Hanoi Transport and Services Corporation (Transerco) is responsible for carrying out the project and working closely with other relevant agencies to develop an appropriate and effective tourist route.The city bus tour is scheduled to take tourists to visit some renowned tourist destinations in Hanoi City such as Hanoi Post Office, Dong Kinh Nghia Thuc Square, Hanoi Opera House, Tran Quoc Pagoda, Thang Long Imperial Citadel, Temple of Literature, Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum, and Quan Thanh Temple.Previously, Transerco also commenced the trial operation of the double-decker city tour on some main streets in the capital in June this year and has received positive responses from local residents and international visitors.Last year, Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc approved the use of double-decker open top buses for tourism purposes in seven provinces and cities – Danang, Hanoi, HCMC, Lam Dong, Kien Giang, Quang Nam and Thua Thien-Hue. Source SGT … [Read more...] about Hanoi to launch open top bus tour before Tet
Tour
Vietnamese travel firms raise concerns over ‘cost-free’ tours
Vietnamese travel firms have launched cost-free tours, copying a promotional model commonly used by airlines, to both domestic and outbound destinations. Offers include taking tourists to the U.S. at half the normal price via ‘budget packages’.The low-cost travel products are heating up the travel market during peak season, however they have also sparked skepticism from holidaymakers and industry insiders. Incredibly cheap pricesIn early November, a local travel firm known as V. stunned customers with a promotional campaign called “Hunting zero dong tours,” offering 1,000 packages at zero Vietnamese dong to several European and Asian countries, including France, Switzerland, Japan, China and Vietnam.The company’s general director, Tran Van Long, told Tuoi Tre (Youth) newspaper that they were willing to suffer losses with the campaign, held on the occasion of the launch of its new headquarters.“Just as with zero-cost air tickets, customers of the … [Read more...] about Vietnamese travel firms raise concerns over ‘cost-free’ tours
Travel firms run race to sell tours to US
VietNamNet Bridge - Traveling the US has become more realistic as travel firms have slashed tour fees. Traveling the US has become more realistic After advertising an 8-day, 7-night tour to the US with the fee of VND27 million, the travel firm on Ngo Quyen street in district 10, HCMC, on November 28 received 30 guests who came to ask about the tour. “In the past, people did not think of touring the US because of the high tour fee. But they were more interested in the tours we offer,” said Nguyen Bao Son, director of Saigon Star. Tours to the US are among the most expensive. A tour which lasts 5-7 days would cost VND40-90 million, including air tickets. The cheapest tour to the West Coast costs up to VND35 million. Meanwhile, tours to both the East and West Coasts would cost no less than 50 million in the low season. However, the tour fees have been decreasing recently as travel firms compete to attract travelers. Tugo, a young tourism firm, is selling 7-day tours to … [Read more...] about Travel firms run race to sell tours to US
Surveying destinations and meeting tour operators in Iran
(TITC) - On 11 December 2017, in Isfahan – the famous tourist city of Iran, the delegation of Viet Nam National Administration of Tourism (VNAT) and Vietnamese tour operators had the working meeting with Iranian tour operators. Speaking at the meeting, Dr. Alahgari, Head of Isfahan’s Heritage, Handicrafts and Tourism Authority, welcomed the presence of the Vietnamese delegation in Isfahan. Dr. Alahgari emphasized Isfahan is the famous tourist city with about 2,400 landscape and relic sites, 7 world heritage sites recognized by UNESCO. In 2015, Isfahan was chosen as World Crafts City by the World Crafts Council (WCC). At the meeting, the video about Viet Nam tourism was introduced to the delegates and Iranian tour operators. Iranian tour operators expressed interest in Vietnamese tourism – a new, potential and attractive market for Iranian visitors. Viet Nam with beautiful beaches, a lot of world heritage, diversified topography, attractive cuisine, friendly and … [Read more...] about Surveying destinations and meeting tour operators in Iran
Local tour operators yet to resume tours to Thailand
Local tour operators yet to resume tours to ThailandBy Dao Loan - The Saigon Times DailyHCMC – HCMC-based travel agencies have decided to postpone tours to Thailand indefinitely instead of restarting them early this week as planned earlier and wait until the flood subsides.Representatives of travel firms said this was the longest suspension ever after tours to this country was opened.Vietravel, one of the firms having the biggest number of clients traveling to Thailand, had earlier suspended its tours from October 26 to November 6. Now, its tours to Thailand have yet to be restarted as clients often update information regarding the flood and decide not to go, explained Nguyen Minh Man, media manager of Vietravel.Vietravel normally has around 100 clients departing for Thailand each day around this time of the year but has got no tour bookings for a half month.TST Tourist is in the same boat. The firm is waiting for the flight schedule of Vietnam Airlines and updated information … [Read more...] about Local tour operators yet to resume tours to Thailand
