Journalists visit VN for tourism check
HCM CITY (May 29, 2003)— Delegations of foreign journalists are touring Viet Nam under the invitation of Vietnam Airlines and some of the country’s tourism companies to check on the post-SARS situation.
The visits are aimed at scrutinising Viet Nam one month after it was cleared from the list of countries affected by the severe acute respiratory syndrome, and to ensure Viet Nam can be advertised as a safe tourism destination again.
A delegation of 17 South Korean journalists are visiting Ha Noi, Ha Long Bay, HCM City and Cuu Long (Mekong) Delta provinces from May 26 to June 1. A delegation of Australian journalists will be touring Viet Nam at the same time.
In the same perspective, the Sai Gon Tourism Corporation - Saigontourist - and Vietnam Airlines have co-operated in launching a tourism promotion campaign in Japan in an effort to attract more of the country’s holiday-seekers.
As part of the "Seeing is believing" campaign, a group of Japanese journalists will arrive in Viet Nam on June 20 to control the country for SARS and tourism advertising will resume in Japanese newspapers.
Last Friday, the Ministry of Health, the Viet Nam National Administration of Tourism, Saigontourist and Vietnam Airlines held a joint press briefing in Tokyo, declaring that Viet Nam had been the first country to contain SARS thanks to its tremendous efforts, timely actions and international assistance, which included aid from Japan.
The representatives also called on the Japanese people to look again to Viet Nam as a tourist destination.
At a meeting in HCM City earlier between tourism officials and 13 Japanese travel agency directors, a Japanese tourism official said HCM City has a great potential for tourism and is a safe travel destination in the post-SARS period.
The southern hub has several cuisine, shopping and cultural charms already luring a large number of Japanese tourists.
To receive more foreign tourists, construction on a long-awaited five-star hotel is underway in HCM City.
The Park Hyatt Sai Gon hotel, located in HCM City’s commercial district, is an investment by Grand Imperial Sai Gon Hotel (GIS). GIS is a joint venture between the Sai Gon Construction Corp, Radiant Investments of Malaysia and United Concord International from Hong Kong.
The project was put on hold more than six years ago due to the regional financial crisis. The resumption of the 260-room hotel project, worth an estimated US$44 million, resulted from a $22.5 million syndicated loan from five banks in Viet Nam, a GIS executive said.
A second project is underway in the central province of Binh Dinh for the construction of a four-star hotel to be called Life Resort. Investment came from the Binh Dinh-Austria Tourism, Hotel Joint-Venture Company.
Located on the coast of Quy Nhon, the resort will offer 63 rooms and cover 13.5ha after the first phase.
The second phase of the project will raise the number of rooms to 100. — VNS
