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| Foreigners on Bui Vien street in the downtown of Ho Chi Minh City. (Photo: VNA) |
The tour themed "Sleepless in Sai Gon" is a night city tour from 11pm to 7am in the next morning, offering visitors an opportunity to travel through 30 routes and nearly 20 tourist attractions in the city such as Bui Vien street, Nguyen Hue street, Ben Thanh market, or Notre Dame cathedral. Tourists can experience the most beautiful streets of the city, cross Ba Son bridge and see the city at night.
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| Tourists travel by double-decker bus in Ho Chi Minh City. (Photo: baodautu.vn) |
Nguyen Khoa Luan, director of the company, said that the night tour is expected to increase Ho Chi Minh City’s competitiveness and attract more visitors.
He said his company will cooperate with high-quality restaurants, souvenir shops and establishments with typical local products so that tourists can better access the sites.
In addition, the company is proposing to open a second tour of this kind that will connect the city centre to Lon (Big) market in District 6.
Vietnam meets 2023 target of foreign visitors
According to VOV, the total number of international tourists in 2023 is estimated at 12.5 million, meeting the target of 12.5-13 million international arrivals, it was reported at a workshop on management of the tourism sector in the new situation has recently held by the Vietnam National Authority of Tourism (VNAT) in Hanoi.
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| Delegates at a workshop on management of the tourism sector in the new situation held by the Vietnam National Authority of Tourism (VNAT), Hanoi. |
Speaking at the event, Deputy Director of the VNAT Pham Van Thuy noted that after two years of being affected by COVID-19, Vietnam's tourism has recovered and seen an upward trend. The initial target of international arrivals set for the year was 8 million but later revised up to 12.5 - 13 million.
Meanwhile, the number of domestic tourists is forecasted to reach 108 million, exceeding the yearly target by 5.8%. The total revenue from tourism is estimated at VND672 trillion (US$28 billion), exceeding the plan by 3.38%.
Also during the year, the VNAT was awarded the title "Asia's Leading Tourism Authority 2023" for the fourth time. Vietnam was honoured in 45 categories of the 2023 World Travel Awards, one of the leading tourism awards in Asia, including the Asia’s Leading Destination award for the fifth time and Asia’s Leading Nature Destination award for the second time in a row.
The agency admitted outstanding shortcomings and problems in State management of tourism, and proposed solutions in the coming time, including tighten management of tourism sites and destinations, conservation of natural and cultural values at tourism destinations for sustainable tourism development, improvement of security, safety, food hygiene, and environmental protection, among others.
The VNAT also emphasised connectivity under the guidance of the VNAT and the leadership of major tourism centres such as Hanoi, Da Nang, Ho Chi Minh City... to form "one route, many destinations" products.
It has asked relevant parties to strengthen public-private cooperation under market mechanism for mutual benefits, introduce mechanisms and policies to effectively mobilise resources of enterprises, especially large enterprises investing in the non-smoke industry.
Bamboo Airways maintains highest on-time performance
Bamboo Airways continued to be the most punctual airline in Vietnam during January – November, with 92.5% of its flight taking off and landing on time, VNA reported data Civil Aviation Authority of Vietnam (CAAV).
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| Bamboo Airways continued to be the most punctual airline in Vietnam during January – November. (Photo: VNA) |
A total 260,679 flights were operated during the 11-month period, with the on-time performance (OTP) of 84.9% as compared to the 89.6% recorded in the same time last year.
The OTP of VASCO, Vietnam Airlines, Pacific Airlines and Vietravel were 92%, 87.1%, 79.5%, 84.5% and 86.5%, respectively.
The aviation sector had a cancellation rate of 0.3%, a year-on-year decrease of 0.1%. Pacific Airlines recorded the lowest rate of flight cancellation of 0.1%, followed by Bamboo Airways (0.2%), VietJet Air (0.3%), Vietnam Airlines (0.4%), and VASCO and Vietravel (0.6%).
Bamboo Airways also had the lowest rate of delayed flights of 7.5% as compared to the 15.1% of the sector.
As Vietnam’s peak travel season is approaching along with the traditional Lunar New Year (Tet), the CAAV has ordered airlines to join hands with airports across the nation to inform their Tet plans, particularly those on the increase of night flights and arrangement of aircraft fleet and human resources to better serve the passengers.
Besides, it will increase the allocation of runway slots to 40 per hour from 6:00 to 23:55 at Noi Bai International Airport in Hanoi in the north and 44 from 6:00-23:55 and 40 from 0:00 to 5:55 at Tan Son Nhat International Airport in Ho Chi Minh City in the south during January 25-February 25, 2024.
Hanoi to host Christmas concert for charity
The “VNSO Christmas Charity Concert 2023” will be held on December 26 at St. Joseph’s Cathedral in Hanoi in order to raise funds for disadvantaged children, according to the Vietnam National Symphony Orchestra (VNSO).
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| The VNSO’s symphony orchestra under the baton of Japanese conductor Honna Tetsuji will hold a Christmas concert for charity on December 26. (Source: hanoimoi.com.vn) |
The concert will begin with popular pieces which celebrate both Christmas and New Year, namely Te Deum-Prelude composed by Henri Charpentier, Concerto cho oboe by Alessandro Marcello, and Adagio by Tomaso Albinoni.
Vietnamese artists including cellist Phan Nhu Quynh, violinist Dao Mai Anh, and oboist Bui Son Tung will then perform with the VNSO’s symphony orchestra under the baton of Japanese conductor Honna Tetsuji.
Conductor Honna has been the musical director and principal conductor of the VNSO for more than 20 years.
With his experience of working alongside the world’s leading solo artists, namely Martha Argerich, Elisabeth Leonskaja, Antonio Menses and Cecile Licade, as well as conducting different orchestras, Honna has helped to improve the performance quality of the VNSO.
The VNSO was originally founded back in 1959 and has since performed close to 40 concerts per year, featuring classical to romantic and contemporary music. The orchestra has performed in the United States, Italy, and Japan.
Another Christmas concert themed “Tchaikovsky spectacular: The Mighty 1812” will be organised on December 24 at Ho Guom Opera House.
The delightful Capriccio Italien will open this special concert, which also features the beautiful Serenade for Strings.
The Sun Symphony Orchestra will then bring to the stage a performance of the suite from the Christmas favourite, The Nutcracker.