Vietnam’s tourism promotion in Egypt

A seminar promoting Vietnam’s tourism has attracted many representatives from Egyptian travel agencies and journalists.
The event was held by the Vietnamese embassy in Egypt on November 22 to introduce Vietnam’s travel agencies and tours to Egyptian tourists and business people.
In addition to a short film show on Ha Long Bay, Phong Nha-Ke Bang, Sa Pa, Da Lat and beautiful beaches, the Vietnamese embassy distributed a full list of Vietnamese travel agencies and documents on the country’s economic potential.
Addressing the seminar, Vietnamese ambassador to Egypt Pham Sy Tam confirmed that Vietnam is a safe and ideal destination for tourists. He also explained how to apply for a visa to enter Vietnam and pledged to create favourable conditions for all applicants.
* Promotion increases int’l arrivals to Vietnam
By the end of October, Vietnam had welcomed 4.142 million foreign arrivals thanks to promotion strategies launched in
Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City and Da Nang City.
The yearly target is 4.2 million foreign tourists.
The Deputy Director of the Vietnam National Administration of Tourism (VNAT), Nguyen Manh Cuong, attributed the result to a promotion campaign jointly held by VNAT and the Trade Promotion Agency under the Ministry of Industry and Trade.
The "Impressive Viet Nam Grand Sale 2010", launched to ignite tourism in August and September, included activities to increase the numbers of both local and foreign tourists, organise promotional outlets, enhance production of consumer goods and souvenirs and raise the average rate of tourist shopping.
This was the first time the programme had been held in the capital city of Hanoi and the central city of Da Nang, and the sixth time the scheme was organised in HCM City.
More than 100 businesses, supermarkets and shops in Ha Noi launched sales promotion programmes, while in Da Nang, 29 trade and travel agencies, restaurants, hotels and shopping centres were involved in the promotion programme, including 10 to 50 percent discounts for travel and services.
The scale of the programme was much bigger in HCM City than in Hanoi, with the participation of 600 enterprises and 2,300 promotional outlets.
However, foreign visitors’ shopping accounts for only 20 percent of their total spending, while in Thailand the rate is about 60-70 percent, according to VNTA statistics.