Vietnam welcomes first foreign visitors for 2011

Hundreds of visitors from many countries were warmly welcomed at the Noi Bai and Tan Son Nhat International Airports in the morning of January 1 2011.
From the early morning, officials of the HCM City Department of Tourism were at the Tan Son Nhat Airport to welcome 160 visitors from Taiwan on a flight of Vietnam Airlines, who arrived at the airport at 9.30am.
Not so long after that, 300 visitors from the US, Britain, France and the Netherlands arrived at the airport from a flight from Hong Kong.
Welcomed by flowers, gifts and congratulations from tourism officials as well as traditional dances and songs, many tourists were very surprised.
“Friendly and thoughtfully welcoming is the way we impress international visitors and improve the images of HCM City and Vietnamese people in the eyes of international friends,” said HCM City Department of Tourism’s deputy director La Quoc Khanh.
The same day, Vietnamese airlines and travel firms welcomed their first foreign visitors.
Saigontourist welcomed a group of eight Australian visitors at the Noi Bai airport. They came to Vietnam for a 17-day tour. On December 31, Saigontourist also greeted 750 visitors in a cruise ship named Europa in Ha Long.
Vietravel also welcomed its first 27 foreign visitors of 2011 from Italy, who will travel Saigon – Phu Quoc – Hoi An – Hue – Hanoi – Ha Long – Sapa within 13 days. Vietravel organized a special New year party on Phu Quoc Island for them.
Welcoming the first foreign visitors was the first event of many in the tourism sector to advertise the image of Vietnam in 2011.