Life
Foreign tourists can visit Việt Nam this month
HÀ NỘI — International tourists with vaccine passports or those who have made a full recovery from COVID-19 can visit five destinations in Việt Nam starting from this month, without a quarantine mandate.
The Government Office announced Tuesday that Deputy Prime Minister Phạm Bình Minh has approved a pilot plan to welcome international visitors as proposed earlier by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism.
Five pilot destinations to receive foreign tourists include Phú Quốc City in Kiên Giang Province, Khánh Hòa, Quảng Nam, Quảng Ninh Provinces and the central city of Đà Nẵng.
The plan will be divided into three phases, starting from this November.
In the first phase that starts this month, designated places and tourism facilities in Phú Quốc, Khánh Hòa, Quảng Nam, Đà Nẵng, Quảng Ninh can receive foreign tourists within package tourism programmes arriving via either charter flights or international commercial flights.
In the second phase that takes effect from January 2022, the scale of the pilot plan will be expanded by connecting destinations through regular charter and international commercial flights.
The tourists could participate in travel programmes that combine multiple destinations after completing their tours at the first destination within seven days. Five destinations – Kiên Giang, Nha Trang, Đà Nẵng, Quảng Nam and Quảng Ninh – will be piloted first and some other localities will be added to the programmes later as long as the pandemic conditions permit and the local authorities submit proposals to welcome international tourists.
The Việt Nam’s tourism market will fully open to international tourists in the last phase, the starting time of which will be based on the contemporary pandemic situation on the evaluation of the two previous phases.
The plan will apply to foreign tourists and overseas Vietnamese arriving from Việt Nam’s key and potential tourism markets. They must prove certificates of taking full doses of the COVID-19 vaccination or COVID-19 recovery that are recognised by the authorities in Việt Nam, except children under 12 years old accompanied by parents or guardians. For COVID-19 recovery patients, the time from being discharged from the hospital to the time of departure must not exceed six months.
Other conditions include having negative results for SARS-CoV-2 test by RT-PCR/RT-LAMP method within 72 hours before departure and certified by the authority of the country conducting the test (from time of sampling) and having medical or travel insurance that covers COVID-19 treatment with a minimum liability of US$50,000.
Tourists within the pilot tours must have their temperature regularly checked and use the IGOVN application during their stay. Masking is required, and there will be no quarantine mandate.
On the first day of entry, tourists will be taken to the accommodation facility and have COVID tests. They could continue their stay if the tests prove negative; otherwise, they will be taken to a medical facility and the cost will be covered by insurance or travel agency.
Within the first seven days, tourists must adhere to the schedule, ensuring pandemic prevention regulations and taking self-tests every two to three days. In case of having any symptoms of fever, cough, shortness of breath or sore throat, they must notify medical staff for screening tests.
After seven days, those who continue to stay in Việt Nam must test themselves for COVID-19 and could travel to other localities within the programme if the results are negative. Those who want to see their relatives in Việt Nam need to register with their tour operators.
The People’s Committees in the five pilot destinations must vaccinate locals and tourism workers while issuing detailed instructions for welcoming international guests in the locality.
Việt Nam stopped receiving international visitors since the outbreak of the pandemic in March 2020 and only allowed foreign experts’ entry. —
Source: https://vietnamnews.vn/life-style/1071877/foreign-tourists-can-visit-viet-nam-this-month.html
The ongoing Ho Chi Minh City River Festival, taking place from Friday to Sunday this week, features a boat parade every night with the participation of some 40 cruise ships, yachts, floating restaurants, canoes operated by tourism businesses on the Saigon River.
This waterway parade is expected to be one of the highlights of the three-day festival, hosted by the municipal Department of Tourism, in coordination with the municipal Department of Culture and Sports as well as relevant agencies.
The boat parade starts from the Saigon Cruise Port in District 4 to the waters near the Landmark 81 building, the highest skyscraper in the country, with the participating ships decorated with colorful lights to attract festival-goers.
The boat parade will take place between 7:30 pm and 9:00 pm on Saturday and from 9:00 pm to 10:00 pm on Sunday this week.
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| Illuminated boats stage a parade on the Saigon River in Ho Chi Minh City, August 4, 2023. Photo: T.T.D / Tuoi Tre |
Aside from watching the boat parade, festival-goers can access some 150 special deals offered by over 100 travel firms at the event.
They can also explore riverside cultural space, take part in a wide range of traditional folk games, and enjoy various traditional music and dance shows.
These activities are scheduled to take place at the Saigon Cruise Port, the Bach Dang Wharf Park, the Binh Dong Wharf, along the banks of Nhieu Loc – Thi Nghe Canal, and in various tourist sites.
Below are some photos of a boat parade held on Friday night:
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| Illuminated boats are on parade near the Ba Son Bridge, which spans over the Saigon River and links District 1 with Thu Duc City in Ho Chi Minh City. Photo: Phuong Quyen / Tuoi Tre |
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| The boat parade is seen at the Vinhomes Central Park Tan Cang area. Photo: Phuong Quyen / Tuoi Tre |
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| Cruise ship guests enjoy the spectacular scenery of Ho Chi Minh City at night. Photo: T.T.D / Tuoi Tre |
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| A sparkling riverside view of the Ho Chi Minh City River Festival. Photo: Phuong Quyen / Tuoi Tre |
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| A drone light art performance at the festival. Photo: T.T.D / Tuoi Tre |
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| A drone light art performance at the festival. Photo: T.T.D / Tuoi Tre |
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Source: https://tuoitrenews.vn/news/ttnewsstyle/20230805/40-cruise-ships-yachts-join-parade-at-ho-chi-minh-city-river-fest/74813.html
A group of students from the Ho Chi Minh City University of Technology have successfully created edible food wrap from shrimp shells, crab shells, and guava leaves after two years of research.
The group won first prize for their research at Bach Khoa Innovation 2023, an innovation and entrepreneurship competition hosted by their university.
The group collected shrimp and crab shells from seafood processing companies and guava leaves from guava gardens to develop their food wrap.
Shrimp shells consist of chitin which can be converted into chitosan after being processed, according to Le Y Nhi, a third-year food technology major at the Ho Chi Minh City University of Technology and a member of the group which created the food wrap.
“Chitosan can inhibit many types of microbes. Extract from guava leaves is also antibacterial,” she said.
“As a result, the food wrap is antibacterial, has good oxidation resistance, and uses materials that are safe for people. However, the durability of the product should be improved.”
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| It took the students from the Ho Chi Minh City University of Technology about two years to create the edible food wrap. Photo: Supplied |
The student group drew up a plan to survey material resources, solutions, and equipment for their research since their first year at university, said Dinh Thiet Anh, a third-year chemical engineering student and also a member of the group.
“This is a premise for us to confidently take part in academic and startup competitions, and put the product into use,” Anh said.
Two remarkable characteristics of the food wrap are that it is edible and antibacterial, according to Associate Professor Dr. Huynh Ky Phuong Ha from the chemical engineering faculty of the university.
“The group’s research can be expanded, specifically adding denatured starch to improve the viscosity of the food wrap and adjusting ingredients to meet the preservation demand for different kinds of food,” Ha recommended.
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Source: https://tuoitrenews.vn/news/ttnewsstyle/20230804/vietnamese-students-make-food-wrap-from-shrimp-crab-shells-guava-leaves/74800.html
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