Phu Quoc island might have great potential to develop into a premier ecotourism destination but it will miss the bus if it fails to place emphasis on education and tourism services training, experts warned at a seminar over last weekend.
Michael Fox, an ecotourism expert who has been studying tourism development in the island for a US-funded project, agreed it had all the prerequisites to become a major global ecotourism centre.
"Yes, you have all kinds of endangered species, including gibbons, langur, porcupines, and dugongs; unspoilt and beautiful beaches and landscapes; and the local people and their culture," he told local authorities at the seminar organised by American non-governmental organisation, ACDI/VOCA, in Phu Quoc last Saturday.
But efficient services delivery, good food, knowledgeable guides who could hold forth on the eco-system and wildlife in good English, professional tour operators, an understanding of what foreign tourists need, effective conservation management, and a choice of tourism products were lacking, he said.
Speaking at the seminar held to discuss the competitiveness of the island’s tourism industry, other foreign tourism experts also urged the authorities to move cautiously on their ambitious development master plan approved by Prime Minister Phan Van Khai earlier this month.
The plan envisages Phu Quoc, with a population of 84,000, receiving 500,000 visitors a year by 2010, and receiving 2-3 million tourists by 2020.
Around 150,000 Vietnamese and 50,000 foreigners visited the southern island last year.
It represented an explosion with domestic arrivals increasing by 1,300 per cent and international arrivals by 398 per cent since 2000.
Lack of personnel
Jozef Van Doorn, the European Union’s co-director of the Viet Nam Human Resources Development in Tourism project, said, like the rest of the country, Phu Quoc lacked qualified tourism workers.
Doorn went on to give the island authorities a broad picture of the country’s tourism sector and its personnel – based on a study he made for the project – so that they could understand the importance of training.
He said while in 1990 Viet Nam had no tourism training school, it now had 45 which provided 12,000 graduates a year. However, the industry needed about 30,000 and so was recruiting 18,000 unqualified people each year.
Besides, with borders set to be opened up to workers within the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), there would be a quantum jump in competition, Doorn warned. Unqualified Vietnamese workers would be found out then.
Realising the country’s needs, the EU began Doorn’s project together with the Viet Nam National Administration of Tourism to provide 200 training courses for trainers in 13 different tourism and service spheres in Ha Noi, Hue, HCM City, and Ba Ria-Vung Tau Province.
Based on his experience and understanding of the country’s tourism industry, he said, the Phu Quoc authorities should " do it more step by step." He was referring to the development master plan.
Dominic Scriven, director of Dragon Capital, part-owner of the Mango Bay resort in Phu Quoc, and founder of the non-profit conservation group Wildlife at Risk, told the authorities in fluent Vietnamese that he would like to work with schools in the island to make children more aware of the need for environmental protection.
His group would publish two handbooks providing people with information and pictures of the endangered species in Phu Quoc to increase public awareness of conservation, he added.
Tourism services
Last week, with technical assistance from ACDI/VOCA, the private Phu Quoc Tourism Investment and Development Corporation announced the opening of the School for International Tourism Training (SITT) in Duong Dong Town near Phu Quoc airport.
In the beginning, the school, nationally accredited by the Ministry of Education and Training, will provide training courses in English, room service, and waiting.
Phan Thi Thu Hau , the school’s managing director, said foreign tourism and English teachers would be invited to lecture.

Source: Vietnam News

The Vietnam Arts and Literature Exhibition Centre and the Ministry of Culture and Information will hold a Cultural Heritage Festival 2005 from November 21-24 to mark Vietnam Cultural Heritage Day (November 23).




The first festival will feature many activities, including cultural heritage and the community, seminars, arts performances and cultural exchanges and will feature the participation of travel agents, businesses and artisans.

The event is aimed at honouring national culture and promoting outstanding cultural heritage sites to local people and international friends.



(Source: VOV)

Vietnamese traditional culture and food will be introduced to Europeans at a Vietnamese Food Days to be held for the first time at the Sheraton Brussels Airport Hotel in Brussels from November 14-26, 2005.

During the festival, Belgians and foreign visitors will enjoy Vietnamese traditional dishes made by chefs from the Ho Chi Minh City-based Sheraton Saigon Hotel.

As part of the festival, Vietnamese artists will perform traditional folk songs and dances. An exhibition will also be organised by the Van Nam Corporation to showcase fine arts handicrafts made by Vietnamese artisans.

The event will be supported by the Vietnamese Embassy in Brussels.

(Source: VOV)

From the centre of Krong Bong District, travelling back to the Cu Yang Sin Mountain range about 3km, tourists will see a beautiful landscape of Dak Lak Province – Krong Kmar Waterfall.



Originating from the highest peak of the Cu Yang Sin range, known as the roof of the Central Highlands, the Krong Kmar stream falls down to the foot of the mountain, creating the poetic Krong Kmar Waterfall.

In the upstream, from the peak of Cu Yang Sin, the water current rushing down, making a range of waterfalls. The water falls onto stones, creating a chain of sounds which rings through the whole primeval forest with a wonderful melody.

Tourists can rest on table-sized rocks by the waterfall or organise small parties in the middle of the stream on large rocks. Those who like discovering forest and mountain scenery can walk along the waterfall upward to its upstream. Tourists will be surprised that on the peak of the Cu Yang Sin range stands a large blue and deep lake in the middle of the pine forest.

