Vietnam News Agency

Chuong (or Bell) Pagoda in the Red River Delta province of Hung Yen bears historical values of the land in northern Vietnam.

Lying at an altitude of more than 300 metres above sea level, the Ba Be National Park in the northeastern province of Bac Kan is considered a “green lung” in the vast Viet Bac forest and a complex of “river-lake-mountain”.

Located on Ha Khe Hill, on the northen bank of the Huong River, some 5km from the downtown area of Hue, Thien Mu was the oldest pagoda, the capital of Viet Nam under the Nguyen dynasty (1802-1945).

It’s fair to say that 2020 was a challenging year for Vietnam’s tourism sector, but it wasn’t an unmitigated disaster. Analysts have said that COVID-19 created a turning point for both local and international tourism, requiring travel companies study and craft a new future for their business.

Hanoi’s outlying My Duc district was ordered to suspend the annual Huong Pagoda Festival and stop receiving visitors in an attempt to prevent the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic, Vice Chairman of the municipal People’s Committee Chu Xuan Dung has said.

The Tra Su cajeput forest covers over 800 hectares in Tinh Bien District, the Mekong Delta province of An Giang, just 150km from Ho Chi Minh City.

Co Loa now is serving as not only a cultural relic and evidence of ancient Vietnamese’ creativeness and technical level, but also an ideal destination for visitors.

From a “low-cost” destination 20 years ago, Vietnam’s tourism sector has made substantial breakthroughs and become a regular in the last five years on “must-see” lists for international tourists, according to an article on the Lao Dong newspaper.

The beauty of Yen Tu is the grandeur and tranquility of the mountains and forests mingled with the serenity and ancientness of the system of pagodas, towers and Zen realms.

A video clip titled “Dat nuoc, con nguoi Viet Nam” (Vietnam – The Country and People) developed by the Vietnam National Administration of Tourism (VNAT) and published on its Youtube channel attracted over 1 million views after one month of launch.

A video clip titled “Dat nuoc, con nguoi Viet Nam” (Vietnam – The Country and People) developed by the Vietnam National Administration of Tourism (VNAT) and published on its Youtube channel attracted over 1 million views after one month of launch.

Images of Thien An mountain and Tra Khuc river have long been typical symbols of the central province of Quang Ngai. The majestic scenery is not only loved by the locals, but also admired by tourists. The place has become a spot for the locality to develop tourism and economy.

Digital transformation and information technology application have important roles to play in the realisation of northern Ninh Binh province’s tourism development plan, which aims to turn tourism into a spearhead economic sector by 2030, according to the provincial Department of Tourism.

Lan Ha Bay is part of the UNESCO World Heritage Site of Ha Long Bay. It consists of more than 300 limestone islets and is one of the most outstanding destinations on Cat Ba island.

The Quan The Am (Goddess of Mercy) festival at Ngu Hanh Son (Marble Mountain) in the central city of Da Nang has been recognised as a national intangible cultural heritage, Deputy Director of the municipal Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism Nguyen Thi Hoi An announced on February 4.

Tet (Lunar New Year) festival is the biggest holiday of the year for the Vietnamese people. The festival impresses foreign visitors with its interesting traditional culture activities.

Four Vietnamese cities have been listed among the most popular destinations in Asia in 2020, according to 2021 TripAdvisor Travelers’ Choice Awards.

Many booked tours to northern provinces for the Tet (Lunar New Year) holiday have been postponed or changed amid the resurgence of COVID-19 infections in the area two weeks before the holiday, travel firms have said.

Vietnam welcomed 17,736 foreign visitors in January, a month-on-month increase of 9 percent but down 99.1 percent year-on-year, the General Statistics Office announced on January 29.

The capital city of Hanoi ranked at the sixth place among the 25 most popular destinations in Tripadvisor Travellers' Choice Awards 2021.

Ho Chi Minh City and 13 cities and provinces in the Mekong Delta will step up efforts to foster tourism cooperation in the next five years, local authorities have said.

