Ha Long Bay is the o­nly Vietnamese landscape inscribed o­n the list of 150 most beautiful wonders of the world by l’Interbaute- The leading electronic magazine of France.

In the Voyager column (tourism) l’Intenaute magazine introduce Ha Long Bay o­n page 93 among 150 pages of the special subject entitled “The 150 most beautiful wonders of the world” o­n 15th September 2009.
l’Internaute didn’t rank these 150 wonders so the order o­n the list don’t reflect the beauty level of these wonders. Therefore Eiffel Tower – France’s pride is presented o­n page 150 while Antelope Canyon site from America is shown the first .Moreover the editorial
Board don’t distinguish between natural and man made wonders and no limit the amount of wonder from each country.
Beside showing Ha Long Bay picture and geographically positioning this Bay.l’Internaute also interprets for the origin of “Ha Long Bay’s” name and links to two others articles. The o­ne describes Ha Long bay as the world heritage site .And the other provides useful information for tourists that want to come to Ha Long. Source: quangninh.gov.vn

The Spanish Government has agreed to provide 400,000 EUR in non-refundable aid for Vietnam to enhance tourism sector capacity.
An agreement to this effect was signed by Deputy Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism Ho Anh Tuan and Spanish Ambassador to Vietnam Fernando Curcio Ruigómez in Hanoi on Nov. 29.

Funded via the Spanish Agency for International Development Cooperation under the Spanish Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Cooperation, the project will be implemented in the northern provinces of Lao Cai, Dien Bien and Ha Giang from 2011 to 2012.

It aims to develop Vietnam’s tourism in a sustainable manner, raise awareness of tourism managers at central and local level about the role of tourism, diversify tourism products and effectively exploit the value of Vietnam’s landscapes.

Earlier, Tuan and Ruigómez discussed tourism in each country and cooperative possibilities in the fields of human resource training, tourism promotion and technical assistance.
Last year, 29,600 Spanish visitors came to Vietnam, up nearly 40 percent from 2009./.

Source: VN+

The Vietnamese business circle has geared up to prepare to grab the new opportunities to be brought when Ha Long Bay has been recognized as one of the seven new wonders of the world. Experts have urged management agencies to draw up long term development plan to effectively exploit the wonderful landscape.

More travelers to come to Ha Long

An officer of the Tuan Chau tourism complex in Quang Ninh province said that the bosses asked their staff to send messages to vote for Ha Long bay as the new wonder of the world. Dao Hong Tuyen, a well known businessman in Vietnam, and his staff spent one day in a whole to make and send messages. This can show how high hopes the businessmen put on the title of the new wonder of the world.

Ha Long, which has been two times officially recognized as the world’s heritages, is now a famous tourism destination of Vietnam, where a lot of tourism complex projects have been arisen, including the Tuan Chau International Tourism and Recreation Complex, Mandaville Ha Long, The Bayview Tower and the 19-storey apartment tower, Metro Ha Long hyperlink and golf courses. Businessmen better understand than any one about the positive impacts that the title “new wonder of the world” can bring.

Director of a travel firm said that with the new title, Ha Long Bay will have more opportunities to attract more travelers, especially foreign ones. Foreign media will introduce Ha Long to the international audience as one of the new wonders of the world, which will make people know more about Ha Long and encourage them to fly to Vietnam to see the wonder with their eyes. Meanwhile, travel firms will have the opportunities to design new tours to the Ha Long bay.

The businessman also said that it is necessary to take actions right now to preserve the wonderful beauty endowed to Ha Long bay by the nature.

Don’t miss the great opportunity

It is clear that the title of the new wonder of the world will bring great business opportunities. However, the opportunities may be missed if businesses do not follow reasonable plans to grab them.

Analysts recalled the bombing in Bali in 2002, which frightened a lot of international tourists and many travelers then refused to come there in the next years. However, Vietnam could not attract travelers to the country as the alternative destination, even though the political stability and safety are always the big advantages of Vietnam.

The prolonged floods in Thailand have forced a lot of international tourists to change their itineraries. However, Vietnam has been doing nothing to lure travelers to the country. In fact, Vietnamese businesses well understand that the opportunities are coming, but they cannot do anything to turn the opportunities realistic.

Travel firms all say that relevant ministries and branches, and the community all need to join the campaign to develop the Ha Long bay and the tourism industry, while this is not the story of Ha Long Bay or Quang Ninh province alone.

They said that one of the most urgent tasks is to upgrade the road that links Noi Bai airport and Ha Long Bay to make it easier to travel on and safer. It would be better if there are many things to admire, to purchase and to enjoy on the road, which allows travelers to avoid insipid hours on the road.