Different from the downstream, the scenery in the upstream is very suitable for those who would like to enjoy themselves in a tranquil and peaceful place amid wild nature. Tourists can also ride elephants of the E De ethnic minority to climb the peak of Cu Yang Sin and enjoy the unforgettable aroma of the ruou can (wine drunk out of a jar through pipes).



(Source: Daktra)

National flag carrier Vietnam Airlines is instituting an electronic ticketing service which is expected to be in place by the end of this year, aiming to lower costs and lift service quality.
"We hope that e-tickets will totally replace paper tickets by the start of 2008," local newspaper Vietnam News on Tuesday quoted To Dinh Dung, head of the carrier's Research and Development Department as saying.

"With e-tickets, costs will be diminished remarkably compared with paper tickets, because there are no costs for printing, sending or filing. Everything is done on computer," he added.

In the world, the cost of generating an e-ticket is about US$1, one-tenth of that of a paper ticket, according to the International Air Transport Association. The association hopes that e-tickets will be popularized globally by the end of 2007, annually saving at least $3 billion for the world airline industry.

On Monday, Vietnam officially joined the International Airlines Technical Pool (IATP). As a full IATP member, it is to become an official provider of materials and spare parts for Boeing 777 and Airbus 320 and 321 aircraft at the Vietnamese international airports of Noi Bai and Tan Son Nhat.

The national flag carrier is also to offer outside-hangar maintenance to partner airlines at the airports and receive the same services on a cooperative basis for its own aircraft at overseas airports.

Vietnam's aviation industry served over 4.7 million domestic and foreign passengers and 78,300 tons of cargo in the first nine months this year, registering year-on-year increases of 24.7% and 6.8% respectively, according to the country's General Statistics Office.

(Source: Vietnam News)

The source market boasted the second largest growth in the period, according to the nation’s tourism watchdog - Vietnam National Administration of Tourism (VNAT).

According to local travel companies, the number of Russian visitors to Vietnam will soar if more air links are established to facilitate travel between the two countries.

Weekly flights operated by Vladivostok Air on the Vietnam-Russia service are fully-occupied, said a representative in Vietnam.

Source: Tuoi Tre - Compiled by T.H.

Vietnam Airlines has announced a 10-23 percent festival season discount for foreigners and certain other passengers on the US and Australian sectors
The promotion offers a one-month and one-year ticket to Australia at $699 and $1,499 respectively to foreign passport-holders, members of the European Chamber of Commerce in Vietnam, and the Belgian Luxembourg Chamber of Commerce in Vietnam.

The offer will be valid from December 15 to 31.

The fare to Los Angeles and San Francisco will be $449 for a one-way ticket and $849 for a return ticket with a one month validity.

This offer will run from October 10 to December 15.


(Source: VNA)

The festival, scheduled for October 22-24,2005, will take place in Phan Thiet City, some 190km north of Ho Chi Minh City, and will be a colourful event characterised by entertainment and cultural activities, a provincial vice chairman said.

Nguyen Van Thu told the function held at the Majestic Hotel that the festival would be a special occasion for tourists to renew their experiences in a coastal town that shot to fame ten years ago when thousands rushed there to view the full solar eclipse.

The event will feature the Kate festival and the Cham Culture Day typical of the ethnic Cham people there, a tourism photo exhibition, a conference to call for more investment into tourism, and the Binh Thuan Trade Fair.

Binh Thuan authorities will also commission 10 to 15 tourist projects and launch more new tours to give visitors a special treat, Mr.Thu said.

?We want to establish a large tourism festival to introduce Binh Thuan anew as a worthwhile destination to tourists,? he said.

Mr.Thu expected within three days of the festival, around 20,000 tourists would visit the central province.

At the function, Binh Thuan tourism officials made a rerun of an old TV reportage about thousands of people crowding Mui Ne Cape in Phan Thiet on October 24, 1995 to watch the total solar eclipse. After the event, tourists have learnt of Binh Thuan as an attractive destination in the country.

The vice chairman described the total solar eclipse in 1995 as a ?wonderful event? for Binh Thuan tourism, considering it a development landmark.

Since then, more investors have landed in the province to develop more tourism projects. Now, Binh Thuan has 102 hotels and resorts with 3,000 rooms and 2,000 guest houses, and has issued licenses to investors to build around 365 projects with total investment of VND8.5 trillion.

In January-August, Binh Thuan welcomed 1.3 million guests.


( Vietnamnet)

Caravans carrying tourists from Thailand to Da Nang city are increasing. October sees three delegations with 130 tourists.

Da Nang-based Vitours received on October 6 14 right-wheel caravans carrying 43 tourists from Thailand into Vietnam through Lao Bao Border Gate.

Vitours said they are expected to receive 48 caravans this month with 130 tourists.

Da Nang Tourism Department said promotion for these tours is being boosted. The city received 400 caravans last month.

Vietnam Airlines, the national flag carrier announced that it would reduce a 10.6 to 23% fare rate from Vietnam to the United States and Australia.

The cost of a single ticket from Vietnam to Los Angeles and San Francisco of the United States drops to US $449 from US $520, taking effect from October 10 to 15th December 2005, said the firm.

A return ticket for this route also drops to US $849 to US $950, added Vietnam Airlines.

Passengers travelling to Australia will also enjoy fare reduction from December 15 to December 31 for return tickets, according to Vietnam Airlines.
Source :nhandan