Vietnam is expected to welcome more than 460,000 international arrivals in April, up 6.3% against the same period last year, according to the General Statistics Office (GSO).
Vietnam will put a television commercial on BBC in a tourism promotion campaign this year though it has cut down on the budget for tourism commercials on international TV channels.
The Sai Gon Travel Service Company (Saigontourist) welcomed 2,000 tourists and crew sailing aboard the five-star cruise liner Costa Classica, which docked at the Lotus Port in Ho Chi Minh City on April 26. The visitors, most from Italy, Spain, the United Kingdom and Germany, will have a five-day Vietnam tour.
The National Tuong (classic drama) Festival 2011 kicks off on April 25 in the city of Quy Nhon and runs until April 30. Nine tuong plays, with topics ranging from history to modern folk, will be performed by seven top tuong companies, including the Vietnam Tuong Theatre, the Hue Royal Tuong Troupe and the Dao Tan Tuong Troupe.
The Foreign Ministry of Poland has agreed to fund more than USD25,000 for the restoration of the front gate of the Temple of Literature in Hue, the former imperial city, in the central province of Thua Thien-Hue.
The Vietnamese contemporary lacquer painting exhibition 2011 opened on April 22 in Beijing, China. It contributed to promoting cultural exchange and cooperation in all fields, and fostering the comprehensive strategic cooperation partnership between the two countries over recent times.
The Vietnamese people, country, and cuisine, as well as handicrafts, the country’s traditional long dress (Ao dai) and musical instruments were introduced at a Vietnamese cultural festival in Beijing, China on April 23.
Deputy Prime Minister Nguyen Thien Nhan has allowed the northern province of Quang Ninh and the southcentral province of Khanh Hoa to set off fireworks on the occasion of their festivals this year.
The Culture, Sports and Tourism departments in Can Tho and Hanoi have organized the “Visiting Tay Do†roadshow to promote Can Tho’s tourism products to customers in Hanoi and elsewhere in the country’s north.
A ceremony to commemorate the soldiers and sailors of the Hoang Sa (Paracel) Flotilla opened on April 18 (the 16th day of the third lunar month) on Ly Son Island in the central province of Quang Ngai.
The first festival for young people from ethnic minorities officially opened in the Culture-Tourism Village of Vietnamese Ethnic Groups in Dong Mo, Son Tay Town, Hanoi on April 17, attended by more than 300 delegates.
The International “LifeStyle Vietnam 2011†fair for fine art, handicrafts, wood products and gifts was held in HCM City on April 18 with the participation of 250 craft businesses displaying 700 pavilions.