They also said that Vietnam should not let complicated procedures to discourage foreign travelers. Besides, there are also many things to be done to satisfy the diversified requirements of travelers. They do not want to come to Ha Long bay and stay there for one week just to admire the beauty of the bay, but they need to enjoy other services during their trips.

Quang Ninh received 1.7 million travelers in the first nine months of 2011, while Disneyland in Hong Kong attracted one million visitors just within 2.5 months since the opening day. This shows the importance of modern works in attracting travelers.

Vo Hong

The vote for the New7Wonders of Nature will end on 11 November 2011 at 11:11am GMT (local time in Viet Nam is 6:11pm). Viet Nam National Administration of Tourism (VNAT) has launched the vote for Ha Long Bay as a new natural wonders of the world in this last day.
The voting campaign in final hours of the VNAT has received the response of a large number of participants including all VNAT’s officials and employees, representatives of hotels, tour operators in Ha Noi and journalists.
Up to the evening of November 10, 2011, there were 19 million messages to vote for Ha Long Bay. The efforts of the people working in the tourism industry have practically and importantly contributed to keep Ha Long Bay in list of top 10 world’s wonders.
Only few hours left, the vote will end and the list of new seven natural wonders of the world will be announced. In this moments, the General Director of VNAT Nguyen Van Tuan called all officials and employees working in the tourism industry, their familiars and all people continue to act and vote for Ha Long Bay, push forward Ha Long Bay to the final target. Responding to the call, all officials and employees of VNAT, the invited guests have voted for Ha Long Bay via cell phones and the Internet.
Phuong Anh (TITC)

In response to the campaign for Ha Long Bay, on October 28, Vietnamese students studying at Royal University of Phnom Penh in Cambodia also voted for Ha Long Bay through the internet.
Besides, they also introduced the natural beauty and culture and historical importance of Ha Long Bay, which has been twice recognized as a world natural heritage by UNESCO.
“Vietnamese students are honoured when Vietnam has such a beautiful wonder of nature. The Vietnamese student association has positively responded and called upon friends and international students in Cambodia to vote for Ha Long Bay as one of the new seven natural wonder of the world,” Phan Dinh Bac, a third-year student from the Royal University of Phnom Penh, said.
Previously, the Vietnamese Embassy in Cambodia has also organized to vote for Ha Long Bay.
Ha Long Bay is now one of 28 candidates for the new seven natural wonders of the world title.

Source: CPV

Costa Classica cruise ship is scheduled to dock at Ha Long Bay at 8am on November 1, bringing 2,200 foreign tourists to Vietnam.
These visitors have booked a trans-Viet tour organized by the Saigontourist Travel Service Company.
After arriving at Ha Long Bay, they will visit Yen Tu and Long Tien pagodas, explore local markets and enjoy traditional art performances.
In the afternoon, the visitors will leave Ha Long for Danang in central Vietnam, where they make a tour of Hoi An ancient city, My Son relics and the former Hue imperial capital. These sites have been recognized as World Heritage by UNESCO.
On November 4, Costa Classica will reach Navi Oil port in HCM City. Tourists will go shopping at Ben Thanh market, enjoy water puppet shows and visit Cu Chi tunnels.
On the evening of November 4, the cruise ship will leave HCM City, ending the four-day trans-Viet journey.
So far, Saigontourist has received nearly 50,000 foreign visitors coming by sea, most of them are from Italy, Spain, the UK, Germany, Australia and China.

Source: VOV

Halong Paradise Cruise – Deputy Prime Minister Vu Van Ninh urged Vietnamese, overseas Vietnamese and international friends to vote for Ha Long Bay as one of the seven natural wonders of the world on live TV Saturday night.

The live TV program was hosted in Ha Long, Hanoi, Hue and Ho Chi Minh Cities to encourage voting for Ha Long Bay.

The event attracted attendance by representatives from several foreign organizations together with thousands of residents, students, domestic and foreign visitors.

Ambassadors in Hanoi stated their impressions of Ha Long Bay and on Vietnam and its people. They appealed to people to vote for Ha Long Bay and joined several popular artists to sing Vietnamese songs at the program.

So far over 4,225,000 text messages have been sent to number 147 to vote for Ha Long Bay.

Voting for the seven natural wonders of the world will close by 7:11pm on November 11 in Vietnam.

On the same day, Ho Chi Minh City also hosted a photo exhibition on Ha Long Bay at the Youth Cultural House.

