Vietnam News Today (May 29): Hanoi Eyes Broader Co-operation With China’s Guangdong Province
	Vietnam News Today (May 30): Vietnam Welcomes Nearly 7.6 Million Int'l Tourists in Five Months

Deputy Prime Minister Le Minh Khai (R) and Lao Minister of Finance Santiphab Phomevihane (Photo: VGP)

Vietnam ready to facilitate financial co-operation with Laos

Deputy Prime Minister Le Minh Khai has assured the Vietnamese Government’s readiness to support and offer optimal conditions to develop ties between the finance ministries of both Vietnam and Laos.

At a reception held on May 30 in Hanoi for visiting Laotian Minister of Finance Santiphab Phomevihane, Minister Khai stated that the Vietnamese Party, State, and people always give top priority to fostering the great friendship, special solidarity, and all-around linkages that exist between the two nations.

Recent times have seen both sides closely collaborate in carrying out high-level agreements, with the outcomes of the 46th meeting of the Vietnam-Laos Intergovernmental Committee, co-chaired by the two Prime Ministers in Hanoi on January 7, alongside meetings held between other high-ranking leaders, he said.

Deputy PM Khai acknowledged and highly appreciated the results of co-operation between the two finance ministries. He went on to outline how these ties have helped both to fulfill their finance-budget tasks, voicing his hope that they will continue working hand in hand in order to materialize agreements of the committee, as well as their joint statements and agreements in particular, thereby contributing to socio-economic development in each country.

He noted that he hopes Minister Phomevihane will pay greater attention to the efficient use of capital assistance and removing obstacles facing mutual ties, cited VOV.

In response, the Laotian Minister of Finance told his host that both sides have finalized 80% of the plan set in their co-operation agreement.

He also shared his assessments of the Vietnamese development strategy and positive results recorded in the nation's growth and socio-economic development in 2023 and during the first months of the year.

He expressed his confidence that the two sides will step up efforts in a bid to implement joint cooperation agreements and reinforce the time-honored friendship between the two nations.

Tourism activities are vibrant as summer comes

Tourism activities in all destinations across the country have become vibrant as summer comes, prompting localities to gear up various events for the peak season.

Ho Chi Minh City held the second Vietnamese 'Banh mi' Festival in mid-May and is about to organize the second River Festival from May 31 to June 9.

The south-central province of Khanh Hoa plans to hold the Nha Trang Sea Festival while Binh Dinh, another province in the south-central region, will host a series of summer tourism activities.

The Hue Festival Week in central Thua Thien - Hue province is to take place in June. Meanwhile, the Festival for Peace, slated for the same month, is expected to draw visitors from far and wide to the central province of Quang Tri.

Many new tourism products have also been introduced, including night tours at the Cuc Phuong National Park in the northern province of Ninh Binh, according to VNA.

Children go kayaking on Ta Lai lake in Dong Nai province. (Photo: VNA)

The Vietnam National Authority of Tourism (VNAT) is stepping up tourism promotion domestically and internationally on its websites and social networks, highlighting outstanding destinations such as Can Tho - a city of canals in the Mekong Delta, Trang An Scenic Landscape Complex in Ninh Binh province, Hoi An ancient city in central Quang Nam province, terraced rice fields in the northwestern region, and poetic Da Lat city in the Central Highlands province of Lam Dong to offer local and international travelers fresher, friendlier, and more attractive glances at the country.

The authority reported that in the first five months of this year, Vietnam has welcomed nearly 7.6 million international arrivals, a rise of 64.9% year on year and 3.9% from the pre-COVID-19 period. At the same time, the tourism sector has served 52.5 million domestic travelers. Tourism earnings are estimated at 352.2 trillion VND (13.83 billion USD).

The Republic of Korea remained the largest market for Vietnamese tourism during the period with 1.9 million visitors, accounting for 25.7% of the total foreign arrivals, followed by China, 21.2%.

Strong growth has been seen in the number of tourists from Asia (73%) and Europe (57.1%) thanks to the favorable visa policy applied since August 15 last year, the VNAT said.

Da Nang desires stronger links with France

A delegation of the People’s Committee of Da Nang city led by its Chairman Le Trung Chinh paid a working visit to France from May 27-29.

During the visit, Chinh held a working session with Mayor of Le Havre city Edouard Philippe who visited Vietnam in 2018 in his capacity as French Prime Minister and visited the central city in 2023.

At this meeting, the two sides discussed cooperation potential and priorities between the two cities, reported VOV.

Chairman of the Da Nang People’s Committee Le Trung Chinh (L) and Mayor of Le Havre city Edouard Philippe.

The Da Nang delegation also conducted field trips to Le Havre Port, and Siemens Gamesa, New Port 2000 and GMP wharves to learn about seaport infrastructure, maritime logistics activities, and potential cooperation with the French city.

