Asian Travel Magazine Honored Hanoi among Most Favorite Hotspots

Smart Travel Asia, the online travel magazine for Asia, has named Vietnam’s Hanoi Capital, Ho Chi Minh City, and Hoi An Ancient Town among the most favorite destinations for tourists.
Accordingly, Hoi An Ancient Town shared the fifth rank with Bangkok (Thailand) among the 10 best travel destinations (sixth in 2008), Hanoi ranked sixth among the 10 best shopping cities (eighth in 2008), and Ho Chi Minh City positioned 10th together with Seoul (RoK) and Taipei (Taiwan) among the 10 best cities for business (also 10th in 2008).
Park Hyatt Saigon in Ho Chi Minh City ranked 17th among the top 25 hotels for businesses (21st in 2008), Sofitel Metropole Hanoi and Hoi An’s Nam Hai Resort positioned 2nd and 9th among the top 25 hotels and resorts (3rd and 9th, respectively in 2008), Sofitel Metropole Hanoi and Sheraton Hanoi placed 9th and 10th among top the 25 best hotels for meetings (8th and 9th, respectively in 2008).
The vote, organized on the Internet from May to July 2009, listened to readers’ ideas in fields of destinations, aviation services, hotels and resorts. Vietnam’s three destinations named in the vote showed the country’s trademark is being asserted in Asia as well as in the world.
The number of foreign tourist arrivals to Vietnam bounced back in August 2008 at 315,000, an increase of 16 percent from the previous month. In the first eight months this year, the country welcomed nearly 2.4 million foreign tourist arrivals.