Nha Trang makes Spratly Islands focus of fifth annual Sea Festival
Nha Trang makes Spratly Islands focus of fifth annual Sea Festival
VIETNAM - Authorities in Khanh Hoa Province, where Nha Trang is, said the festival will feature a photo exhibition of the islands, a music show, a film screening, and a conference on Truong Sa Island District. Artists from France, South Korea, China, Cuba, and Russia will perform at the event which is aimed at promoting the province's traditional cultural values and tourism.
The festival will also include a celebration of bird's nests, a beauty pageant, and a Vietnamese goods fair on Nha Trang, Doc Let, and Bai Dai beaches.
Hoi An has made it to the list of the world's 10 best cities for tourism by the UK's Wanderlust travel magazine. The city received 96 per cent of votes from readers to rank second.
Luang Prabang, the world heritage site in Laos, retained its top position in the magazine's annual list of best tourist destinations with 96.89 per cent votes.
The other places on the list are Kyoto (Japan), Stockholm (Sweden), Perth (Australia), Tokyo (Japan), San Francisco (USA), Vienna (Austria), Cusco (Peru) and Aleppo (Syria).
Last year Hoi An was named one of Asia's top 10 destinations by the Hong Kong-based online tourism magazine Smart Travel Asia. It was in fifth place while Ha Noi was seventh.
The Singapore-based hotel management company Epikurian Villas Hotels&Hideouts will open a new luxury hotel in Nha Trang on April 2.
An Lam Ninh Van Bay Villas Resort, built on 20ha in Ninh Van Bay, will open 18 of its proposed 35 villas in the first phase. Rooms start at US$400 per night but are offered at $350 until August.
Last December Epikurean announced it is taking over the Bai Tram Hideout Resort in the central province of Phu Yen, which spreads over some 90 ha and has seven luxury private-pool villas.
Life Heritage Resort Ha Long Bay has launched four private luxury boats in Ha Long Bay that are decorated with the history and culture of the bay. They are built and operated to Certified Marine Standards and equipped with modern maritime safety features and equipment.
Each boat has a 32sq.m cabin with an upper deck, a dining terrace, and sundeck. All of them have kayaks, swimming ladders, diving and angling equipment. Customers can design their own itinerary of the bay and its limestone caves, islets, and secluded beaches.
Six hour cruises cost US$220 for two, including a set lunch, and for additional persons up to a maximum of four, $65 each.
Tour operators serving cruise ships have reported a sharp increase in the arrival of cruise tourists but say the lack of ports to accommodate such vessels is hindering the development of this segment.
Phan Xuan Anh, chairman of Viet Excursions, said in the first quarter his company served many cruise ships including the QE II, Queen Mary II, Arcadia, and Artemis, with each carrying 1,500 to 2,000 passengers.
But large vessels like the Queen Mary II cannot dock at Sai Gon Port because of the low clearance of Phu My Bridge and have to dock in Ba Ria-Vung Tau instead, he said.
Doan Thi Thanh Tra, marketing manager of Saigontrourist Travel Service Co, said the company had expected to serve nearly 20,000 cruise tourists in the first quarter, but some large ships decided to go to Da Nang instead because they cannot drop anchor in HCM City.
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