Ninh Binh, a tourist destination in Vietnam’s northern region and host of the National Tourism Year 2021, has released its plans for the annual programme, which feature myriad tourism, cultural, and sporting events.

The northern province of Lao Cai, home to the popular holiday town of Sa Pa, has set a target of welcoming 5 million visitors this year and earning more than 16 trillion VND (696.17 million USD) in tourism revenue.

Da Nang on January 22 welcomed a group of more than 700 visitors taking a Meetings, Incentives, Conferences and Exhibitions (MICE) tour, one of the largest groups on such a tour to the central city this year.

Tour business Vietravel is providing a bundle of promotional spring tours and airfares for visitors at the second iteration of the Tet (Lunar New Year) Festival 2021, which takes place from January 21-24 at Le Van Tam Park, Ho Chi Minh City.

Given Vietnam’s successful control of the COVID-19 pandemic, experts in tourism and hospitality have predicted a positive outlook for Vietnam’s tourism post-COVID crisis.

The Hanoi Department of Tourism has decided to concentrate resources on promoting the domestic tourism market this year and will prepare to welcome international arrivals when conditions allow.

Google Arts & Culture on January 21 announced the Wonders of Vietnam project on online platform to honour the country’s natural landscapes, tangible and intangible heritages recognised by the UNESCO.

France's news agency AFP on January 20 published an article on how tourism has been developed in and benefited local community around Vietnam’s Son Doong, which has been dubbed the world’s largest cave.

Phu Quoc is Vietnam’s largest island and one of the world’s most favourite tourism destinations. Boasting many uncharted beaches and forests, Phu Quoc and all of its islets formed Phu Quoc city under Kien Giang province, Vietnam’s first island city, as of January 1, 2021

Tourists visiting Hue monuments in the central province of Thua Thien-Hue sharply fell to over 1 million last year due to the COVID-19 pandemic, resulting in revenue of more than 106 billion VND (4.6 million USD), down 72.62 percent year on year.

The Vietnam Air Services Company (VASCO), a member of the Vietnam Airlines Corporation, resumes its route between Ho Chi Minh City and Rach Gia on January 18 in a bid to serve rising travel demand for Lunar New Year holiday (Tet).

The Vietnam’s first vacation exchange platform, VPASS, has been officially launched after a signing ceremony of strategic cooperation between VPASS and partner resorts nationwide.

Nearly 500 representatives from the Vietnam Tourism Association, the Vietnam Society of Travel Agents, the culture and tourism sector, and involved agencies joined the National Travel Agents Forum 2021 held in the northern city of Hai Phong on January 12.

The Ministry of Transport has required the Civil Aviation Authority of Vietnam (CAAV) to temporarily suspend the licensing of flights from countries and territories harbouring new COVID-19 variants that spread faster, first of all those from the UK and South Africa.

The US newspaper New York Times included Vietnam’s Con Dao island among its 52 places to love in 2021.

Vietnam will continue to use flexible measures to stimulate the domestic tourism market as international borders remain shut due to the global COVID-19 pandemic, a top tourism official has said.

Foreign tourists arrival to Vietnam in 2020 is estimated at 3.8 million, down 78.7 percent compared to 2019.

The installation of QR codes at tourism sites in Ly Son island district in central Quang Ngai province is being carried out by the management board of the Ly Son-Sa Huynh Geo-Park in coordination with district authorities, as part of efforts to promote digitalisation in the tourism sector.

Ninh Binh province, a tourist destination in the north, is launching several measures to achieve its goal of welcoming 7 million arrivals this year, during which it hosts the National Tourism Year.

The resort town of Sa Pa in the northern mountainous province of Lao Cai received approximately 65,000 arrivals over three days during the New Year holiday.

The southern largest economic hub of Ho Chi Minh City has set a target of welcoming 33 million tourists with total revenue of more than 100 trillion VND (4.33 billion USD) in 2021.

The capital city of Hanoi welcomed over 118,000 tourist arrivals during the New Year Holiday from January 1-3, according to the municipal Department of Tourism.

The central city of Da Nang offered 2,000 tickets free of charge on the first two days of the year for locals and tourists to take part in a travel tour held in the city’s iconic Han River at night.

