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| Photo for illustration. (Source: VOV) |
The Import-Export Department cited statistics from the Korea International Trade Association (KITA), saying the RoK imported 23,600 tonnes of mango worth USD95 million during the past nine months of the year, up 14.7% in volume and up 8.4% in value year-on-year.
The average price of imported mango reached USD4,026.7 per tonne, marking a drop of 5.4% compared to last year’s corresponding period.
Thailand and Peru represented the two major suppliers of the fruit to the RoK market with an export volume accounting for 80.3% of the RoK’s total imports.
Vietnam has become the third largest exporter of mango to the RoK, 1,700 tonnes worth USD7.2 million, up 19.6% in volume and up 18.1% in value year on year.
Industry insiders say with the Vietnamese fruit making up just 7.3% of the RoK’s mango imports, there remains plenty of room to boost exports to the market in the near future.
In addition, as the RoK is shifting its focus to tropical fruits, there are bright prospects ahead for Vietnamese mango and passion fruit in the market moving forward.
Vietnam’s heritage sites popularised in Malaysia
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| A Memorandum of Understanding on communications cooperation is signed between the tourism promotion centres of Thua Thien-Hue, Da Nang and Quang Nam and the Malaysia – Vietnam Friendship Association. (Photo: VNA) |
Heritage sites of the central localities of Thua Thien – Hue, Da Nang and Quang Nam have been nudged closer to Malaysian visitors through the promotion programme “the magical land of heritage sites” held in Kuala Lumpur on October 23, according to Vietnam News Agency.
The event, held by the three localities and the Malaysia – Vietnam Friendship Association, aims at luring more visitors from Malaysia – a key tourism market in the Southeast Asian region.
Speaking at the opening ceremony, Deputy Director of Da Nang city’s Department of Tourism Nguyen Xuan Binh highlighted that Vietnam and Malaysia are celebrating their 50th anniversary of diplomatic relations in 2013, which is significant for both sides to develop the relations in the future, including tourism.
In this context, the programme is expected to help the localities expand international tourism market, while popularising Vietnam’s heritage sites' tourism brand.
Charge d’affaires of the Vietnamese Embassy in Malaysia Nguyen Thi Ngoc Anh stressed that tourism collaboration between the two sides has been developed on the basis of the Government-level Tourism Cooperation Agreement in 1994, with the opening of the Malaysian tourism promotion office in Vietnam and an array of promotion activities in both nations.
Malaysia is on the list of top 10 source markets for tourism in Vietnam, she said, adding the two nations boast huge potential for cooperation in the field.
Meanwhile, President of the Malaysian Association of Tourism and Travel Agents (MATTA) Nigel Wong Chun Teim stressed the tourism industry’s future has an important role to play for Vietnam, Malaysia and ASEAN as a whole, and affirmed MATTA’s commitment to continuing policy support in tourism cooperation with ASEAN and Vietnam in particular.
He expressed his hope that tourism cooperation between the two countries as well as within ASEAN will make a strong recovery in the future.
Within the framework of the event, the tourism promotion centres of Thua Thien-Hue, Da Nang and Quang Nam and the Malaysia – Vietnam Friendship Association signed a Memorandum of Understanding on communications cooperation to help Vietnam’s tourism products better penetrate into the Malaysian market.
Agoda announces Vietnam’s new outstanding destinations
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| A beach in Quy Nhon city, the central province of Binh Dinh. (Photo: VNA) |
Online travel platform Agoda on October 24 for the first time announced Vietnam’s New Horizons – a list of new emerging destinations in the country that few tourists have known, according to Vietnam News Agency.
This list is made based on the results of comparing search data for the same period in 2022 and 2023 about emerging destinations, increasing interest from both domestic and foreign tourists.
On the top of the list is Tam Dao resort in the northern mountainous of Vinh Phuc with search traffic increasing by 279% over the same period last year.
Other destinations are Bac Ninh - a spiritual city in the north with a 234% increase in search volume; Sam Son coastal city in the central province of Thanh Hoa, 228%; and Phu Quy - a small island off the coast of Binh Thuan province.
The coastal city of Quy Nhon with its romantic beaches and unique cuisine is also included in the list.
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| Tam Dao tourist area in the northern mountainous province of Vinh Phuc. (Photo: VNA) |
Vu Ngoc Lam, Director of Agoda in Vietnam, said that in addition to the most popular and famous destinations in Vietnam which many tourists visit regularly, Agoda found that some places with fewer visitors had a clear increase in searches.
Agoda wants to take advantage of this opportunity to introduce new places and find out what attracts those who love to explore destinations that few tourists have come to.
He said Vietnam has many interesting things to explore, in which second- and third-class destinations are increasingly sought after. Therefore. Agoda regularly introduces many incentives to help tourists have the best experiences when travelling to Vietnam.
Foreign media hails beauty of Bai Tu Long island
Charukesi Ramadurai, a journalist of Abu Dhabi based English-language daily newspaper The National, has released an article sharing her experiences when cruising on the beautiful Bai Tu Long Island in the northern province of Quang Ninh, reported VOV News.
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| A fishing village on Bai Tu Long island |
According to Ramadurai, she decided to choose the luxurious Dragon Legend for an overnight Bai Tu Long Bay cruise.
“As tempting as it was to plonk myself on the sun deck to watch the endless parade of limestone islands, the caves and kayaks beckoned. And so, we again clambered up the small boat towards Hon Co island to explore Thien Canh Son cave,” she said.
The authour shared that after a short hike from the shore, she found herself in a multi-chambered world filled with stalactites and stalagmites.
“Descending from the cave, we walked towards the other side of the island, for a spot of kayaking on the placid waters,” she noted.
Ramadurai also enjoyed an elaborate dinner whilst on the cruise, followed by games put on by the staff with great enthusiasm.
“I fell asleep to the soothing hum of the ship’s engines cutting through the inky darkness outside and woke up to clear sunshine that made the landscape seem even more captivating,” she stressed.
After enjoying a strong serving of Vietnamese coffee, the journalist visited Vung Vieng fishing village.
“We took a small boat to a pier where we got on bamboo boats rowed by women whose petite size belied their tremendous strength. And off we drifted, past craggy islets, under stone arches and along the floating homes of this community,” she wrote in the article.
Ramadurai revealed that the setting of the village was stunning, with homes nestled in the midst of towering limestone hills.
“And while floating in the midst of these magnificent karsts formed over millions of years of geological activity, it is easy to start believing in mythical creatures and magic,” she revealed./.