Travel

Bình Thuận to host National Tourism Year 2023

Published

4 months ago

November 28, 2022

HÀ NỘI – More than 200 events will be organised during National Tourism Year 2023, in which the central province of Bình Thuận will take centre stage.

Most of the events will take place in Bình Thuận while as many as 13 events are of national scale, officials said at a press conference held in Hà Nội on Wednesday.

Bình Thuận has nearly 200km of coastline. Photo baobinhthuan.com.vn

According to Nguyễn Lan Ngọc, Deputy Director of Bình Thuận Culture, Sports and Tourism Department, the highlights of the programme will be a countdown ceremony for Tourism Year 2023 – Bình Thuận – Go Green Come Together in the night of December 31, 2022 in Phan Thiết City; the opening ceremony of Tourism Year 2023 in March 2023; the awards ceremony of the contest “Việt Nam Desire: Making Phan Thiết a World Leading Destination of MICE and Wellness Tourism in 2045″ in September 2023 with VNĐ1 billion (US$40,047) in cash for the first prize; and the closing ceremony of National Tourism Year 2023 and welcome the new year 2024 on December 30, 2023.

“Besides diverse tourism activities based on natural landscapes, historical sites and traditional festivals, Bình Thuận has completed and will complete roads to connect key destinations in the province,” she said.

There are nearly 600 hotels and resorts with 17,000 rooms, including 45 resorts and hotels of 3-5 star level with nearly 5,000 rooms in the province served by 13 travel agencies including eight international ones.

In 2019, Bình Thuận received over 6.4 million guests with total income from tourism reaching VNĐ15.2 trillion. The tourism sector contributed 10-12 per cent to local GRDP.

After the pandemic, in 2022, the province expects to receive over 5 million guests with income of VNĐ12.8 trillion.

Culture Minister Đoàn Văn Việt said after the pandemic, Vietnamese tourism has shown encouraging signs of recovery. In the first 10 months of this year, the country received 2.1 million international guests, 92 million domestic travellers and total income from tourism reached over VNĐ425 trillion.

The internet searches for Việt Nam tourism in October were 20 per cent higher than in September and 11 times higher than in March.

Nguyễn Minh, Vice Chairman of Bình Thuận People’s Committee, admitted that with the advantage of a 192km-long coastline, Phú Quý Island, Mũi Né, and a diverse array of natural resources and people, Bình Thuận has all the conditions necessary to develop various kinds of tourism products such as relaxing, picnics, risky sports in the sea and caves, spiritual tourism to historical sites and traditional festivals. VNS

Source: http://ovietnam.vn/travel/binh-thuan-to-host-national-tourism-year-2023_339425.html

Travel

Vietnam becomes favourite destination for Cambodian tourists

Published

9 mins ago

March 31, 2023

TienphongNews

The number of Cambodian tourists coming to Vietnam has increased significantly, Tuoi tre (Youth) newspaper, citing statistics of travel agencies.

Vietnam becomes favourite destination for Cambodian tourists hinh anh 1

Visitors arrive at Moc Bai border gate in Tay Ninh province. Illustrative image (Photo: tuoitre.vn)

Hanoi – The number of Cambodian tourists
coming to Vietnam has increased significantly, Tuoi tre (Youth) newspaper, citing statistics of travel agencies.

It said previously, Cambodians
visited Vietnam mainly for medical services, but over several recent years, the inflow of middle-class visitors from the neighbouring country to Vietnam for tourism purpose has been rising, especially after the COVID-19 pandemic was put under control.

The central beach city of Da Nang, the ancient town of Hoi
An, Da Lat – the city of thousand flowers in the Central Highlands region, Nha
Trang, Vung Tau and the “Paradise Pearl Island” of Phu Quoc are some of top
favourite destinations among Cambodian tourists.

Tran Quoc Thinh, director of Tay Ninh province’s Tourism Promotion
Centre said Cambodia is a traditional tourism market of Tay Ninh, which shares a 240-km border with Cambodia’s Svay Rieng, Prey Vieng and Tboung Khmum provinces.

Cambodians regularly cross the border to Tay Ninh for sightseeing, shopping or visiting pagodas, especially on weekends or holidays, according to Thinh.

The province has introduced many new, unique and interesting tourism products such as caravan and cross-border road tours in order to lure more Cambodian tourists. Local tourist accommodation establishments and restaurants are also improving
service quality to serve big tourist groups with longer stay.

Statistics of Tay Ninh’s Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism showed around 2.1 million Cambodians have visited the province for tourism purpose since 2018. Although the number dropped in 2020-2022 due to COVID-19 travel restriction, a rising trend was seen in the first quarter of 2023.