Ha Long city, home to the World Natural Heritage Site of Ha Long Bay, in the northern province of Quang Ninh, is inviting visitors to its winter carnival, slated for January 1.

Vietnam welcomed only 3.8 million foreign arrivals in 2020, down 78.7 percent from last year, as a result of the serious impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the tourism industry, according to the General Statistics Office (GSO).

Houses with ancient tiled roofs, mossy walls with bougainvillea racemes and shimmering lanterns of Hoi An ancient town and the tranquility of My Son Sanctuary have a special appeal to both domestic and foreign tourists, when coming to the central province of Quang Nam - which is known as “One Destination-Two Heritage”.

Ho Chi Minh City’s travel firms have announced a number of domestic tours for Tet (Lunar New Year) with huge discounts and promotions.

Vietnam’s gross domestic product (GDP) this year is expected to grow by 2.91 percent compared to 2019, according to the General Statistics Office.

A seminar to promote tourism cooperation between the southern province of Ba Ria – Vung Tau with a number of localities nationwide took place in the locality on December 24.

Located some 90km from Hanoi, Trang An Scenic Landscape complex in Ninh Binh province lures tourists with its majestic landscapes.

By year-end, Muong Nhe district in Dien Bien province is covered in vivid yellow of blooming tree marigolds, creating poetic scenes.

Moc Chau plateau in the northern mountainous province of Son La in these days is covered with a pristine white color of apricot blossoms. In the gentle breeze, thin white petals fall down quietly, making visitors feel lost in the fairyland.

The central city of Da Nang is planning a myriad of New Year welcoming activities to attract tourists, and they will be organised at an appropriate scale depending on the COVID-19 situation, a local official said on December 9.

In recent years, Co To island in the northern province of Quang Ninh has become a top choice for travel lovers who want to go to beautiful and pristine beaches with unique “check-in” corners and hospitality of local residents.

With the third outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic under control, the demand for domestic tours during the Tet (Lunar New Year) holiday is expected to rise in the next few weeks, according to travel agencies.

Hanoi’s Duong Lam ancient village, renowned for its unique houses built with wooden frames and fortified with laterites, still preserves typical features of old villages in the Red River Delta.

Ha Giang province is a wild and charming land, and much of the northern mountainous province is incredibly beautiful, including Xa Phin Village, Phuong Tien Commune, Vi Xuyen District.

The Vietnam National Administration of Tourism (VNAT) has, for the first time, issued a plan on the active engagement into the fourth Industrial Revolution towards 2045.

The mobilisation of social resources for tourism infrastructure has helped Vietnam’s tourism strengthen its position in the new period.

Representatives from 13 localities in the Mekong Delta, a region that has been defined as the safest area even when the COVID-19 pandemic was yet to be controlled, have shaken hands with each other for the first time to approach tourists in the north during the annual Vietnam International Travel Mart (VITM) organized by the Vietnam Tourism Association (VITA) in Hanoi recently.

The pilot extension of the walking streets around the iconic Hoan Kiem lake downtown Hanoi is schedule to begin on December 25, Hoan Kiem district authorities has said.

Stories about heritages in the northern province of Quang Ninh were told through a show of 17 collections of Ao dai (traditional Vietnamese long dress) at Quang Ninh 2020 Ao dai festival organised in Cam Pha city on December 26.

Thung Nang is an emerging tourist attraction in Dam Khe hamlet, Ninh Hai commune, Hoa Lu district, Ninh Binh province. The site attracts tourists for its untouched beauty.

The Civil Aviation Authority of Vietnam (CAAV) announced it has included a project to develop a second airport in the capital city of Hanoi in its draft planning on the national system of airports.

The Vietnam Travel Aviation Company Limited (Vietravel Airlines), the sixth airline in Vietnam, made its debut on December 26 after meeting all requirements and completing necessary procedures for operating commercial flights.

Tourists entering Vinpearl Safari Phu Quoc can see with their own eyes wild animals, such as lions, deers and giraffes.