Nearly 100 well-known people including artists and singers together with 1,000 youth and students from colleges and universities present at the Youth Cultural House, voted for Ha Long Bay on Saturday.

By staff writers – Translated by Hai Mien

Halong Paradise Cruises News – With its spectacularly shaped limestone mountains surrounding northern Vietnam ’s largest wetland, Van Long Nature Reserve in Ninh Binh province is becoming an attractive destination for tourists.

According to the Ninh Binh Tourism Department, Van Long Nature Reserve attracted 45,000 visitors, mostly foreigners, in 2007. Visitors from France , the Republic of Korea and Japan were the largest groups to include Van Long, along with the old capital of Hoa Lu and Tam Coc-Bich Dong tourist site also in Ninh Binh province, in their travel itinerary.

The Van Long wetland in Gia Vien district about 90km south of Hanoi covers a total area of 2,643 ha. There are 457 species of high-class flora throughout the reserve, of which eight species have been listed in Vietnam ’s Red Book.

The reserve is home to 39 animal species including the rare white breeched langur, tibetan bear, serow, loris and panther . Nine species of reptiles including the python, king cobra, varan and gecko and the near extinct insect species, the belostomatid, are all found in the reserve.

Van Long wetlands, which is described as a Ha Long Bay on land, also has many beautiful caves and grottos. A popular activity among visitors is a boat ride to discover the beauty of the 100m Bong grotto, four-storey Duoi cave, or the most beautiful Ca grotto half submerged with a 250m length and multiform magnificent stalactites and stalagmites.

Those visitors interested in history cannot overlook sites such as a “Thi” tree which is believed to be 600 years old, or Chi Le, Mai Trung and Dich Long pagodas and cave site or King Dinh Tien Hoang Temple .

The development of tourism around Van Long has supported a face-lift of the area, with roads, schools and craft villages benefiting from upgrades and many hotels being built. The area has been selected by local authorities for the province’s master plan on tourism development by 2010.

(Source: VNA)

When deciding to visit Ha Long Bay, the UNESCO World Heritage site in Quang Ninh Province, visitors with a shortage of time could find themselves mesmerized with the beautiful images of the thousands of limestone kasts and islets of the bay, and unsure about the best spots to visit.

The answer is the popular one-day boat tours to enjoy the beautiful islets. There is a four-hour trip to Thien Cung Grotto, Dau Go Cave, Dinh Huong Islet and Ga Choi Islet and an eight-hour trip to Thien Cung Grotto, Dau Go Cave, Dinh Huong Islet, Ga Choi Islet, Sung Sot Grotto and Titov Beach. There is also a two-day and one-night tour which allows for time to go kayaking and cuttle fishing in the bay at night.

On these routes tourists can contemplate the beauty of many of the areas that have contributed to the recognition of Halong Bay, including two of the largest and most beautiful grottos in the bay: Thien Cung (Celestial Palace) grotto (covering 3,000 square meters) and Sung Sot (Surprise) grotto (covering 10,000 square meters).

Both grottos are divided into three chambers containing ornamental stalactites and stalagmites formed millions of years ago. The Sung Sot grotto is also known as “surprise” grotto because its third chamber suddenly opens to a large, monumental palace with natural works of rocks and stalactites.

Dinh Huong Islet, the icon of the bay that resembles an incense burner made of stone, and the Ga Choi Islet, an islet that looks like two fighting cock facing each other are also part of the tour.

After touring these beautiful spots there is time to relax at the beach of Titov Island, about 13 kilometers from Bai Chay Tourist Wharf.

The island was originally named Cat Nang. However, in 1962 President Ho Chi Minh and Russian astronaut Giecman Titov visited the island and Uncle Ho renamed it after the astronaut to mark the visit and the Vietnamese – Russian friendship.

The island offers sun-bathing on a sandy white beach on one side and a climb up to a watch-tower gazebo at about 100 meters above the sea level for a panoramic view of Halong Bay on the other side.

(Source: SGT)

Many staff members of the Vietnamese embassy and representative offices in the European Union along with Overseas Vietnamese and Vietnamese students gathered in Brussels on October 25 to vote for Ha Long Bay as one of seven new natural wonders of the world.

The Vietnamese ambassador to Belgium, Pham Sanh Chau, said this was the third time in the last five months they had come together to vote for Ha Long Bay.
Launched on October 11, the final stage of the vote will close on November 11.
The list of seven new natural wonders with an overwhelming majority of the votes will be announced on November 11, 2011.
Ha Long Bay has been twice recognized as a World Natural Heritage site by UNESCO.

Source: CPV