Ambassador Dang Hoang Giang, head of the Vietnamese Delegation to the United Nations, and Ambassador Dennis Francis, head of the Delegation of Trinidad & Tobago to the United Nations, exchange notes on the establishment of diplomatic ties between Vietnam and Trinidad & Tobago. (Photo: Ministry of Foreign Affairs)

Vietnam and Trinidad & Tobago establish diplomatic ties

Vietnam and Trinidad & Tobago have officially established diplomat relations following the signing of a Joint Communiqué to this effect in New York on January 1.

On behalf of the two governments, Ambassador Dang Hoang Giang, head of the Vietnamese Delegation to the United Nations, and Ambassador Dennis Francis, head of the Delegation of Trinidad & Tobago to the United Nations, signed the document.

Both sides agreed to exchange diplomatic representatives at the ambassadorial level under the 1961 Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations.

The Joint Communiqué was then sent to UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres for circulation at the United Nations.

The same day, Ambassador Dang Hoang Giang had an exchange with Ambassador Dennis Francis Smith, discussing measures to promote cooperation between the two countries. The two sides expressed their delight at the official establishment of diplomatic relations between the two countries, which they said would open up opportunities for increasing multifaceted cooperation.

They agreed to continue sharing information to explore the potential and strengths of cooperation between the two countries, especially in the fields of oil and gas exploitation, tourism and agriculture. The two ambassadors also affirmed to strengthen close coordination at the United Nations and other multilateral forums, cited VOV.

Ambassador Dennis Francis Smith highly appreciated the potential for cooperation between the two countries, emphasizing that Trinidad & Tobago has cooperated with Vietnam within the multilateral framework of the United Nations and it would like to foster bilateral cooperation with Vietnam in various fields of common interest, such as agriculture, fishing, energy, technology, tourism, culture, as well as people-to-people exchanges.

Vietnam has so far established diplomatic relations with all 35 countries in the Americas and 192 countries in the world, including 190 out of 193 United Nations member countries.

Severe cold spells expected to hit northern mountainous provinces late this month

Severe cold spells are expected to hit northern mountainous and midland provinces in the second half of this month, according to the National Centre for Hydro-meteorological Forecasting.

Nguyen Duc Hoa, deputy head of the agency’s Weather Forecasting Department, said that in the first half of this month, as intensive cold air tends to be weakened and deviates to the East, northern and northcentral localities from Thanh Hoa to Nghe An will see light rain, drizzle, and fog at night and in the early morning.

Spring in the mountainous province of Ha Giang. (Photo: VNA)

Meanwhile, there are possibilities that severe cold and harmful cold will appear later this month in mountainous and midland provinces, he added.

Hoa said that the average temperature across the country this month is at approximately similar to the average of many years. Particularly, in the northwest region, the common temperature is 0.5-1.5 degrees Celsius higher than the average of many years in the same period.

The total rainfall in the northwest region will be 5-10mm lower than the average of many years, according to VNA.

Other areas will see a higher rainfall than the average of previous years, especially this year’s rainfalls in the southcentral and southern regions will be 20-40mm higher than the average of many years in the same period.

Vietnam among top 10 best places to go for budget honeymoon

The nation has been listed among the top 10 best places to go for a budget honeymoon in 2023 by prestigious global travel website Lonely Planet.

According to the website, the top 10 budget-friendly getaways allows visitors to count their pennies without compromising on the once-in-a-lifetime experience. Indeed, they can experience a dynamic culture and delicious cuisine during their first adventure as newlyweds.

Ha Long Bay is one of the ideal destinations in Vietnam for a budget honeymoon.

Lonely Planet stressed that Vietnam is something of a street-food heaven, adding that that visitors must sample the country's signature dishes, such as beef pho, bun cha, a type of barbecued pork with rice noodles, and bánh mì, a local type of baguette.

“A mid-range trip won’t break the bank either, but will buy more characterful guesthouses, a better Ha Long Bay cruise and memorable experiences (a cookery class, a cycle around Hoi An) with change left for a beach stay on beautiful Phu Quoc Island,” it noted.

The magazine also recommended that foreign couples pay a visit to the country outside of the high season of July and August as they will have the best chance possible to find budget accommodation.

Apart from Vietnam, three other Asian countries were also named in the list, including India, Cambodia, and Indonesia.

Hanoi, HCM City record highest disbursement of public investment capital in January

Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City - the country's economic locomotives - recorded the highest disbursement of public investment capital in January, with nearly 2.7 trillion VND (117 million USD) and more than 1.63 trillion VND, respectively, reported the General Statistics Office.

In January, an estimated 27 trillion VND from the State budget was disbursed, including 4.2 trillion VND managed by the State, or 3.1% of the annual plan and up 15.7% compared to the same period last year. The remainder was managed by local authorities, equivalent to 4.2% of the annual plan and marking a rise of 1.2% over the corresponding period of 2022.

The total capital investment plan for 2022 from the state budget approved by the National Assembly was over 580 trillion VND, including more than 276 trillion VND from the State and the remaining from localities, reported VNA.

A corner of Ho Chi Minh City (Photo: VNA)

By December 31 last year, the disbursement of the investment plan from the state budget was estimated at over 435.6 trillion VND, or 75.11% of the plan assigned by the Prime Minister, lower than the 77.3% recorded in the same period of 2021, yet the absolute figure of the disbursement in 2022 was more than 79 trillion VND higher than the same period of 2021, according to the Finance Ministry.

