TRAVEL IN BRIEF 11/9

Special offer for expatriates
Mai Chau Lodge in the northern province of Hoa Binh is offering a special tour package for expatriates living in Viet Nam. The weekend tour, Expat Getaway Package, is for three days and two nights.
Customers depart from Ha Noi every Friday afternoon. For US$141 net per person in September and $156 after that, the package includes two nights accommodation with full board, round transfer on the shuttle service, tours and complimentary access to the Lodge’s facilities.
Located 145km from Ha Noi, Mai Chau itself has been attracting tourists since the 1970s, as this rich culture isolated from the outside world offers a wonderful perspective into the life of the White Thai ethnic group.
For more information about the tour and other packages, visit the website www.maichaulodge.com.
HCM City to host tourism expo
The HCM City Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism will work with tourist agencies to hold an international tourism investment conference, which will present Cambodia, Laos and Viet Nam as destinations, on September 30 and October 1.
The Tourism Investment Conference 2009 offers a chance for localities across the country to introduce their major tourism projects to more than 100 international investors.
The exposition will focus on developing tourism for the three countries, presenting tourism investment opportunities in Three Countries, One Destination, and creating a stable tourism development strategy.
Return rail fares discounted
Viet Nam Railway Corporation has announced discounts of seven to 36 per cent on certain tickets until December 15.
Passengers who buy a return ticket and travel for at least 1,300km each way will receive a 20 per cent discount – or a 36 per cent discount if the ticket is bought at least 60 days in advance.
Discounts on return tickets for shorter journeys are 10 to 20 per cent if tickets are bought 15 to 60 days before travel. In addition, the railroad will give seven to 13 per cent discounts on tickets for groups of 20 to 49 people, and a 15 per cent discount for groups of 50 or more.
Viet Nam promoted in China
Representatives of the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism and 17 travel agencies took a six-day promotional tour of China, visiting Shanghai, Henan, Guangzhou and Shenzhen. Vietnamese travel agencies also promoted their products in China, which currently sends the most tourists to Viet Nam.
Local tour operators wanted to develop tours involving air travel, along with the more common overland and sea routes that Chinese tourists typically take into the country. According to Viet Nam National Administration of Tourism Travel Department (VNAT), Viet Nam received more than 300,000 Chinese visitors in the first eight months of the year, down by 14 per cent compared with 2008.
Most Chinese visitors to Viet Nam come via the northern border using laissez-passers.
VNAT has selected six travel agencies to arrange tours for Chinese guests coming by boats from Beihei to Quang Ninh. Another 10 companies are receiving Chinese travellers via Huu Nghi Border Gate in the northern province of Lang Son.
Fiditour gives away autumn tours
The HCM City-based Fiditour is holding a programme called Click and Pick – Relaxed in the Autumn from now until November 30, targeting people who wouldn’t ordinarily plan to travel in that time period.
Visitors to the Fiditour website have a chance to win a South Africa tour worth VND39 million (US$2,100), a South Korea tour worth VND12 million, a Beijing tour worth VND8 million, and domestic tours to Phu Quoc and Con Dao islands. Enter at www.fiditour.com and answer some questions about tourism.