According to the General Statistics Office, in the first four months of 2013, Vietnam received 2.4 million travelers, a decrease of 5.3 percent from the same period of the last year.

In the last five years, 80-85 percent polled travelers said they don’t intend to return to Vietnam for the second and subsequent times. The 2012 survey of TripAdvisor showed that Hanoi was among the 10 cheapest tourist cities in the world this summer. 4.4 million foreign travelers arrived in Hanoi just within the first six months of 2012, but 70 percent of them don’t want to come back.

Vietnam has been put among the countries which can hope to see the highest tourism growth rates in the world. The US TOA has put Vietnam on the second position among the newly emerging destinations for foreign tourists in 2013. However, the number of foreign travelers to Vietnam remains too modest if compared with its great potentials.

On May 10, 2013, a group of French tourists arrived at the Tan Son Nhat Airport in HCM City after taking a long flight from Paris. After completing the check-in procedures at the airport, 33 French tourists came to a foreign exchange kiosk nearby to convert euro into dong to be spent during their stay in Vietnam. After that, the tourists were led to a sightseeing trip in HCM City.

When the tourists came to the Notre Dame and the city’s Post Office, the tour guide told the tourists that they could convert euro into dong to buy postcards to send to France, the tourists were exceedingly astonished when realizing that they were cheated when exchanging money at the airport.

“When I informed them that 10 euro could be converted into VND2.7 million, a lot of tourists felt displeased, because they could get VND2.07 million at the airport. This means that the service provided could pocket VND630,000 for every 100 euro from the service,” said Tran Thi Kim Hong, a tour guide from Indochina travel firm.

Mene Patrick, head of the group of tourists, decided to stop the sightseeing and come back to the Tan Son Nhat airport with the whole group to clarify the matter.

Finally, the French tourists got their money back and continued their trip as planned. The tour guide was given a sum of money in return for her keeping silent. However, Hong, refusing the sum of money, said to the officers at the foreign exchange kiosk that they should feel ashamed because their behaviors might tarnish the image of Vietnamese tourism.

Tran Dang Khoa, a well-known blogger, has called the behavior of overcharging and cheating travelers as a “national humiliation,” calling to impose punishment on the cheaters to polish the image of Vietnam and Vietnamese tourism.

“In Vietnam, you may have to pay money just for a seat at a restaurant, and at the exorbitant high price. The charging is a barbarian behavior which can easily and effectively kill the tourism industry,” he wrote.

“When someone is caught red handed conducting his illegal behavior, he would offer apology to people and give them back money. But this is not enough to keep the tourism healthy,” he continued.

(VietnamNet)

They were attracted to a wide range of cultural activities, such as Lao Cai’s festival in the clouds, Quang Ninh’s Ha Long Carnival, Haiphong’s Do Son- the Calling Sea, Thanh Hoa and Nghe An’s sea tourism festivals, Thua Thien Hue’s traditional craft festival, Danang’s International Fireworks Festival, and many other places of interest like Nha Trang, Da Lat, Mui Ne, Can Tho, Vung Tau and Phong Nha-Ke Bang.

According to initial reports, the number of tourist arrivals in Nha Trang was estimated at 90,000 and those in Vung Tau, at over 80,000, nearly 30 percent higher than last year’s figure.

In the island district of Ly Son, Quang Ngai province, visitors enjoyed attending the Feast and Commemoration Festival for Hoang Sa Soldiers and a ceremony held by the local administration to receive a national cultural intangible heritage certificate.

Nguyen Cong Hoan, Deputy Director of the Hanoi Redtour, said the company served around 5,000 customers during the holiday, including 3,000 on out-bound tours to Thailand, Singapore, Malaysia, Hong Kong, China, Cambodia, Laos and Myanmar at reasonable prices.

The Vietnam International Travel Mart (VITM) held by the Vietnam Tourism Association offered a 20-percent discount for some 6,000 tours.