Of the figure, over 424 trillion VND was domestic capital, equivalent to 77.74% of the plan assigned by the PM, lower than the 83.66% of the same period of 2021. However, the absolute figure of the disbursement in 2022 was more than 81.2 trillion VND higher than the same period of 2021. The foreign capital was over 11.6 trillion VND, meeting 33.65% of the plan, higher than the 26.77% reached in the same period of 2021.

Five ministries, centrally-run agencies and 24 localities recorded their disbursement meeting over 90% of the PM’s plan. However, 37 out of the 52 ministries and centrally-run agencies and 21 out of the 63 localities posted their disbursement below the country’s average, with six of the ministries and centrally-run agencies recording their disbursement below 30% of the plan.

Domestic tourism hits five-year high

Domestic tourism numbers hit 13 million in January, the highest in the last five years, according to the Vietnam National Administration of Tourism.

During the seven-day Tet (Lunar New Year) holiday, which lasted from January 20-26, the country was estimated to serve nine million domestic visitors, an increase of about 47.5 per cent compared to the 2022 Tet, with an estimated revenue of VND17.5 trillion (US$760.8 million).

With stronger tourism growth forecast for this year, the domestic market is expected to give the strongest boost to the recovery of this sector.

Nguyen Huu Y Yen, general director of the Saigontourist Travel Service Co. Ltd, said: “It is not Chinese travellers or any other sources of international tourists, but the domestic sector that will remain the ‘brightest’ factor helping Vietnam’s tourism continue recovering strongly in 2023.”

The tourism sector targets 110 million tourists this year, including eight million foreign visitors and 102 million domestic holiday-makers; and revenue of VND650 trillion.

In 2022, Vietnam recorded around 101.3 million domestic tourists, exceeding the yearly plan by 68.3 per cent. The tourism sector took around VND495 trillion ($21.1 billion) in revenue, 23 per cent higher than the target, thanks to the large number of domestic tourists.

Local destinations attract tourists

The northern coastal province of Quang Ninh welcomed 1.6 million visitors in January 2023, an increase of 12.3 times compared to the same period last year.

In seven-day Lunar New Year holiday, nearly 700,000 tourists visited the province, double that of the same period last year. Foreign arrivals recovered with more than 17,000 visitors.

The number of visitors to religious sites during the holiday increased by six to eight times compared to normal days.

Yen Tu Historical Relic Site and Ba Vang Pagoda welcomed about 200,000 visitors, while the Cua Ong Temple in Cam Pha City received over 62,000 visitors.

Many other popular sites also welcomed tens of thousands of visitors.

Foreign tourists sightsee in downtown HCM City in cyclos. Photo: VNA

About 150 cultural and sports events were also held in the province during the Lunar New Year occasion.

The northern mountainous province of Lao Cai, where Fansipan Mountain is located, experienced a domestic tourism boom in the first month of 2023.

According to Tran Son Binh, deputy director of the provincial Department of Tourism, nearly 700,000 tourists were reported in January, increasing by 285 per cent compared to the same period last year. The majority of tourists (282,500) visited Sa Pa Town.

Total revenue from tourism reached over VND2.4 trillion, cited VNS.

Binh said January is the time of New Year holidays. With a series of cultural and tourist activities and events being organised, Lao Cai has attracted a large number of tourists and has become one of the key tourist destinations of Vietnam.

The province made careful preparations to welcome tourists in spring and take pandemic preventive measures, with the expectation of creating a good momentum for the goal of 6 million visitors in 2023, he said.

Lao Cai has strengthened the State tourism management by organising regular and irregular inspections on tourism service business providers, he said.

Local authorities also named and shamed organisations and individuals who violate tourism regulations on the tourism portal at laocaitourism.vn.

The provincial Department of Tourism has launched a hotline to receive and handle complaints and recommendations of tourists about problems, he said.

Cat Ba District in the northern port city of Hai Phong welcomed 10,900 tourists during Tet, up 72.9 per cent year-on-year. Meanwhile, Do Son District attracted 320,000 visitors during the holiday.

Hai Phong aims to serve 7.5 million visitors in 2023, including three million to Cat Ba and 2.5 million to Do Son.

Foreign arrivals

Vietnam welcomed 872,000 foreign visitors in January 2023, 42 per cent down from January 2019, though it was the highest month since the pandemic began in 2020.

South Korea was Vietnam’s biggest feeder market, with nearly 259,000 of its nationals visiting in January, followed by the US (78,000), Thailand (55,000), Australia (44,000), and Japan (34,000).

The international tourism segment remains challenging since the main markets, China and Russia, have not returned to normal. Vietnam only received 47,000 Chinese and 12,000 Russian tourists as against 660,000 and 36,000 in January 2019.

Nguyen Trung Khanh, general director of the Vietnam National Administration of Tourism, expressed his belief that 2023 will be a strong year for Vietnamese tourism in terms of both domestic and international markets.

He cited some experts as saying that the world will witness vigorous growth in travel demand this year. As a bright spot in the global tourism map, Vietnam will definitely not be out of this trend.

Nguyen Huu Y Yen from Saigontourist was cited by Thanh Niên (Young people) newspaper said that before the COVID-19 pandemic broke out, the three biggest sources of foreign visitors to Vietnam were China, Russia, and the Republic of Korea (RoK).

Charter flights from the RoK only resumed recently, while there haven’t been many Chinese tourists, and Russian tourists haven’t returned. The European and US markets have begun to bounce back but are unlikely to record a breakthrough in 2023, he pointed out.

Yen expected the number of international tourists in 2023 will return to about 50 per cent of the 2019 level. Meanwhile, in just over six months of 2022, the number of domestic travellers rebounded to over 50 per cent of the pre-pandemic level, and this year’s figure will definitely reach 70-75 per cent. Outbound tourism will also share the same trend.

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