Among the winners are 20 best tour operators including 10 international tour operators, 8 domestic tour operators and 2 companies with creative and dynamic business activities relating to the segment.

There are also the best 10 five-star hotels, the best 10 four-star hotels, and the best 10 three-star hotels along with 15 awards for transport companies and shops.

The association will also honor other green hotels of the country in the ceremony.

One again, HCMC as the biggest tourism center of the country heaps the most prizes for best hotels and tour operators.

There are 7 HCMC-based companies in the list of 10 international tour operators in 2009 namely Saigontourist Travel Service Co., Ben Thanh Tourist, Fiditourist, APEX Vietnam, PEACE Tour, Vietravel, and Vietnam Tourism in HCMC. The other three are Exotissimo Cesais and Vietnam Tourism in Hanoi, and Huong Giang Travel in Hue.

In the list of best local tour operators, apart from Vitours and Hanoitourist, other winners are in HCMC, including the old faces of Saigontourist Travel Service Co, Fiditourist, Ben Thanh Tourist, and three other new faces namely Lua Viet Picnic Co, Van Hoa Viet, and Youth Travel.

HCMC also has fours of the top 10 five-star hotels in 2009. They are the Majestic, Rex, Renaissance Riverside Saigon, and Windsor Plaza. The list also includes other hotels in Hanoi and Khanh Hoa Province namely the Melia Hanoi, Daewoo Hanoi, Metropole Hanoi, InterContinental Hanoi Westlake, Vinpearl Resort & Spa, and Six Senses Hideaway Ninh Van Bay.

However, well-known hotels in other localities such as Hue, Can Tho, Halong, and Phu Quoc have been entered into the list of the best four-star and three-star hotels in the country along with those accommodation facilities in HCMC and Hanoi.

In the travel segment, Saigontourist ranks first in the list of top ten international tour operators in the country, thus winning the top title in five consecutive years in a row.

Vietravel, the familiar face in the past, which has fallen off the list of the best international tour operators since 2007, has returned to this year’s list.

The association has conducted the national-scale selection with main criteria being business results among others.

According to the Vietnam National Administration of Tourism, the country’s tourism in 2009 received nearly 3.8 million foreign visitors, down nearly 11% year-on-year; and 25 million domestic travelers, up 19% compared to 2008. The tourism revenue was in the range of VND68-70 trillion.