15 billion in numbers

Naomi Kitahara, the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) Representative in Vietnam, speaks to Vietnam News reporter Thu Trang about the milestone of Vietnam's population passing 100 million next month, and the challenges and opportunities that this will bring. Naomi Kitahara. — Photo courtesy of the UNFPA What do you think about Vietnam's population passing 100 million people next month? In comparison with other countries in the region and the world over, how will be Vietnam’s population scale? Vietnam’s population will soon reach 100 million and Vietnam will become the 15th most populous country in the world. This should be seen as an important milestone for Vietnam, and I would like to congratulate the Government of Vietnam as this demonstrates a story of triumph. Vietnam, which was once a war-torn country, has successfully taken a substantial number of people out of poverty, and achieved remarkable socio-economic growth including health, education, … [Read more...] about Population of 100 million provides many great opportunities for Vietnam: UNFPA

Stakeholders have much to say about the current state of the tourism industry, and what must be done Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh chaired a tourism recovery conference on March 15 and talked to management agencies and tourism businesses about removing obstacles for the industry to thrive once again. Despite being one of the first Southeast Asian countries to fully reopen to international tourism after the pandemic, Vietnam’s tourism industry still trails other countries in the region. The PM raised a series of questions about tourism promotion, competitive advantages, products, and visa policies – all factors that are considered to be subjective causes for Vietnam’s tourism to fail its foreign tourism targets thus far. “Tourism cannot develop alone, and tourism cannot develop if culture and the entertainment industry do not develop,” PM Chinh said. He directed the tourism industry to build green and sustainable tourism products, finance tourism activities, and develop … [Read more...] about Tourism breakthrough within reach

At last week’s tourism recovery conference in Hanoi, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh stated that Vietnam will waive visas for more countries and extend the duration of stay for international tourists to accelerate the recovery of tourism. Better conditions will also be created for airlines to open direct routes to Vietnam. More flexible visa policy finally on cards after multiple gripes, Photo source: freepik.com The prime minister stressed that after Vietnam reopened its tourism market, it failed to attract foreign visitors as expected in 2022. There has been a lack of attractive tourism products and quality remains limited, he said. According to Pham Hai Quynh, director of the Asian Tourism Development Institute, easing visa requirements is a starting point for attracting more tourists to the country. It also encourages travellers to stay longer and explore more. “With improvements in visa openness, Vietnam is likely to woo more tourists and investors to Vietnam. … [Read more...] about More flexible visa policy finally on cards after multiple gripes

The city’s tourism sector began to prosper following the Government’s decision to reopen borders and welcome international visitors from March 15, 2022. It welcomed nearly 3.5 million foreign visitors last year and over 31.5 million domestic travellers. Total tourism revenue exceeded 130 trillion VND (equivalent to over 5.5 billion USD) for the year. Despite this recovery and the city proving to be among the most popular destinations nationwide, there remain a host of concerns. Despite these obstacles, HCM City is maximising efforts to recover the international tourist market. The city is focusing on investment to create new tourism offerings, upgrade tour packages, and promote tourism activities. Though the tourism sector failed to reach its goals in 2022, results were still much more positive than in the previous year. HCM City expects to welcome 5 million international visitors this year. Though this goal is relatively modest compared to pre-pandemic levels, the … [Read more...] about HCM City looking to recover int’l tourist market

Hanoi's goal for 2023 is to secure the city's socio-economic performance and further develop a cultured, modern, and civilized society. Hanoi aims to constantly improve the leadership of the Party Committee and the sense of responsibility of government officials and Party members, especially the heads of government agencies, to fulfill all the socio-economic growth tasks set for 2023. Dinh Tien Dung, Member of the Politburo and Secretary of the Hanoi Party Committee, talks to Nhan Dan (People) newspaper about the plans and actions the city expects to carry out on the occasion of the 93rd anniversary of the founding of the Hanoi Party Committee. Dinh Tien Dung, Member of the Politburo and Secretary of the Hanoi Party Committee. Photo: The Hanoi Times As head of the Hanoi Party Committee, could you share some of Hanoi's achievements in the first half of 2020-2025? Hanoi has endured many international impacts in the past two and a half … [Read more...] about Innovation-centered approach boosts Hanoi’s performance in socio-economic growth

