Vietnam medical tourism

The problem of visitors’ not spending much during their stay in the country was a hot topic discussed at the Vietnam Travel and Tourism Summit 2019 held in Hanoi Monday. Ngo Hoai Chung, Deputy General Director of Vietnam National Administration of Tourism, noted that Vietnam's tourism has developed rapidly in recent years. Between 2016 and 2018, the average growth rate of international visitors to Vietnam was 12.8 percent.  In 2018, the country welcomed 15.5 million visitors, an increase of 19.9 percent year-on-year, contributing about 8.5 percent to the GDP. In the first 11 months of this year, the number of foreign arrivals reached 16.3 million, up 15.5 percent over the same period last year. Despite these impressive figures, industry insiders said the tourism industry needs to find ways to make visitors stay longer and spend more. Nguyen Thuy Yen, Deputy Director of Quang Ninh’s Tourism Department, noted that on average, a tourist typically spends VND2.4 … [Read more...] about Tourists don’t have much to spend on in Vietnam: forum

Four simultaneous thematic sessions of the 2019 Vietnam Travel and Tourism Summit took place in Hanoi on December 9, discussing the difficult issues of the Vietnamese tourism sector. The event featured the participation of numerous domestic and foreign experts. The first session focused on the theme of “reorganising promotion activities to inspire visitors”. Many experts stated that the Vietnamese tourism sector has gained certain successes in the promotion activities. However, there are many problems in need of being improved. The delegates proposed measures to promote the country’s tourism as well as resolve the limitations and shortcomings that worsened the image of destinations. At the second session, experts discussed the “improvement of the visitors’ planning and booking of services”. Several solutions to strengthen the digitalisation of tourism services were proposed, contributing to improving the stages of applying for travel permits and … [Read more...] about Vietnam Travel and Tourism Summit discusses four important issues

Vietnam tourism’s overwhelming reliance on Chinese, S Koreans worrying: experts Vietnam is in the process of making tourism an economy spearhead, and its dependence on two Asian markets is worrying experts. Vietnam offers to help Laos after dam collapse disaster Vietnamese leaders have offered assistance to Laos after a partly-constructed hydropower dam collapsed leaving at least 70 dead and hundreds missing. Vietnam road along ocean named among Asia’s most spectacular The route from Nha Trang to Quy Nhon is one of the five most beautiful roads in Asia. How Saigon's feared drug lord was trapped It took years of observation and several months of careful planning before the final operation to capture a very careful drug lord in Vietnam. For a cheap, peach of a beach, Vietnam’s the place Three of the most affordable beaches on earth are in Vietnam, according to TravelBird, a Netherlands-based travel site. Economists urge Vietnam to prevent deluge of … [Read more...] about Weekly roundup: Vietnam’s trade, tourism imbalance, exploited Mekong, best of travel and more

Thailand was Vietnam’s fastest growing tourist market in the first 11 months of this year, with arrivals increasing by a whopping 47.1 percent to 451,000, according to the General Statistics Office. In comparison, the numbers from Vietnam’s two biggest markets, China and South Korea, grew by 15.3 percent and 22.4 percent. Travel within ASEAN, of which both Thailand and Vietnam are members, is visa-free. Around one million Vietnamese visited Thailand in 2018, taking Vietnam into the kingdom's top 10 tourism markets, the Tourism Authority of Thailand reported. Low-cost carrier Vietjet Air on Monday announced plans to begin a direct service between Ho Chi Minh City and Pattaya, which has the world's largest red light district and been the busiest tourist destination in Southeast Asia for years. The daily service will begin on December 23. Vietjet Air currently has HCMC-Bangkok, Hanoi-Bangkok and HCMC-Phuket flights. Phuket is one of Southeast Asia's top beach destinations … [Read more...] about Vietnamese carriers keen to fly to Thailand amid tourism boom

Officials in Vietnam's southern island resort of Phu Quoc are consulting provincial police and foreign affairs officials on how to deal with a Russian woman who has been begging on the street in recent days, an act deemed illegal under Vietnamese law. The 20-year-old woman appeared in a photo which has gone viral on Facebook this week, showing her in meditation posture next to a pot and a sign that says she needs money. Phu Quoc officials said they have found a place for her to stay temporarily, but they do not know what to do with her next. She said she has been begging her way through Cambodia, the Philippines, Singapore and Thailand, spending the nights in parks or jungles and begging for money during the days to pay for food and other goods. Tran Chi Dung, director of Kien Giang Province’s tourism department, told Tuoi Tre newspaper that foreigners begging in Vietnam is nothing new, and many have been seen asking for money by performing in the street. “Compared to … [Read more...] about Vietnam officials flummoxed by Russian beggar on popular tourist island