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Tourists to flock to Quang Binh for Son Doong Cave tour

Over 100 international tourists have registered for trial adventure tours in Son Doong Cave, according to the Director of Phong Nha – Ke Bang National Park, Le Thanh Tinh.


Two seven day/six night tours will be held each month at a cost of US$ 3,000. Three five day/four night tours will be held each month for US$ 2,300. The tours begin in August 2013.
Each tour accommodates six tourists and about 15 local guides. After the trial period, if operations go well, adventure tours in Son Doong Cave will operate officially from February to August every year.
Son Doong cave, located in Phong Nha-Ke Bang National Park, was first discovered in 1991. Its existence was publicized in 2009 by a group of British scientists from BCRA, led by Howard Limbert, after their surveying trip in Phong Nha-Ke Bang Park.
According to Limbert, the cave is five times larger than the nearby Phong Nha cave, previously considered to be the largest in Vietnam.
Son Doong cave is found to have a length of at least 5 kilometres. It is estimated to be 200 metres in width and 150 metres in height.
Source: Nhan Dan



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HCM City to establish Tourism Department


The scale of operations of HCM City tourism is growing, but the management apparatus is getting smaller. Therefore, the city is bound to have the Department of Tourism for better management," HCM City’s Vice Chairwoman Nguyen Thi Hong said.
According to Ms. Hong, in the first half of this year, 1.9 million international visitors came to the city, up 5 percent over the same period of 2012, nearly doubling the country’s average number (2.6 percent) and accounting for 54 percent of the total number of international visitors to Vietnam.
 
At present, HCM City has more than 1,800 hotels and motels, with 42,000 ranked rooms with 29,000 businesses operating in the tourism sector. However, the bigger the scale of the tourism sector is, the state management apparatus is smaller. After the merger of the Department of Tourism and the Department of Culture - Sports and Tourism, the personnel for the tourism industry is thinner.
Hong said to develop HCM City’s tourism in a professional way, the city must establish the Department of Tourism. The city has asked the government’s permission to set up the tourist department.
Recently, the responsibility of the Department of Culture - Sports and Tourism of Ho Chi Minh City has been questioned because until the local media reported that Travel Life abandoned 700 Vietnamese tourists in Thailand. This agency knew that this travel agent did not have a license for supplying international tours.
In recent years, tourism has been a key economic sector of HCM City (contributing 11-15 percent of the city’s GDP and 6 percent of the country’s tourism revenue). However, robbery, fraud and overcharging have been on the rise, affecting Vietnam’s tourism and the image of the country.
According to statistics from 10 hotels and 10 major tour operators in the city, there were 255 robberies of foreign visitors in 2012.
The local Department of Foreign Affairs received 222 complaints of foreigners on robbery and home burglaries while HCM City police recorded 117 cases related to foreigners, mainly robbery in 2012.
In an effort to professionalize tourism activities, HCM City has decided to operate the tourist information directory enquiries (number 1087) on a trial basis for two months.
Calling 1087, tourists will be supplied with information and answers for their questions about tourism in HCM City. The line is open 24/7, using Vietnamese and English.
The line also provides information on travel security (in coordination with the hot line of the mobile police,) information on tourism policy, tourism products, business travel, etc.

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TRAVEL IN BRIEF 29/6


VNA opens new flights from Da Nang to Seoul, Siem Reap
National flag carrier Vietnam Airlines (VNA) on June 28 in Da Nang City announced that it has opened two direct flight routes from the city to Seoul (Korea) and Siem Reap (Cambodia).
There will be three flights a week on Mondays, Thursdays, and Saturdays, which will depart at 0.05 am in Da Nang and at 9.30 am (local time) in Seoul, by Airbus A321 aircraft for the Da Nang - Seoul route.
As for Da Nang - Siem Reap route, there will be one flight a day by ATR-72 aircraft, departing at 2.10 pm from Da Nang City and at 5.15 pm from Siem Reap.
The carrier announced that it will sell tickets at prices nearly 50 percent cheaper than normal prices for both routes until December 31 this year, with a round-trip ticket for Da Nang -  Seoul route costing VND5,940,000, and VND1,738,000 for Da Nang – Siem Reap route.
Holidaymakers rocket up in summer
Tran The Dung, deputy director of Young Generation Travel Company, said holidaymakers buying its summer tours increase seven times more than those last year thanks to promotion domestic flight tickets of the national flag carrier Vietnam Airlines’ stimulus program.
We sold only 600 tickets in May and June last year but this year we attracted more than 4,500 holimakers, said Tran The Dung.
It is due to the flagship carrier's program of promotion and ticket booking improvement.
In addition to available former flight, this year Vietnam Airline issued cheap tickets for four new destinations resulting in more tourists.
Da Nang kicks off tourism stimulus program
On June 28, the Department of Culture, Sports, and Tourism in Da Nang City started the program ‘Da Nang - Summer Destination 2013’ with many cultural, sport, and tourism activities to attract holidaymakers to visit the city during summer time.
Most main activities will take place at Bien Dong Park, Pham Van Dong Beach, and Tran Hung Dao Street. Of which, there are many new exciting activities added to the program, such as: freestyle football performance, X-game bicycle performance, Da Nang paragliding competition, and Korean art program. The organizers also maintained sea sport activities, including performances of parachute-pulled canoe, jetsky, and sailing boats.
Moreover, holidaymakers will also have other fascinating options, such as: scuba diving to view beautiful coral reefs in Son Tra Peninsula, waterfall sliding at Hoa Phu Thanh Resort, night cruise on Han River, and, especially, fish-catching tour around Son Tra Peninsula with fishermen.
The program will end on July 3.
Tam Dao to provide free wireless internet service
The Vinh Phuc Department of Information and Communications announced a VND15 billion (US$708,000) project to provide free wireless internet services (wi-fi) in Tam Dao town.
Tam Dao (Three Islands) describes the natural beauty of the area’s three mountains that resemble a trio of islands in a sea of clouds. The region is famous for its impressive natural scenery, mild climate, diverse flora and fauna, and a number of cultural and historical sites.
Sixty wi-fi “hotspots”, each covering a circular area 300 metres in diameter, will ensure simultaneous internet access for 10,000 users and will begin operating by the end of this year in the central area of Tam Dao town, which includes many hotels and office buildings.
The service aims to promote the town’s image and attract more tourists to by offering them easy, free and convenient access to information.
Other well-known tourism towns in Vietnam, including Hoi An in Quang Nam province, Ha Long in Quang Ninh province, and Hue in Thua Thien – Hue province, have already established free wi-fi internet systems for both local people and tourists.

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