(VOV)

From April 26 to May 5, they enjoyed a wide range of activities, such as a Red Dao ceremony in Ta Van commune, a Khen (Pen-pipe) and flute contest for Mong ethnic minority people, ethnic costumes show and Sapa love market.

Le Manh Hao, head of the Culture and Information Department of Sapa district, said the Ham Rong tourism site alone saw 5,000-6,000 visitors a day.

Over the past four months, Sapa has received 235,766 visitors, a good signal for local tourism development.

(VOV)

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Answers:

Dear Burbank

Nice to hear that you decide to reside in Vietnam. Sure, you have 2 options below to get your long-term Visas in Vietnam:

1 – You apply for a 3 month multiple entry visa – either through our online service or through Vietnamese Embassy in US. When you are in Vietnam, you can extend your exisiting visa for further 3 months.
2 – If you marry a Vietnamese girl, you are eligible to apply for a 5-year visa exemption through the Government website below:

http://mienthithucvk.mofa.gov.vn/

We hope that helps.

By Getvisavietnam.com

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Answers:

Dear Gloira Lorraine

No worries, there is no problem at all. You can enter Vietnam at any border gates without a visa (airport, borders or sea ports) as long as you stay in Vietnam for less than 15 days.

We hope that helps.

Getvisavietnam.com

The airliner is prepared to carry as many as 57,900 passengers a day from April 26 to May 2 on both domestic and international flights, up 5 percent compared to the same period last year.

There will be a sharp increase in the number of passengers to big cities such as Hanoi, Haiphong, HCM City, and Danang to see firework displays and to other tourist attractions like Phu Quoc, Da Lat, Pleiku, and Nha Trang on this occasion.

The number of international flights from Hanoi and HM City to Bangkok, Singapore and Hong Kong will increase by 43 according to plan.

(VOV)

Northwestern region attracted over 10 million visitors in 2012 thanks to a tourism development cooperation programme by eight provinces.

The figure was released at a conference in Hanoi on April 20 to introduce the provinces’ tourism potential and call for investment.

The eight provinces involved in the programme are Lao Cai, Yen Bai, Son La, Hoa Binh, Phu Tho, Ha Giang, Lai Chau and Dien Bien. The programme aims to reduce poverty in the localities by promoting tourism.

Initiated in 2008, the programme has generated positive results, helping mprove living conditions for local residents, especially those from ethnic minority groups.

The number of visitors to the localities has increased significantly in recent years. Last year, the figure rose seven percent over the previous year.

Experts said that the eight northwestern provinces have abundant tourism potential.

Each locality is designing its own tourism promotion projects to attract more investment and creating their own tourism brand names. They have also agreed to support each other to boost development.

The dossier was carefully prepared to showcase the Cat Ba archipelago’s biodiversity and natural beauty.

The archipelago houses a group of 300 islands of varying sizes. The main island of Cat Ba is about 100 sq.km adjacent to Ha Long Bay.

Encompassing numerous islands, caves, and grottos, the archipelago boasts tropical rainforests, limestone karsts, salt marshes, seaweed fields, and coral reefs. It is home to more than 700 species of flora and fauna including rare trees and endangered animals.

The archipelago’s treasures also include Neolithic archaeological relics, Ha Long cultural relics, and vestiges of ancient Vietnamese inhabitance.

Cat Ba’s Lan Ha Bay has more than 100 beautiful beaches including Cat Co 1, Cat Co 2, Da Bang, Ben Beo, and Co Tien.

Cat Ba has been recognised as a World Biosphere Reserve by UNESCO.

(Hanoi Times)

Answer:

Dear Shane Minogue,

Be kindly informed that the Vietnam visa validity starts from the arrival date you fill in the online Vietnam visa application and submit to us. Since you are not sure about your arrival date, you can fill with a planned one. But, please consider carefully because once your visa approval letter is issued with a defined arrival date, you can enter Vietnam later but cannot earlier than that arrival date.

Since you have time, you should apply for Vietnam visa at least 1 week in advance to make sure everything to be ok.

Have a nice day,
Getvisavietnam.com