In Paris, the delegation had a host of working sessions with the Vietnamese Embassy on the prospect of promoting locality-to-locality cooperation with France, and leaders of Ubisoft Entertainment SA - a French video game publisher headquartered in Saint-Mandé with development studios across the world - on its current investment projects in Da Nang.

At the meeting, Ubisoft suggested Da Nang support it to rent an office at the city's Software Technology Park II.

Ubisoft has invested in Da Nang since February 2020 with a focus on developing mobile games.

Hoi An, Da Nang among top ten cities to work remotely in 2024

Freaking Nomads, an online resource for digital nomads, has revealed the 10 best cities for location-independent professionals this year, with Hoi An city ranking first thanks to affordability, strong Wi-Fi, and warm communities.

The central coastal city of Da Nang ranks fourth.

Travel+Leisure, a travel magazine of the US with more than 16 million readers, on May 28 cited the Freaking Nomads list of the best cities for digital nomads.

The top three cities are Hoi An, Delhi (India), and Kuala Lumpur (Malaysia), followed by Da Nang and Mumbai (India).

After the COVID-19 pandemic, remote working has become increasingly popular, with more and more people looking for destinations to combine travel and work, cited VNA.

As a world heritage site recognised by UNESCO, Hoi An is home to well-preserved buildings that are hundreds of years old. (Photo: nhandan.vn)

According to a report by WFH Research - a company studying remote working trends, as of 2023, 12.7% of full-time US workers had chosen to work remotely. The rate is expected to reach 22% by 2025.

Freaking Nomads analyzed various factors to determine the best destinations, including the remote work visa ease of access for digital nomads; the cost of living index, rent index, groceries index, restaurant price index, and local purchasing power relative to New York City; the number of coworking spaces per 1 million residents (circa 2019); average mobile data speed Mbps; and average broadband speed Mbps.

On a scale of 100, Hoi An is at the top position with 73.94. As a world heritage site recognised by UNESCO, Hoi An is home to well-preserved buildings that are hundreds of years old, and winding streets filled with colorful lanterns which create a magical atmosphere. The ancient beauty of Hoi An will attract digital nomads who want to work in a unique corner of the world.

Meanwhile, Da Nang got 71.32 out of 100. The city is well-known for its beautiful coastlines and amazing destinations, for example Ngu Hanh Son, that inspire digital nomads.

China regains status as biggest Vietnam's top tourism source market

China surpassed South Korea to become Vietnam's biggest tourism source market in May with 357,907 arrivals, reported the General Statistics Office.

The above figure raised total foreign arrivals in May to 1.4 million, up 51 percent against the same period last year.

During January-May, nearly 7.6 million foreign visitors traveled to Vietnam, a year-on-year increase of 64.9 percent and up 3.9 percent in comparison with the pre-pandemic period in 2019.

South Korea accounted for the highest number of international visitors to Vietnam in the first five months with 1.9 million, making up 25.7 percent. China came second with 1.6 million, accounting for 21.2 percent.

It was followed by Taiwan, the U.S., Japan, Malaysia, Australia, Thailand, Cambodia and India, VGP reported.

South Korea accounts for the highest number of international visitors to Viet Nam in five months with 1.9 million, making up 25.7 percent. Photo: VGP/Thuy Dung

During the reviewed period, Asia was still the largest source of international visitors to Vietnam, especially China (up 302.3 percent), South Korea (up 48.1 percent), Japan (up 41.7 percent), Taiwan (China) (up 110.1 percent), Indonesia (up 117.8 percent), and the Philippines (up 54.1 percent).

Agoda, a travel platform, said that Korean tourists are "falling in love" with Vietnam's wonderful coastal cities and resort islands with fine sand beaches and clear and blue water.

Accordingly, Korean tourists favor the top four destinations of Da Nang, Nha Trang, Hoi An and Phu Quoc. These are all famous locations with beautiful beaches, luxury resorts and many attractive tourist activities. Meanwhile, Ho Chi Minh City is ranked 5th on the list of most popular Vietnamese destinations for Korean tourists.

Besides, the number of visitors from Europe to Vietnam witnessed high growth (57.1 percent) thanks to the nation's new visa policy.

According to Agoda, Vietnam ranked third among Asian destinations most attractive to European tourists based on accommodation searches.

The Southeast Asian nation recorded a 66 percent increase in searches from European visitors, only behind Malaysia (up 89 percent) and Japan (up 71 percent).

Some countries in Europe with the highest number of searches for Vietnam tourism in April this year included France, Germany, the United Kingdom, the Netherlands and Spain.

Meanwhile, the three destinations in Vietnam most sought by European tourists are Ho Chi Minh City, Hoi An in the central province of Quang Nam and Nha Trang in the central province of Khanh Hoa.

This year, Vietnam aims to welcome 17-18 million international visitors, and serve 110 million domestic ones. Total tourism revenue is targeted at around VND840 trillion (US$34.6 billion).

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