The Halong Bay Management Department reported that nearly 2.3 million tourists, including 1.5 million foreign tourists, had visited Ha Long Bay in the first ten months of 2008, marking an increase of 49 percent year on year.
Nha nhac (Vietnamese court music) and gong culture are listed among the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity, issued for the first time on Nov. 4, 2008 at the third session of the UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) Committee on Intangible Cultural Heritage in Istanbul, Turkey.
The second Buon Me Thuot Coffee Festival will be held from December 10 to 14, 2008 in Buon Me Thuot town, Dak Lak Central Highlands province.
Hanoi-based travel companies are facing the decrease of their income due to the lack of hi-end rooms for visitors to Vietnam at the peak period.
The ACMECS Foreign Ministers’ Meeting in Hanoi on November 6, 2008 emphasised the need to simplify customs procedures for the travel of people and transport of goods via border gates.
It is necessary to raise the quality of human resources in the tourism industry to maintain the sector’s growth rate and ensure the sustainable development of Vietnam’s tourism, said Nguyen Manh Cuong, Deputy Head of the Vietnam National Administration of Tourism (VNAT).
Aiming to build a green and touristy city, Da Nang will organise periodical international firework festivals to attract tourists, said Da Nang Chairman Tran Van Minh.
Participants attending the 5th World Buddhist summit in Kobe, Japan, have chosen Hanoi as the venue for the 6th summit in 2010.
A number of 170 oil paintings selected from the National Oil Paintings Exhibition are now on display at the Vietnam Culture and Arts Exhibition Centre from November 5, 2008.
Ceramic treasures and a kiln dating back to the 7th-8th centuries have been unearthed at Tuan Chau, Ha Long City in the northern province of Quang Ninh.
A photo exhibition on three ethnic minorities (including Co Tu, Ta Oi and Pa Ko) in central Thua Thien-Hue province taken by French photographer Sebastien Laval will be held at the French Cultural Centre in Hanoi on November 6-22, 2008.
On November 4th, 2008 the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, sent an urgent telegram announcing the postponement of the culture, sports and tourism festival of ethnic minority groups in the Northern region because of the heavy rains and flooding.