The Lunar New Year holiday runs from February 2 to 10, and during the period, based on tour bookings, Cambodia and Myanmar are popular destinations, Bui Luu Thu Mai, director of Blue Sky Travel company, told VnExpress. Bangkok (Thailand), Singapore and Kuala Lumpur (Malaysia) are also among the top 10 destinations, according to Agoda, a leading online travel booking platform. Thailand’s popularity among Vietnamese is due to its close proximity, low cost and the fact they do not need a visa, Nguyen Cong Hoan, deputy general director of Hanoi Redtours company, told VnExpress International. "Thailand has a warm climate and a lot of religious and recreational places. It is suitable for many families." More distant places like Japan, South Korea, Dubai, and Europe are also popular choices this year. Many people have booked tours to Japan since the holidays coincide with the plum blossom season there, Mai said. There have been some changes in outbound travel choices for this year. … [Read more...] about Southeast Asia, local resort towns top New Year travel destinations for Vietnamese
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Vietnam set to become a MICE ‘tiger’ of Southeast Asia DTiNews
A new tourism product is emerging in Vietnam, combining luxury MICE business trips with personal time spent travelling in style. The MICE (meetings, incentives, conferences and events) and luxury travel business are two sectors of tourism that are becoming increasingly important and are beginning to operate in tandem. With the opinion widely held amongst experts that the MICE ‘tigers’ of Southeast Asia, Singapore and Malaysia, are nearing maximum capacity in terms of venues, Vietnam is seen as the fastest growing MICE destination-with the potential to become a serious competitor in the near future. In 2016, Hanoi, Danang, Nha Trang and Ho Chi Minh City added many more 4 and 5 star international hotels, many of them targeting the MICE market such as the Marriott in Hanoi, Melia Danang, and Intercontinental Nha Trang. This has positively impacted tourism recovery in Vietnam, with local and foreign travel agencies receiving significantly more MICE requests, especially from … [Read more...] about Vietnam set to become a MICE ‘tiger’ of Southeast Asia DTiNews
Vietnam, Singapore: safest travel destinations in Southeast Asia
Vietnam and Singapore are the only countries in Southeast Asia marked throughout as having "low travel security risk", according to the Travel Risk Map for 2017 compiled by International SOS and Control Risks. Both countries are well-known for their sustainable political situation and low violent crime rate. While seven in 10 surveyed respondents expressed concerns over terrorism threats, Vietnam and Singapore should not be an issue. The countries were the only two in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) marked as "having no impact of terrorism" in 2015 by the Global Terrorism Index. Vietnam is ranked as having "rapidly developing variable medical risk" along with other ASEAN countries, except for Laos, Cambodia and Myanmar, where medical risk has been flagged as high, and Singapore, where it's low. International SOS said that medical care in Vietnam's remote areas could be an issue due to a shortage of medication while in major cities "appropriate standard of … [Read more...] about Vietnam, Singapore: safest travel destinations in Southeast Asia
Vietnam set to become a MICE ‘tiger’ of Southeast Asia
The MICE (meetings, incentives, conferences and events) and luxury travel business are two sectors of tourism that are becoming increasingly important and are beginning to operate in tandem. With the opinion widely held amongst experts that the MICE ‘tigers’ of Southeast Asia, Singapore and Malaysia, are nearing maximum capacity in terms of venues, Vietnam is seen as the fastest growing MICE destination-with the potential to become a serious competitor in the near future. In 2016, Hanoi, Danang, Nha Trang and Ho Chi Minh City added many more 4 and 5 star international hotels, many of them targeting the MICE market such as the Marriott in Hanoi, Melia Danang, and Intercontinental Nha Trang. This has positively impacted tourism recovery in Vietnam, with local and foreign travel agencies receiving significantly more MICE requests, especially from India, the USA, Australia, and New Zealand, with group sizes ranging from 50 to 300 people. According to Pham Ha, CEO of Luxury … [Read more...] about Vietnam set to become a MICE ‘tiger’ of Southeast Asia
Four destinations in Vietnam rated among top 29 places to visit in Southeast Asia
Four locations in Vietnam – Hanoi, Sapa and Hoi An towns, and Ha Long city – have been named among the 29 best places to visit in Southeast Asia, as selected by Touropia, a travel website that features the most impressive and popular travel destinations around the world. Located in northeastern Vietnam, Ha Long Bay in the northern province of Quang Ninh occupies third place on the list, likened to a scene from a fantasy story with its thousands of limestone karst islands of different shapes and sizes. It is also home to four fishing villages composed of floating houses where the occupants make their living and to 200 different species of fish and 450 kinds of mollusk. Coming in at 15th place, the charming town of Hoi An in central Quang Nam province impresses visitors with its narrow, winding lanes of the old port-town, which are lined with beautiful old architecture, traditional wooden houses and hundreds of tailor shops. The capital city of Hanoi is ranked 25th on the … [Read more...] about Four destinations in Vietnam rated among top 29 places to visit in Southeast Asia