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Posts Tagged ‘Tet’

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Nguyen Hue Flower Street readies for Tet

In Uncategorized on January 12, 2011 at 7:12 am

Nguyen Hue Flower Street readies for the annual Tet festival in Ho Chi Minh City from January 31 – February 6 (December 28 – January 4 on the lunar calendar).

The annual flower show will take place on Nguyen Hue Boulevard. (Photo:KK)

The much awaited annual flower show has been divided into various segments this year with exotic names like Vietnamese Spirit, southern Tet holiday, New advance, Peaceful Spring, Time of the season and Humane garden.


The main boulevards like Nguyen Hue, Le Loi, Dong Khoi, and Le Duan will be specially decorated with thousands of colorful lights from January 26 to February 14. Offices and shops located on these streets will decorate the front of their buildings.

A series of music performances, dragon and kylin dances will be organized at hotels like Caravelle, Rex, Majestic, Grand, Continental, Kim Do, Oscar, Bong Sen and Palace from January 31 to February 6.

Firework displays will be held at seven locations around the city and telecast live on Ho Chi Minh City Television on New Year’s Eve.

The areas near to CARIC Company, a French Shipyard & Ship repairing Company in District 2, the construction area of the political and administrative center of District 7, Go Vap District’s Cultural Park, Nga Ba Giong Memorial area of Heroic Martyrs in Hoc Mon District, Ben Duoc Temple of Heroic Martyrs in Cu Chi District, Ethnic Culture historical park in District 9 and Dam Sen Cultural Park in District 11 and Can Gio District have been marked as locations for spectacular fireworks display.

A street book festival titled “Dream” featuring readings and discussions will also be held on Mac Thi Buoi Street in District 1 from January 31 to February 6.

Another festival, the Banh Tet (cylindrical glutinous rice cake) festival will take place on January 26 – 31 (December 23 – 28 on the lunar calendar).

The organizers include Saigon tourist Travel Service Company, Dam Sen Cultural Park and the HCM City Department of Labor. War Invalids and Social Affairs department will hand over 10,000 cakes to disadvantaged children from shelters and open houses in the city on January 31.

Source: SGGP

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Millions of flowers and plants for Tet

In Uncategorized on January 12, 2011 at 7:05 am




Millions of flowers and plants for Tet


QĐND – Tuesday, January 11, 2011, 21:37 (GMT+7)

Flower growers and gardeners in Cho Lach District in the southern province of Ben Tre are preparing 4 million flowers and bonsais of different kinds for the coming Tet holidays. Mr. Bui Thanh Liem, Director of the district’s Agriculture and Rural Development Office said most of them are domestic products.


The District is expected to provide nearly all demands, except some kinds of foreign flowers imported from China and Thailand.


* Meanwhile, Da Lat City’s flower exports have not increased compared to previous years, said Mr. Tran Huy Duong, Chairman of the Da Lat Flower Association, at a recent seminar on agriculture.


There is only 5% of the City’s output to be exported to foreign markets due to lack of investment, small-scale production and ineffective plans.


Source: TT&TP


Translated by Duy Minh


Source: QDND

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Tet tours see surge in bookings

In Uncategorized on January 8, 2011 at 4:17 am

Most tourist companies have said that several people plan to travel domestically and overseas during the Tet (Lunar New Year).

Children playing a popular game, in the ancient village of Pho Cao. This village is over 100 year old and it is located in Dong Van District, Ha Giang Province (Photo: My Hanh)

Nearly all domestic tours with flights from February 4-6, or January 2-4 in the lunar calendar, have been booked in advance. Schedules to Nha Trang, Phu Quoc and Con Dao are highly booked.


Similarly, tourist companies have stopped bookings for tours to Singapore, Thailand, China, Korea and Japan. They now expect that many people will book road tours, which depart from February 7.


