Travel in brief 10 Oct

Tourists to enjoy visa fee exemption
Visa fees will be exempted for all international travellers coming to Viet Nam if they travel with international travel companies that have registered with the national marketing campaign Viet Nam-Your Destination.
The exemption will be offered between October 1 and the end of the year. Vu The Binh, head of the Travel Department under the Viet Nam National Administration for Tourism (VNAT), said it would provide the tourism sector an opportunity to attract more foreign tourists to Viet Nam in the next three months.
Service providers win tourism awards
Nine tourism and transportation service providers in Viet Nam along with 18 companies in Laos and Cambodia were presented the Tourism Alliance Awards 2010 during the sixth International Travel Expo in HCM City last week.
In Viet Nam, HCM City was the biggest winner. The city's Saigontourist was the Inbound Tour Operator of the Year; Vietravel, the Outbound Tour Operator of the Year; Caravelle Hotel, the Business Hotel of the Year; Park Hyatt, the Luxury Hotel of the Year; Palace Hotel Sai Gon the Budget Hotel of the Year; and Li Bai (Sheraton Hotel), the Restaurant of the Year.
Both of the other Vietnamese winners were located in Nha Trang. The Six Senses Hideaway Ninh Van Bay, the Resort of the Year; and Evason Ana Mandara, the Spa of the Year. Vietnam Airlines won the Airline of the Year award.
The organisers said 80 service providers in Laos, Cambodia and Viet Nam were nominated for these awards.
Lao carrier launches HCM City flights
Lao Airlines will launch its Vientiane-HCM City air route with a stopover in Pakse Airport in Champasak Province on October 19. The three weekly flights from Vientiane to HCM City will operate on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays while the HCM City-Vientiane flights will operate on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays.
The return HCM City-Pakse ticket is priced at $259, and the return HCM City-Vientiane ticket costs $501, including taxes. Lao Airlines will operate 72-seat ATR72 aircraft for these flights.
Thailand, VN join forces on tourism
The Tourism Authority of Thailand in HCM City (TAT) announced at the International Travel Expo 2010 last week the launch of the joint tourism development programme titled One Million Tourists in 2015.
The programme, which is co-organised by TAT and Viet Nam National Administration of Tourism, includes the exchange of information and the media, supporting each other to do roadshows, and a joint promotion to foster the relationship between two countries.
According to TAT, in the first seven months of 2010, Thailand welcomed more than 240,000 Vietnamese visitors, while 120,000 Thai tourists have already booked trips to Viet Nam.
Go-ahead given to int'l yacht race
After receiving approval from the Government, Saigontourist Travel Service Co is co-ordinating with the Hong Kong Royal Yacht Club to organise the fourth international boat race from Hong Kong to Nha Trang between October 20 and 27.
Since 2004, the Hong Kong Royal Yacht Club and Saigontourist have organised these biennial events. The 656-nautical mile race in 2008 attracted 13 yachts.
Ancient city bans pavement parking
The ancient city of Hoi An is prohibiting all vehicles from parking on the pavement starting this month – a decision deemed necessary by the municipal People's Committee as the city becomes a bigger site of culture and tourism.
For the short term, the policy applies on the 13th, 14th and 15th nights of every lunar month. These dates coincide with the dates on which certain projects will take place, including "Streets reserved for pedestrians and non-engine vehicles" and "Ancient city nights".
Parking is now allowed in reserved areas only. There is no fee for Hoi An residents and typical parking fees are halved for visitors, committee said.
Thanks to a number of implemented programmes, the number of tourists has increased significantly over the past year.
UNWTO attracted by the Vietnam tourism’s impressively steady growth
The number of international visitors to Vietnam in the first months of this year has risen sharply. The country has been put in the list of the top Asian countries with strong tourism performance in the first half of the year by the United Nations World Tourism Organization (UNWTO).
Vietnam reached the growth rate of more than 30 percent in the low season. The UNWTO has highly appreciated the quick recovery of Vietnam after the global financial crisis in 2009.
According to the National Statistics Department, the number of international tourists was 383,500 in September, a year-on-year increase of 26 percent.
The total number of foreign visitors in the first months of the year was more than 3.7 million, up 34 percent from last year.
China and ASEAN countries are in the list of Vietnam’s top ten tourism markets.
The country expects to receive 5 million international travelers in 2010 and 5.5 million in 2011.
In addition, Vietnam National Administration of Tourism (VNAT) and the Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) have recently signed a cooperation agreement targeting at around 1 million visitors to the two countries from now until 2015 in the HCM City’s International Travel Expo 2010 last week.
Until the July, 240,000 Vietnamese visited Thailand while over 120,000 tourists from Thailand visited Vietnam.