2030 Businessmen Club charity caravan tour kicks off
2030 Businessmen Club charity caravan tour kicks offThanh Uyen The 2030 Businessmen Club’s annual charity caravan trip departed from Tan Phu Trung Industrial Park in HCMC’s Cu Chi District on April 29, starting a trans-regional tour through Vietnam, Cambodia and Thailand. The businessmen club under the Saigon Times Club is organizing the tour from April 29 to May 4 , during which club members will travel nearly 2,000km from HCMC to Phnom Penh, Koh Kong, Pattaya and Siem Riep before coming back to HCMC. The organizing committee will award 500 bicycles and 631 gifts, including schoolbags and stationery items, and 1,000 packs of confectionary to poor students in Chau Thanh and Ben Cau districts in the southwestern province of Tay Ninh. The total value of the donations is around VND1.2 billion. Besides, the 2030 Businessmen club would contribute a total amount of US$10,000 to a charity fund to support Vietnamese outstanding students who are living in poverty in Cambodia … [Read more...] about 2030 Businessmen Club charity caravan tour kicks off
Travel firms decry tour guide qualifications rules
Travel firms decry tour guide qualifications rulesDao Loan By Dao Loan - The Saigon Times Daily HCMC – Many travel firms have protested prevailing regulations requiring tour guides to have a bachelor’s degree, especially at a time they are in dire need of tour guides to serve international guests during this peak season of the inbound segment. This problem has surfaced for a long time and got more heated now that the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism is mulling some drafted amendments to the Tourism Law. Under the Tourism Law, tour guides catering to international tourists are required to hold a university degree in their trade, and if having a degree in other majors, tour guides have to obtain a tourism certificate issued by a competent agency. This very requirement on having a university degree has set up a barrier for those having experiences and good at foreign languages, especially less popular languages such as Russian, Korean and German. Such guides could not … [Read more...] about Travel firms decry tour guide qualifications rules
Businesses in river tour development deal
Businesses in river tour development dealBy Dao Loan - The Saigon Times DailyViet Excursions, Ben Thanh Tourist, APEX, Indochina Junk Co. Ltd. and Ngoc Phong expect to attract tourists who want to see artists produce their paintings and places of interest along both banks of the Saigon River.Ngoc Phong is a waterway transportation company, Indochina Junk has the Indochina Junk ship that often cruises on the river, and the other three are travel services providers.This is one of the several tours on the Saigon River which the city’s tourism authority has surveyed recently to develop river tourism into one of the key products for tourists. Nguyen Van Tran, general director of APEX that serves Japanese travelers in the country, told the Daily that the company already included the program into optional tours for Japanese tourists in HCMC. The company will include the program into tour programs for Japanese visitors in the city and send it to overseas partners for sale in the coming … [Read more...] about Businesses in river tour development deal
S African girl dies during cycling tour in Vietnam’s Hoi An
A girl from Cape Town, South Africa died during a school trip to Vietnam’s popular resort town of Hoi An on Friday, reportedly after feeling tired during a bicycle ride. African News Agency said that the victim, Shannen Rustin, was on a history tour of Southeast Asia with 31 of her 11th grade classmates, two teachers and one parent. On the mild and overcast Friday morning, the group left on a cycle ride around Hoi An in central Vietnam. Some students reportedly had difficulty riding their bicycles and traveled on the back of scooters instead. Rustin was among them. The report quoted Debbie Schafer, Minister of Education in the Western Cape, as saying that Rustin told a local tour operator that she felt tired after around 30 minutes of cycling. She was put on the back of a scooter with the operator, who said she was still “chatting and laughing with him”, Schafer said. But when the group stopped at a bridge crossing for a rest 10 minutes later, Rustin … [Read more...] about S African girl dies during cycling tour in Vietnam’s Hoi An
Saigontourist launches new river tours
Saigontourist has just put into service five new tourist boats and launched seven new river tours, taking in popular destinations in the city and neighboring areas. Tourists take a river tour on board a high-speed boat in HCMCThe tours are designed by Binh Quoi Tourist Village in conjunction with Saigontourist Travel Service Co. under the umbrella of Saigontourist, with a range of options for passengers.More noteworthy of the seven newly-operated tours are three taking tourists to sightseeing spots in HCMC and Binh Duong Province, the two most vibrant and dynamic cities in the south. Tan Cang-Binh Duong-Ben Dinh tourThe tour departs at Tan Cang tourist site at 7 a.m. and ends at 3:20 p.m., available from Thursday to Saturday, taking in some popular destinations such as Ba Son, Thanh Da Canal Bridge, Binh Loi Bridge, Lai Thieu Bridge, Tran Van Ho’s ancient house in Binh Duong, Thien Hau Lady Pagoda, Thu Dau Mot Market, Phu Cuong Church, Ben Cat Intersection, Ben Dinh Tunnel in … [Read more...] about Saigontourist launches new river tours