The 2005 International Travel Expo (ITE-HCMC 2005), which took place in Ho Chi Minh City from October 7-9, 2005 was the first international event in Vietnam, aiming at promoting the inbound and outbound tourism. The event attracted more than 100 Vietnamese and foreign travel agencies, hotels, airlines and resorts, let alone hundreds of visitors from Malaysia, Indonesia, the Philippines, the Republic of Korea, China, Thailand, Singapore and the US.
Nguyen Huu Tin, vice chairman of the Ho Chi Minh City People’s Committee, said that the expo was the meeting between sellers and buyers to seek co-operation, investment and development opportunities for potential Vietnamese tourism. The expo was organised in a professional manner, from welcoming guests, contacting meetings, seminars, an IQ quiz on tourism, forum ‘The Charm of Vietnam,’ contests ‘Visiting and Winning Prizes,’ and ‘Buying and Winning Prizes.’
Vietnam overcame challenges and difficulties caused by natural disasters, wars, and diseases with great efforts to maintain the image of a hospitable and friendly, safe and attractive Vietnam. At the same time, Vietnamese tourism has increasingly improved its facilities, services and products. Ho Chi Minh City alone, in recent years, has always occupied the top spot as the biggest tourism centre in Vietnam. Last year, the city received around 1.7 million foreign visitors, gaining an annual growth rate of 15 per cent. At the same time, localities nationwide have seen a great progress in tourism development with many tourist attractions. Alongside such famous sites as Hue, Hoi An, Nha Trang, Da Lat, and Vung Tau, many sites in Binh Thuan, Dak Lak, Da Nang and Kien Giang have emerged as new attractions with complexes of luxurious resorts, hotels and restaurants, meeting the international standard, and various attractive services and products, including eco-tours, adventure and riverside tours.
On this occasion, travel agencies launched many new, attractive tours to lure visitors in year-end months with a focus on domestic and foreign tours. They combine tours with events, such as major festivals and holidays. This is a new development tendency as tourists now want to witness and learn about major cultural activities apart from enjoying the beauty of landscapes. Binh Thuan, which was ‘awakened’ by the solar eclipse phenomenon, has become an attractive destination for visitors.
Over the past years, the province has promoted its investment on developing infrastructure facilities, attracting Vietnamese and foreign investors to build luxurious resorts. Many tourist sites have been put into operation, including Mui Ne, Rom Islet, Ham Tan, Co Thháºch, Ta Cu Mountain and Poshanu Tower. From October 22.25, 2005, the province will organise the programme ‘Binh Thuan Green Convergence.’ During the event, tourists will have a good opportunity to enjoy excellent activities. Local resorts will offer special promotional services. In December, visitors can join the Da Lat Flower Festival and the Buon Ma Thuot Coffee Festival.
Many attractive tourist programmes will be offered by the Mekong delta. Visiting Can Tho, Vinh Long or Tien Giang, tourists can have trips along rivers and canals, enjoying local special fruit and seafood, or performances of amateur artists, learning more about the lifestyle and trade activities on the river. They can go to Dong Thap to explore the Plain of Reeds, visit the Xeo Quyt military base and the Tram Chim National Park. They cannot miss a visit to the Ba Chua Xua temple and the poetic area of Seven Mountains, or top ten landscapes in Ha Tien, the sunny ‘heaven’ in Phu Quoc with magnificent beaches, poetic landscapes and fish sauce making villages. At present, tours have been designed very attractive while tourist sites have been upgraded with improved services for better meeting the demand of visitors. Tours to the Mekong delta are expected to attract more Vietnamese and foreign visitors.
Ho Chi Minh City has identified shopping and eco-tourism as its top priority. Accordingly, the city has developed a programme on standardised shopping points by planning suitable shopping areas with tourist products. At the same time, the city has rebuilt the Can Gio tourist site. Visitors of the Sac Forest - Can Gio tour can visit the Can Gio garden to learn about the ecological system of mangrove forest, a wild animal area and crocodile farms before visiting the Sac Forest military base to learn about the local river gate’s ties and stories about heroic officers and men, and have relax moments on the Phi Lao beach and learn about oyster farmers’ life and business.
Visitors cannot miss an opportunity to visit Con Dao archipelago, a green jade, which was known as a ‘hell’ on earth in the past and now has become an attractive destination with intact natural beauty. Con Dao consists of 16 islets and many beautiful beaches with colourful coral reefs. The Con Dao National Park is home to many rare and precious animal and plant species. Con Dao is 120 just nautical miles away from Ho Chi Minh City and 97 nautical miles from Vung Tau city, so it is easy for visitors to reach the archipelago by planes or high-speed ships.
Another outstanding feature of Vietnam tourism is the development of more and more luxurious resorts. With a long coastline from the north to the south, Vietnam has great potential to develop maritime tourism. Many luxurious resorts, meeting the international standards, have been built. Many of them have recently launched, such as the Sun Spa Resort in Quang Binh, the Dynasty Resort, Anh Duong Resort, Doi Su Resort, and the Pandanus Resort in Binh Thuan, the Anoasis Beach Resort in Ba Ria-Vung Tau, the Golden Sand Resort in Hoi An, the Long Beach’s Ancient Village Resort and Spa in Phu Quoc.
While Vietnam has attracted more and more visitors from foreign countries, the local tourism service has brought more Vietnamese visitors to foreign countries. ITE - HCMC 2005 was also an opportunity for local travel agencies to promote their co-operation with foreign partners in exploiting and building tourist attractions. The exemption of visas for visitors from ASEAN countries, the Republic of Korea, Japan and Scandinavian countries has helped boost the development of tourism. Airlines have contributed to the development by cutting fares to famous tourist sites. Lasting for three days, ITE – HCMC 2005 opened up many opportunities for Vietnamese tourism and Ho Chi Minh City in particular.
Thuy Tien
Vietnamese
