Tourism officials of Vietnam and Japan met at a seminar in Hanoi on June 29 to look for ways to attract Japanese students to Vietnam for both study and leisure.

Nhan Dan Online- One week stay in Dien Bien may not be enough for discovering this north-western land with various places of interest and historical relic sites. This year, Dien Bien will host many celebrations, hoping to attract tens of thousands of visitors across the country.

Nhan Dan- The terraced fields of Sapa in Lao Cai northern mountainous province of Vietnam have been recognised as one of the world’s, and Asia’s seven most beautiful and magnificent, US-based Travel & Leisure magazine has announced.

Nhan Dan – The Buon Ma Thuot Culture – Tourism Week will be held from November 16 to 22.

A clip promoting Vietnam tourism has been broadcast twice a day on BBC television. It features a panorama of Vietnam and its people.

Nhan Dan – The first world gong festival will take place from November 8 to 11 in Pleiku city the Central Highlands province of Gia Lai.

Nhan Dan – A ceremony was held yesterday to start the restoration of Tran Quoc, one of the oldest pagodas of Hanoi, located on an islet of West Lake.

The Vietnamese community in Berlin brought traditional dances to a street festival held in Lichtenberg district on June 20.

A German television crew from Medien Kontor will visit Vietnam in July to make a documentary about Phong Nha – Ke Bang National Park in the central province of Quang Binh, said the park’s director Luu Minh Thanh.

The first six months of the year have been tough for the global tourism industry in general and Vietnam’s tourism industry in particular. With the global economic crisis and the A/H1N1 virus, foreign visitors coming to Vietnam dropped by 70 % during May and June.

International tourists coming to Vietnam from Asia have been a large component of the sector in recent years, but even these key markets, such as China, Japan, Singapore, Malaysia, South Korea and Taiwan (China) have dropped off, with numbers falling between ten to 70 %.

According to a report by the operator in audit and business advisory services Grant Thornton Vietnam on hotel business in 2008, high end hotel room occupancy in Vietnam is at its lowest level for four years.

The first episode of travel series, “Hanh trinh kham pha” (Discovery: An itinerary) featuring Vietnam’s natural beauty, has been aired on June 21.

Phuoc Tich ancient village in the central province of Thua Thien Hue’s Phong Dien District has been recognised as a national art architecture relic by the State.

Houses more than a 100 years old, a communal well, banana plants and areca palms – the Hoang Hoa Hamlet has them all and more, in more or less pristine condition.

Nhan Dan – The mountainous province of Yen Bai has got its tourism potentials with many beautiful sites as well as unique cultural beauties of ethnic minorities people such as Thai, Mong and Dao. How can these tourism potentials be woken up?

Nhan Dan Online- In the framework of Nha Trang Sea Festival, the Khanh Hoa Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism gathered fishermen to recalls fish praying ritual which is considered the most important ritual in this coastal city.

Nhan Dan – Vietnam’s trade village exhibition fair and traditional craft festival 2009 under the theme ‘Traditional craft – identity and development’ was opened by the Ministries of Culture, Sports and Tourism and Agriculture and Rural Development, the People’s Committee of Thua Thien-Hue province and the Central Farmers’ Association of Vietnam in Hue city on June 10.

Nhan Dan – Lang Co Bay in the central province of Thua Thien-Hue has been listed as one of the “World’s Most Beautiful Bays” club (Worldbays Club) since mid May this year after the club’s 5th conference held in Setubal, Portugal.

A Vietnamese cuisine week is being held at the Grand Melia Hotel in Jakarta, Indonesia from June 5-11, introducing such Vietnamese typical dishes including spring rolls, noodle soup (pho) with beef and chicken and grilled fish.

The largest pot of rice noodle soup (pho)’ and 'the biggest traditional orchestra' will be two new Vietnamese records at the Sea Festival 2009, to be held in Nha Trang this June.

Nhan Dan Online-The first four star hotel in Dak Lak Central Highlands province, Swiss-Belhotel Dakruco hotel, started its operation yesterday.

The Novetel Phan Thiet resort in central Binh Thuan province has been recognised by the Green Globe International to achieve the world’s highest environmental standards, becoming the first in Vietnam to receive the Green Globe certificate.