Nhan Dan - The five-star Sheraton Hanoi hotel has received the title “Vietnam’s Leading Business Hotel in 2008” awarded by the World Travel Awards.

Nhan Dan- Five provinces of Cao Bang, Bac Can, Thua Thien – Hue, Quang Binh and Quang Tri will join a project on sustainable tourism development of open sub Mekong region with a total investment of US$11.1 million.

Hanoi welcomed 3.8 million visitors, including 655,700 foreigners in the first half of the year, a year-on-year increase of 12.4%.

An island in the shape of a dragon is to rise from the world heritage Ha long Bay.

Nhan Dan/VNA- The preservation of My Son World Cultural Relics with the help of UNESCO has entered the second phase.

Vietnam welcomed 2.5 million foreign tourists in the first half of the year, according to the Government’s web portal.

Nhan Dan – Festivals in Vietnam has been serving various purposes, especially in promoting tourism and creating revenue for the country. It is a special cultural and community activity that is embedded with national characteristics. The intangible cultural asset of the country is so diversified, and thus sometimes generating headaches for management.

Nhan Dan Online – Sa Pa town is cool all the year, being compared as a giant refrigerator hung halfway of the sky, about 34 km from Lao Cai town.

Con Moong Cave, in Thanh Hoa Province, hopes to follow in the footsteps of Ha Long Bay and the ancient town of Hoi An, by being awarded UNESCO World Heritage status.

Well-known American singer Peter Yarrow and his group will perform in a charity concert in Ho Chi Minh City today to raise funds for Agent Orange victims.

Deputy Prime Minister Nguyen Thien Nhan has asked the tourism industry to focus on launching promotional campaigns in an effort to further cash in on the National Year of Tourism.

Hoi An Graffiti Festival 2008, whose slogan is “Blaze and Shine,” will be held on the Hoai River, Hoi An in the central province of Quang Nam on June 24.

With Bac Ha currently a work in progress, the most beautiful traditional market in the north of Vietnam is found in Can Cau.

Nhan Dan – Vietnam is one of the two Asian countries to join the Brest Sea Festival 2008 scheduled to be held in Brest seaport, France from July 11-17.

Vietnam will develop sea tourism into a key driver for the maritime sector in central coastal region, according to a master economic development plan for the region to 2020.

The Hue Festival 2008 in central Thua Thien-Hue province by June 7 had welcomed close to 56,000 visitors, including 13,200 foreigners.

Nhan Dan- The Legends of Huong River festival, one of the seven main festivals of the Hue Festival, has brought visitors back to the ancient space imbued with the traditional culture with golden imperial place on the 15km along Huong River.

Sculptors from around the world who participated in the fifth international sculpture camp in Hue are displaying their works at the Abalone Resort & Spa near the Tam Giang Lagoon.

Nhan Dan Online- Two Australian artists Philip Nizette and Jennifer Jones and two artisans from Hue city are introducing her joint installation art work named “Dragon and Phoenix” at the opening of the Hue Festival which opens tomorrow.

The nine-day Hue Festival will open this week in the former imperial city of Hue, featuring both Vietnamese and international music and dance groups.

A replica of a royal boat used by the Nguyen dynasty last century has been built to carry tourists during the upcoming Festival Hue 2008.

Thousands of travellers are flocking to the Mekong Delta province of An Giang to experience the one week Ba Chua Xu (Lady Xu) Festival and ask the famous goddess of wealth for a prosperous life.

Quang Nam province is determined to become a major tourist destination in the central region and Vietnam, aiming to take VND4.6trillion (US$288million) in revenue from tourism annually by 2015.

Bui Van Ngoi became the first Vietnamese to successfully scale the world’s highest mountain peak Everest on May 22, holding aloft the national flag at the 8,850m summit.

Ho Chi Minh City-based Sai Gon-Mang Den Joint stock Co put two resorts into operation in the National Mang Den Eco-tourism Zone, in central highland Kon Tum Province's Kon Plong District, as its first step towards a series of investment projects within the zone.

The upcoming biannual Hue festival in central Thua Thien-Hue province will offer new and exciting performances of high professional and artistic quality, in an effort to live up to title of being Vietnam’s ‘Festival City’.

Thac Ba Lake in Yen Bai province is a bewitchingly beautiful place, just don’t forget your insect repellent, writes Duc Hanh.

A total sum of VND 10 billion has so far been committed to fund the upcoming biannual Hue festival in central Thua Thien-Hue province, said the Hue Festival Centre Director Nguyen Duy Hien.

Lang Co is a quiet but breathtaking beach that so far has avoided the tourist boom, but for how long can this beach stay off the beaten track?

The first stage of the Vietnam Ethnic Culture and Tourism Village will begin operation in 2010 and the remaining stages will be completed by 2015.

Nhan Dan Online-Hanoians will have an opportunity to share in the very best of European gastronomic culture at the 3^rd annual European Food Festival which will take place on May 24, from 5pm at the National Library of Vietnam.

The Dalat night market opened again early this month after being closed for three years due to concerns about food hygiene, security conditions and social order.

Conde Nast Traveler, one of the world’s most prestigious travel magazines, has named the InterContinental Hanoi Westlake in its 2008 Hot List, the 12th annual compendium of the most compelling new hotels in the world.

The five-star Furama Resort in the central city of Da Nang has been selected by Singapore ’s Agoda, an online tourism magazine, as one of the most beautiful resorts in Southeast Asia .

Nhan Dan-  Thanh Hoa northern province is now striving to build Sam Son town into a developed sea tourism town from now by the year 2010.

Nhan Dan- In a State project on the development of Vietnam tourism in 1995-2010 period, the government has defined Dien Bien north-western mountainous province as one of the national tourism destinations. Many places of interests of cultural and historical values in the provinces should be further exploited for tourism development.

From now till the end of September is the "low season" for Vietnam's hospitality industry. Consequently a variety of special promotions have been launched for this season to attract tourists, especially in the Central and the South, where most of Vietnam's deluxe hotels and resorts are located.

Following the success of Vietnam – The Image of the 54-Ethnic Community, first published in 2001, a new-improved edition is to be released on May 15.

With the two national holidays on April 30 and May 1 falling just before a weekend this year, the domestic tourism market has become red-hot.

Nhan Dan- The Thang Long- Hanoi Craft Village & Craft Street Tourism Week was opened on April 29 in Hanoi Citadel, 12 Nguyen Tri Phuong street.f