NDO – The growing number of international arrivals to Ho Chi Minh City in 2017 showed the encouraging initial results of tourist promotion campaigns and cooperation programmes launched by the city’s authorities.In addition to annual events such as the Ao Dai (Vietnamese traditional long dress) festival, lion and dragon dance festival, Southern fruit festival, cuisine festival of the Southern land, and the international travel expo, in 2017, the city’s hospitality sector also hosted activities to promote the city’s image at international travel events.A database for tourism promotion and a system to provide tourist information for tour guides and visitors in multiple languages have been completed, making it easier for tourists to explore the city’s tourist attractions.The municipal People’s Committee has closely co-ordinated with the city’s Tourism Department to diversify and design new tourist products, including the launch of the river bus … [Read more...] about Ho Chi Minh City strives to become even more attractive to tourists
Tourists
Can Tho launches electric car service for tourists
Can Tho launches electric car service for tourists Van Huynh CAN THO - Tan Dai Phong Construction Trade Production Company last week launched an electric car service for tourists in Can Tho City, which takes in the famous tourist destinations in Ninh Kieu, Binh Thuy and Phong Dien districts. Nguyen Thanh Phong, director of the company, said the company initially put three 9-15 seater cars into service and was planning to have three more cars costing a total of VND3 billion (US$132,000) in the first quarter of this year. The routes include Ninh Kieu Wharf-Truc Lam Phuong Nam Monastery-My Khanh, Ninh Kieu Wharf-Thu Khoa Huan Monument-Binh Thuy Temple, and Ninh Kieu Wharf-Tan An Temple-Night Market. The ticket price is VND20,000 per kilometer per car. Tan Dai Phong will put 26 other electric cars into service in the coming time if the trial operation is successful. Pham Van Luan, deputy director of the Can Tho Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism, said the city last year received 7.5 … [Read more...] about Can Tho launches electric car service for tourists
Vietnamese men jailed for snatching phone from foreign tourist
A court in Ho Chi Minh City sentenced two men to prison last week for snatching a cell phone from a Polish tourist in the city’s backpacker district. Le Trung Thanh, 30, received four and a half years in jail, while and Pham Phu Bach, 24, was given three years for property theft. The two men were cruising District 1 on a motorbike looking for targets in July last year when they spotted the Polish man on foot at the corner of Pham Ngu Lao Street and snatched his phone. Luckily they were chased down by local people who recovered the phone for the 50-year-old tourist. The judges said at the trial last Friday that the two men deserved to be strictly punished for their actions, which had damaged the reputation of Vietnam and its people. Saigon is one of the biggest tourist destinations in Vietnam. The southern megacity welcomed a record 6.3 million foreign visitors last year, up 21 percent from 2016. Travelers are attracted by the city's mix of modern comfort and wartime … [Read more...] about Vietnamese men jailed for snatching phone from foreign tourist
Unique tourist sites in Tay Ninh
Ba Den Mount, Cao Dai Cathedral and Dau Tieng Reservoir are among the most famous tourist attractions in the southern province of Tay Ninh.Cao Dai CathedralThe Tay Ninh or Cao Dai Cathedral is around 5km southeastern from Tay Ninh town. This is a complex of religious works and also the Holy Land of Caodaism. Caodaism (Dai Dao Tam Ky Pho Do or Third Great Universal Religious Amnesty) is a syncretic religion that had its beginnings in Vietnam, then part of French Indo-China, in the 1920s. Its founder, Ngo Minh Chieu (or Ngo Van Chieu), was a French civil servant and was also a mystic who was well-versed in western and eastern religions. In 1919 he began receiving revelations about the truth of religions from God (Caodai) that told him to combine the teachings of Buddhism, Hinduism, Taoism, Confucianism, Christianity, Islam and other religions into one religion to promote peace. In 1926 he revealed his séances to the public as a new belief system. It soon became quite popular. … [Read more...] about Unique tourist sites in Tay Ninh
Break-in prank lands French tourists in Texas jail
Five drunken French tourists landed in a Texas jail Wednesday after breaking into a county courthouse in the middle of the night and sparking terrorism fears, officials said. This image released by the Bexar County, Texas, Sheriff's Office, from a courthousePhoto: AFP Security footage showed the men wearing sombreros and playing around with a judge's gavel before they were arrested by police, who were tipped off by the courthouse security system at around 1:30 am (0630 GMT). But since they'd left the sombreros behind as they made their way out of the building, the responding officers were worried at first that it could be some kind of terror plot. They called for a security sweep of the building and shut down neighboring streets in downtown San Antonio for several hours. Soon the local media was "breathlessly" reporting that the courthouse had been attacked, Bexar County spokeswoman Laura Jesse told AFP. Reports surfaced that two of the men … [Read more...] about Break-in prank lands French tourists in Texas jail