Sangeum Mountain Suspension Bridge.
French orchestra Versailles enthralls audiences with Hanoi concert
According to VOV, the internationally renowned Orchestra of the Royal Opera of Versailles thrilled approximately 1,000 Hanoians with their spectacular Antonio Vivaldi's Four Seasons performance at Ho Guom Theatre on April 21 evening.
 |
| Conductor Stefan Plewniak (right) and French solist Théo Imart sign their autographs after the April 21 evening concert (Photo: T.Dieu/Tuoi Tre) |
This marked the opening concert of the international art programme series "Musical Seasons" of 2024 to 2025, with the aim of bringing music closer to the public in the capital through famous international artists.
The highlight of the concert is the unique performance style of conductor Stefan Plewniak, who led the orchestra as they weaved a natural picture of the four seasons of spring, summer, autumn, and winter.
Spectators were also hugely impressed by the amazing contra tenor voice of French solist Théo Imart.
Artists from the Orchestra will continue to perform the Four Season Concert at the theatre on April 22.
The Musical Season programme will also bring to the stage "The Mozart Concert" performed by the Les Musiciens du Louvre orchestra in August and "The Seasons" ballet by artists from the Malandain Ballet Biarritz and the Royal Opera of Versailles in September.
These events will continue in November with "The Vienna Concert" performed by the Vienna Chamber Orchestra and will then be rounded off with the performance of French composer Georges Bizet’s iconic opera "Carmen" by the Royal Opera of Versailles orchestra in March, 2025.
Traditional Cuisine Week 2024 to attract tourists to Hue
The Hue Traditional Cuisine Week 2024 is scheduled to take place from April 27 to May 1 to provide local and foreign visitors with a wide range of fun activities during the coming five-day holiday marking National Reunification Day (April 30) and May Day (May 1), reported VOV.
 |
| Traditional Cuisine Week 2024 to attract tourists to Hue. |
The event aims to honour and promote Hue culinary cultural values whilst introducing new tourism products to attract more domestic and international tourists to the former imperial city.
It is expected that food lovers will enjoy the fine taste of traditional Hue dishes and explore the quintessence of dishes of three regions across the country.
Residents and tourists will also have the opportunity to watch skillful performances put on by Master Chefs and Vietnamese culinary artists at a culinary space set up for the festival.
Furthermore, a number of competitions, entertainment activities, and culinary cultural exchanges will be held throughout the festival.
Hue Traditional Cuisine Week 2024 is part of activities which seek to turn Hue into one of the member cities of the UNESCO Creative Cities Network in the field of culinary creativity by 2025.
Last year saw Hue rank 28th among the 100 best cuisines in the world, as selected by the world-famous culinary newswire Taste Atlas.
Book fair inspires reading culture among Vietnamese students in Russia
A book fair was held in Moscow on April 21 in response to the Vietnam Book and Reading Cultural Day, creating a chance for the Vietnamese community in Russia to meet, exchange books, and promote the reading culture, reported VNA.
 |
| Book fair inspires reading culture among Vietnamese students in Russia. |
A book fair is held in Moscow on April 21 in response to the Vietnam Book and Reading Cultural Day
Themed “Tram Ky uc” (memory station), the event was jointly organised by “Vong tay Viet-Nga” (Vietnam- Russia embrace) association and the Vietnamese Students’ Association in Russia, aiming at inspiring solidarity and patriotism among members of the overseas Vietnamese community.
A fund-raising event was also held to build schools for mountainous students at home.
The Vietnam Book and Reading Culture Day was first held in 2022 following a decision by the Prime Minister.
The day is expected to encourage and develop the reading movement among the community, contributing to building a learning society. In addition, it aims to honour readers, authors, publishers, printers, and libraries that strive to preserve, collect, and promote books.