Dang Anh Dung, deputy general director of the e-commerce platform Lazada Vietnam's e-commerce topped the region in terms of growth rate in 2022, according to the latest report from Google, Temasek, and Bain & Company. Vietnam's compound annual growth rate was 28 per cent, higher than Singapore (17 per cent) and Thailand (15 per cent). The scale of Vietnam's digital economy has now reached $23 billion and could hit nearly $50 billion in three years if the current growth rate is maintained, according to the report. With rapid growth and far-reaching impacts on people's lives, the e-commerce industry is transforming in pursuit of sustainable growth based on technology and rapid digital transformation. At the Forum Digital Transformation : Faster - Smarter - Greener, organised by VIR for the second year, Dang Anh Dung, deputy general director of Lazada Vietnam said that over the first ten years of the industry, players have been investing in infrastructure, services, and … [Read more...] about Next era of e-commerce: Digital transformation with sustainable development

Two people, including a four-year-old girl, died after a car plunged off a bridge in Bao Loc City, Lam Dong Province in Vietnam’s Central Highlands region on Thursday. The fatal traffic accident happened at a bypass of National Highway 20 at around 11:00 am. The vehicle involved in the incident was a Ford Everest with plate number 49A-063.64 driven by 54-year-old D.T.V., a resident of Di Linh District, and a four-year-old girl, who is only known as Nh. A Ford Everest falls into an abyss below the Nau Sri Bridge in Bao Loc City, Lam Dong Province, Vietnam, March 23, 2023. Photo: M.V. / Tuoi Tre V. and Nh. were en route from Da Lat City to Bao Loc when V. lost control of the car on the Nau Sri Bridge in Bao Loc, causing the vehicle go over the side of the bridge. Both of V. and Nh. died at the scene. The 200m-long Nau Sri Bridge is an unfinished part of a bypass project south of Bao Loc, which has been under construction since August 2017 and carries a price … [Read more...] about 2 dead after car falls from bridge in Vietnam’s Central Highlands

At the opening of the Hanoi Tourism Festival 2023 on the evening of March 24, Nguyen Manh Quyen, vice chairman of Hanoi People's Committee said: “The festival is the gathering place of unique and special values ​​of tourism associated with tangible and intangible cultural heritage, the values ​​of craft villages, and the cuisine of Hanoi and neighbouring localities, contributing to the development of tourism products for domestic and foreign tourists." The Hanoi Tourism Festival 2023 opened on the evening of March 24 in Hoan Kiem Lake The special feature of this year's festival is that it does not focus too much on display, but on promoting upgraded or renewed tourism products, with many promotions and discounts. The festival gathered about 150 stalls from 12 districts in Hanoi and 14 other localities, as well as nearly 100 units including airlines, tourism businesses, tourist resorts, food, and craft villages around Hanoi. The main activities of the festival … [Read more...] about Attractive products shine at Hanoi Tourism Festival 2023

Its revenues were VND1.579 trillion ($67.15 million) and earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization (EBITDA) were VND195 billion, the highest gross profit margin in the industry, according to Masan’s newly published annual report. Highland Coffee had revenues of over VND2 trillion a year in 2019 and 2020. Phuc Long opened 23 large flagship stores and two mini shops in the last quarter of 2022, increasing their total numbers to 111 and 21. They represented a near doubling of numbers from 2021 when Masan first bought stakes in Phuc Long. The flagship stores achieved very high profit margins of 31% in 2022 and 26% in 2021. Last year they reported sales of VND1.1 trillion and profits of VND330 billion. But Phuc Long had to close 150 tea and coffee kiosks located inside WinMart retail stores, also belonging to Masan, in the second half of 2022, the annual report said. "We are adjusting this model (opening tea and coffee kiosks in WinMart stores) in the first … [Read more...] about How tea chain Phuc Long fared in the year after Masan takeover

Photo: Chi Cuong At VIR’s roundtable discussion on seeking a boost for inbound tourism last week, editor-in-chief Le Trong Minh opened the roundtable with a fact-based observation, and noted that the country has yet to unlock the full potential of its tourism industry. “While the tourism sector contributes a significant 9.2 per cent of the country’s total GDP, equivalent to $32.8 billion, this number remains low compared to the global average,” he said. In 2023, the tourism sector aims to welcome eight million international visitors. While this is a modest number compared to the level achieved in 2019 of 19 million visitors, it is a challenging target as the market is undergoing many changes and new trends post-pandemic. Explaining this, Hoang Nhan Chinh, secretariat director of the Vietnam Tourism Advisory Board assessed that group tours are seeing a decline, and tourists known as frequent independent travellers are on the rise. “An essential step is to understand the … [Read more...] about Powerful plan mooted for tourism