Travel News 8/8 Vietnam Airlines & Jet Airways open new cooperation The national flag carrier Vietnam Airlines (VNA) has entered into a reciprocal codeshare agreement with Jet Airway, India’s premier international airline, announced Le Truong Giang, VNA’s spokesman on August 5. Under the arrangement, Jet Airways will place its marketing code on Vietnam Airlines’ flights from Bangkok and Singapore to Ho Chi Minh City and Hanoi. In turn, Vietnam Airlines will place its marketing code on Jet Airways’ services on routes, including Bangkok- Mumbai/Delhi, and Singapore - Mumbai/Delhi/Chennai, starting on August 4. The cooperation will offer more choices to passengers who travel between India and Vietnam, with convenient connections over the international gateways of Singapore and Bangkok. VNA will also place its marketing code on Jet Airways’ flights between Bangkok and Ho Chi Minh City since November 5. Jet Airways currently operates a fleet of 112 aircraft, which include 10 Boeing 777-300 ER aircraft, 8 Airbus A330-200 aircraft, 4 Airbus A330-300 aircraft, 72 next generations Boeing 737-700/800/900/900 ER aircraft and 15 ATR 72-500 and 3 ATR72-600. With an average fleet age of 5.08 years, the airline has one of the youngest fleet of aircraft in the world. Flights to 74 destinations span the length and breadth of India and beyond. Thua Thien-Hue greets nearly 1.8 million tourists The central province of Thua Thien-Hue welcomed nearly 1.8 million tourist arrivals in January-July, including 650,000 foreigners visiting the imperial city of Hue. The local tourism sector earned over 1.6 trillion VND (74 million USD) thanks to the launching of a number of tours, focusing on eco-tourism, since the beginning of this year and the promotion of new tourism services and products, according to the provincial Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism. Director of the Hue Monuments Conservation Centre Phan Thanh Hai said various programmes are underway to explore the Huong (Perfume) River and Nha Nhac ( Hue royal court music), which has been named by the UNESCO as an Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humankind. The centre will also launch a “Golden Tourism Month” from September 2-30 and a “Golden Tourism Week” from December 24-30 with discounts to be offered to those visiting the Hue relic site, which expects to welcome the 30 millionth visitor since it was recognised as a world cultural heritage in 1993 by the UNESCO, Hai added. According to the provincial Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism, the One UN Funds has given a non-refundable aid of 230,500 USD through the International Labour Organisation and the UNESCO for sustainable tourism development in Vietnam , including Thua Thien-Hue province. Int’l Travel Expo 2014 to be held in September The International Travel Expo Ho Chi Minh City 2014 (ITE) will be held at Sai Gon Exhibition and Convention Center from September 11-13. This year’s event themed “Five Nations - One Destination,”aims to promote potentials, key tourism products and strengthen cooperations among countries in the Mekong River region. The expo will attract hundreds of local and foreign companies from countries worldwide, such as Cambodia, Egypt, India, Indonesia, Japan, the Republic of Korea, Laos, Myanmar, the Philippines, Taiwan (China), Thailand, Holland, the UK and Vietnam. The tourism show is expected to draw more than 20,000 visitors. Dong Loc T- Junction Dong Loc T- Junction in Ha Tinh Province is a famous wartime location. On August 5, the place has become one of the must-see destinations for tourists to explore Ho Chi Minh Trail. The Dong Loc T-Junction, which played a vital role in the transportation of necessities and ammunition from the north to the south, is associated with the death on July 24 in 1968 of 10 young female volunteers on the Ho Chi Minh Trail. In 1965-1968, the U.S. army dropped nearly 50,000 bombs and fired tens of thousands of missiles on the T-junction to cut off the transport route to the southern front. Therefore, at that time, people counted that each square meter in Dong Loc suffered three bombs. There, around 16,000 Vietnamese soldiers sacrificed their lives to keep control of the road. Tranquility at Tuyen Lam Lake Many visitors to Dalat City often pick Tuyen Lam Lake as one of the stops of their tours to the Central Highlands city of Dalat thanks to its evergreen pine forest and picturesque scenery. Located some eight kilometers from downtown Dalat, the magnificent lake was created after a dam was built from 1982 to 1987 to let water flow in from Tia Stream in the upstream of Da Tam River.  Surrounded by imposing mountains and hills, the 32-square-kilometer lake is also an ideal place for travelers to take a cruise around, especially in the late afternoon to enjoy fresh air a sunset scene. Along the lake are some bamboo restaurants where diners are served local specialties. Truc Lam Zen Monastery is also a must-visit destination of the tourist site, where tourists can admire tranquility and peace in mind. Over 4.8 million int’l tourists visit Vietnam in first seven months According to the National Statistics Department, the number of international tourists to Vietnam in July reached around 565,000, a decrease of 15 percent, compared to the same period last year. The country received more than 4.8 million visitors in the first seven months of this year. Vietnam saw a sharp increase in tourist arrivals from countries and territories over the same period last year from the beginning of this year to date, including 1.2 million Chinese visitors, up 26 percent; the Republic of Korea with 462,000, up 5 percent; Japan with 362,500 arrivals, up 6.9 percent; and 285,200 American, up 5.9 percent. Tourists visiting Vietnam for travel and recreation reached nearly 2.93 million, while 816,000 arrivals came to Vietnam for business purposes, and over 836,000 arrivals arrived in Vietnam to visit relatives. Over 2 million tourists vacation in Khanh Hoa in seven months More than 2 million tourists chose the central coastal province of Khanh Hoa as the destination for their holidays in the first seven months of 2014, said the provincial Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism. Nearly 469,000 of the amount were foreigners, soaring by some 33 percent from a year before. Meanwhile, local interesting places welcomed over 6.4 million arrivals over the period. In July alone, lodging establishments in Khanh Hoa catered for 388,000 vacationers, including 57,800 foreigners while tourist destinations greeted around 1.3 million visitors. The province raked in 651 billion VND (31 million USD) in tourism revenues in the month with 456 billion VND (21.7 million USD) from lodging services. In 2014, the province is set to welcome 3.4 million tourists, including 840,000 foreign visitors, and earn 5 trillion VND (238.1 million USD) from this sector. Khanh Hoa is well-known for its beautiful beaches, and restaurants, hotels, relic sites, and entertainment centres. Some spots such as Ponagar Tower, Nha Trang Institute of Oceanography, Doctor Alexandre Yersin’s Grave and the Vinpearl Amusement Park, Waterland Thach Lam Stream Amusement Park, Khanh Hoa bird’s nest restaurant and the Hai Thai ancient houses are known for high quality and safe services for visitors.- Thang Long citadel welcomes over 70,000 visitors The Thang Long Imperial Citadel, a UNESCO-recognised World Cultural Heritage site, in Hanoi capital city has so far this year welcomed more than 70,000 local and international visitors. Discovered in 2002, the ancient citadel was recognised by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) as part of the world cultural heritage in 2010. The site won the recognition thanks to its three outstanding characteristics: the length of its cultural history, the continuity of the citadel as a power centre and the variety of relics it contains. The archaeological excavation in the site has revealed evidence dating from the 11th century to 19th century. Hanoi is also carrying out a lot of measures to preserve the vestiges as well as promote the global value of the site. Source: SGT/VNA/ND/VOV/VNS