Truong Duc Hai, director of Indochina Pearl Travel, noted that while more middle-class Cambodians are choosing beach resorts in Vietnam for their holiday, demand for medical tours remains high but there are limited products designed specifically for this segment. Such tours are mainly organised by Cambodian people
living in Ho Chi Minh, he said, adding that it is necessary to introduce more professional and
comprehensive medical tour products to serve this group of tourists.

At a tourism promotion event held by Tay Ninh in mid-2022, businesses of the two countries had pledged to join
hands to boost tourism promotion activities and build new routes and tours to stimulate tourism demand./.

Source: https://en.vietnamplus.vn/vietnam-becomes-favourite-destination-for-cambodian-tourists/250323.vnp

Travel

Ha Giang effectively develops community-based tourism

Published

10 hours ago

March 30, 2023

TienphongNews

With its advantages in terms of natural landscapes, rich cultural identities, customs and preserved traditional festivals, the northernmost province of Ha Giang has attracted attention from a large number of travel companies and tourists, and several potential community-based tourist sites have been formed.

Ha Giang effectively develops community-based tourism hinh anh 1

A community-based tourism and cultural village in Ha Giang’s Meo Vac district. (Photo: VNA)

Ha Giang – With its advantages in terms of natural landscapes, rich cultural
identities, customs and preserved traditional festivals, the northernmost province
of Ha Giang has attracted attention from a large number of travel companies and
tourists, and several potential community-based tourist sites have been formed.

Ha Giang province is home to 19 ethnic groups which have their own
cultural traditions and identities.

The effective preservation and promotion of cultural values
has helped the province in general and the ethnic groups in particular have a special
attraction for travelers and those who want to learn about traditional ethnic
culture.

According to Deputy Director of the provincial Department of
Culture, Sports and Tourism Trieu Thi Tinh, over the past years, the province
has selected outstanding cultural products to develop to create more highlights
for tourism development. It has also paid attention to community cultural and tourism activities,
and carried out projects on improving the quality
of services and activities of community-based tourism and cultural villages.

Currently, the province has 40 identified community-based tourism
and cultural villages, and 16 cultural villages recognised by the provincial
People’s Committee as meeting standards to serve tourists.

The provincial Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism
assessed that these villages have operated well and attracted a large number of
tourists, contributing to increasing locals’ income and promoting the value of tourism
resources and cultural identities.

In addition to the achieved results, the community-based tourism
in Ha Giang is facing many difficulties and challenges in terms of transport
infrastructure and product quality that hinder it from developing sustainably
and gaining high economic efficiency.

Therefore, in the coming time, the province will continue
paying attention to improving the quality of services, training human
resources for community-based tourism sites, and stepping up the communication work to
raise locals’ awareness of maintaining and developing their cultural
identities, said Tinh./.

Source: https://en.vietnamplus.vn/ha-giang-effectively-develops-communitybased-tourism/250321.vnp

Travel

Som Tum (Thai-style green papaya salad)

Published

16 hours ago

March 30, 2023

TienphongNews

sheraton20saigon_straight20outta20bangkok_som20tum-1

Som Tum

Sous chef Burin Pongchang from Feast restaurant under Royal Orchid Sheraton Hotel & Towers Bangkok presents Som Tum, a signature Thai cuisine during the special Asian food event titled Straight Outta Bangkok held at Sheraton Saigon Hotel.

Som Tum (Thai-style green papaya salad)

With his impeccable cooking credentials and over 30 years of experience, chef Burin is a regular guest chef of international Thai promotions in China, Malaysia and beyond.

Sous chef Burin Pongchang

Som Tum is a favourite Thai street food. The dish is an explosion of Thai-style flavours – deeply complex, not very spicy, with a perfect balance of sweetness and savoury.

If you are a lover of Thai salad, try making Burin’s favourite dish to impress family members and loved ones.

Ingredients:

Papaya green, slice 150g (cut julienne)
Carrot slice 50g (cut julienne)
French long bean 150g (cut 2cm)
Cherry tomato 300g (cut 1/2)
Dried shrimp 10g
Thai bird chili 1pc
Garlic 1pc
Toasted peanut 10g
Lime juice 10g
Palm sugar 10g
Fish sauce 10g

Method:

Cut papaya and carrot. Peel them. Julienne them with a knife or use a Thai julienne slicers. Put the shredded papaya and carrot in a bowl of cold water for 15 minutes and drain, set aside for later.
Put the garlic and chilies into a mortar, and pound them until they form a really coarse paste. Now, add palm sugar with lime juice and keep pounding to get the sugar to fully dissolve. Add the fish sauce and taste.
Add the dried shrimp and long beans and beat them up a bit. You want them to break a bit.
Add the papaya and carrot. Toss to combine the papaya with the dressing.
Gently bruise the papaya and carrot. Add the tomatoes and give them a bit of a toss. Add the peanuts. Toss to combine everything together. Use your hands.
Arrange the salad and enjoy with savory juice and vegetables. VNS