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| Australian tourists go kayaking at Lan Ha Bay in the northern province of Quang Ninh (Source: Era Cruises) |
To mark the 20th anniversary of the search engine’s presence in Australia, Google has recently released a list of the top searched destinations in Australia over the past 20 years.
Leading the list was Japan, followed by other locations such as New Zealand, Thailand, Vietnam, Tasmania, Australia, Cambodia, Bali, New South Wales, and Borneo.
According to details given by the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS), the country was also among the top 10 most popular destinations for Australian tourists during the opening seven months of the year.
Before the COVID-19 pandemic, Australia had been one of the nation’s leading source of customers with approximately 383,000 visitors making a trip to Vietnam in 2019, ranking ninth in terms of number of travelers.
Before international travel was halted due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Japan had been the fastest-growing overseas destination in Australia.
French cruise ship takes foreign tourists to Thua Thien-Hue province
Le Lapérouse, a luxury cruise ship of France with 200 foreign travellers, docked at Chan May port in the central province of Thua Thien-Hue on October 9 night, reported Vietnam News Agency.
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| The first group of foreign tourists has returned to Thua Thien-Hue province by sea after two-year suspension due to the outbreak of COVID-19 pandemic. (Photo: VNA) |
This is the first group of foreign tourists to have returned to Thua Thien-Hue by sea after two-year suspension due to the outbreak of COVID-19, showing a positive sign in the province’s efforts to recover tourism in the post-pandemic period.
During their stay, the tourists visited the Imperial City of Hue and Minh Mang Tomb to learnt about the culture and relics of Hue ancient capital.
According to Nguyen Van Phuc, Director of the provincial Department of Tourism, Thua Thien-Hue welcomed 184,872 tourists in September, including 25,591 foreign travelers, up 11% month-on-month.
Revenue from the tourism sector between January and September was estimated to reach 3.3 trillion VND (139.6 million USD).
Le Lapérouse is a leading cruise ship of the fleet of Ponant Explorers consisting of six members managed by the Ponant cruise carrier.
The tour to discover the coast and famous sightseeing places of Vietnam, lasting from 8 to 11 days, is a new journey of Ponant in Asia.
During the journey, the cruise ship will take the tourists to Nha Trang in Khanh Hoa province, Quy Nhon in Binh Dinh, Tien Sa in Da Nang city, Chan May in Thua Thien-Hue province, Hon La in Quang Binh, and Ha Long in Quang Ninh province.
Vietnamese pangasius exports to ASEAN market surge
Vietnam’s pangasius exports to the ASEAN market during the opening nine months of the year soared, reaching an estimated US$152 million and accounting for roughly 8% of total pangasius exports to foreign markets, reported the Voice of Vietnam.
According to figures released by the Vietnam Association of Seafood Exporters and Producers (VASEP), the bloc accounts for a significant proportion of the country’s total pangasius exports, with this trend expected increase in the time ahead.
With major breakthroughs and constant growth being recorded over recent years, the import proportion of the ASEAN market from Vietnam now stands nearly equivalent to that of the EU, with Vietnam's pangasius exports to the bloc being anticipated to surpass the EU in the near future.
Major markets which make up a large proportion of exports of the item in ASEAN include Thailand, the Philippines, and Singapore. Thailand accounts for 3.6% of Vietnamese pangasius export value with pangasius exports to this market by the end of the third quarter of the year exceeding US$70 million, up 81% against the same period from last year.
Most notably, September alone saw the Philippines market record the strongest growth with a five-fold rise against the same period from last year.
By the end of the third quarter, pangasius exports to this market soared by 92%, duly reaching over US$25 million and accounting for 1.3% of total pangasius exports.
Despite making up a modest proportion, other countries in ASEAN such as Cambodia, Indonesia, and Laos have significantly increased imports of Vietnamese pangasius.
Amid the sharp increase in transportation costs causing disadvantages for the pangasius export industry, ASEAN markets with a close geographical proximity to the nation continue to remain a suitable option for local pangasius enterprises moving forward.
US magazine features four best new restaurants in Hanoi
Lifestyle magazine CnTraveller of the United States has recently published an article highlighting the four best new restaurants in Hanoi, including A Ban Mountain Dew, Chapter Dining & Grill Hanoi, Koki House Of Senses, and the Hudson Rooms, reported the Voice of Vietnam.
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| A Ban Mountain Dew |
The first place mentioned in the list is A Ban Mountain Dew which specialises in serving dishes from the northwest mountainous region. According to the article, a lots of A Ban’s dishes are wonderfully smoky, with the chef Viet being a native of Son La, a province west of Hanoi that borders Laos. Viet is renowned for serving up tangy and textural dishes, as well as outré servings like fried bugs amidst atmospheric decor which references paddy fields and the upside down architecture of ethnic groups.
Chapter Dining & Grill Hanoi is a restaurant located on hip Chan Cam street that opened earlier this year and features technically-accomplished cuisine with a lick of flame and a twist of smoke.
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| Chapter Dining & Grill Hanoi |
The article highlights the restaurant’s open kitchen, typical of chef Quang Dung’s previous projects such as T.U.N.G Dining and Habakuk Fine Coffee & Bistro. At the restaurant, the cuisine plays around with street food as fine dining, including the spread-eagled chicken foot stuffed with homemade chorizo, with the menu being divided into chapters and ascending from earthly delights to heavenly desserts.
At the Capella hotel in Hanoi, the basement features Koki House Of Senses whilst the Hudson Rooms is on the top floor. Compared to the rest of the Capella Hanoi, Koki is a chic and understated underground space which follows a Japanese theme.
At Koki’s Akio Lounge, the bar team takes guests on a road trip through Japan with cocktails themed after stops along the way. This includes Nikko and its cherry blossom and Oita and its bubbling hot springs. Each one comes with a snack, approved by Juinichi Yoshida, the chef who turned teppanyaki into Michelin-star cuisine at his restaurant, Ishigaki Yoshida, located just outside Roppongi.
At Koki’s Hibana, chef Yoshida and his team serve the same cuts of premium Yaeyama Kyori beef, sourced exclusively from Okinawa’s Yaeyama island, as they do in Tokyo, with all meat having a certificate of authenticity with the cow’s genealogy and nose print.
In contrast, the Hudson Rooms is an ode to New York’s Grand Central Station, with a cocktail menu inspired by the train lines leaving the platform and heading across to Chicago and beyond to LA, north to Canada, or south to Miami. There are bountiful platters of fresh seafood too, and freshly-shucked oysters, before a whistle blows and head bartender William hands out espresso martinis as if you’re pulling out Grand Central on the 20th Century Limited Streamliner, one of the world’s most expensive passenger trains in a bygone era./.