Nguyen Van My, director of Lua Viet Travel Company, said that this year Singapore has become the ‘hot’ foreign tourist destination, instead of Thailand. After a short period of growth, people wanting to visit Cambodia, is slightly reduced.


Nguyen Thi Tuyet Mai, PR manager of Fiditour Tan Dinh Travel Company, said that the number of people purchasing tickets to travel abroad, is higher than compared to the same period last year.


Fiditour is hoping to receive about 15,000 visitors during the coming Tet holidays, 30 percent up from last year’s same period. They said that 40 percent of the visitors would travel abroad, a 20 percent increase to that of 2010.


Meanwhile, the leading tour operator in Vietnam Saigontourist said 2,500 people have booked tours to travel abroad. The company is expected to see a 20 percent increase in the number of people traveling this Tet, as compared with the previous.


More new domestic tours 


The domestic tourism in three recent years has seen a high growth. In 2010, the number of people traveling domestically was over 27 million visitors. The toll is forecast to rise to 31 million this year.


Travel companies have diversified many tours in order to attract more tourists. Many of them have introduced several new and original touring ideas. 


Specifically, The He Tre Travel Company is providing a special tour to discover famous tourist destinations, in the northeastern region, over six days and nights.


The journey begins at Dong Van stone plateau; leading through Lung Cu, Ma Pi Leng Mountain pass, Gam River, Na Hang, Nang River and finally finishing at Ba Be Lake.


Tran The Dung, the company director, said that the tour will cut short the distance to travel between the Ba Be Lake in Bac Kan Province, and Dong Van stone plateau in Ha Giang Province, as the two places are be connected by the Gam and Nang rivers. This tour has attracted 70 customers, within one month of its opening.


This tour will depart on February 10, with the package price of VND10.5 million per person, including the cost of the flight.


Welcoming the New Year’s Eve at remote islands is also a desirable location chosen by many travelers.


Fiditour said it would provide a three-day tour to Phu Quoc Island by plane, which departs on January 27, or December 30 of the lunar calendar. The total cost is VND4.5 million per person.


In the meantime, the Saigontourist announced a three-day trip, priced at VND1.7 million, to greet the Lunar New Year, in the Central Highlands. Travelers will depart on February 4 and February 6.

Source: SGGP

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Flights from Ho Chi Minh City to Tuy Hoa increase for Tet

In Uncategorized on January 8, 2011 at 4:17 am

Vietnam Air Services Company (VASCO) announced a plan to increase nine flights from Ho Chi Minh City to Tuy Hoa (Phu Yen Province) and back, during the Tet holiday.

The flights using the ATR72 airplane are scheduled for January 24, 25, 27,29,30,31 and February 1 and 3. So far, VASCO has operated one flight on this route per day.


The provincial authorities have just proposed to Vietnam Airlines to add 7 flights from Hanoi to Tuy Hoa for the Tet holiday. The route has currently five flights a week.


In related news, visitors to the Hoi An ancient town, increased substantially at the New Year, said the Hoi An Department of Commerce and Tourism on December 3.

Most hotels were ‘booked out’ and more than 4,000 tourists visited the UNESCO World Heritage site. Many tourists visited handicraft villages and local sightseeing areas.


 

Source: SGGP

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Tours increases for Tet holidays

In Uncategorized on January 8, 2011 at 4:15 am




Tours increases for Tet holidays


QĐND – Friday, January 07, 2011, 21:31 (GMT+7)


Travel agencies have tailored various new domestic and overseas tours to meet the growing demands during the coming long Tet holidays.


Mrs. Doan Thi Thanh Tra, Head of the Marketing Office of Saigontourist, revealed that the company has launched 50 more tours before Tet holidays for local tourists and overseas Vietnamese who come home for the Lunar New Year festival.

Joining these tours, tourists can either go shopping to prepare for Tet and visit famous tourist sites as well. Particularly, visitors coming from southern provinces can enjoy the Tet atmosphere in the Northern region.


Saigontourist is expected to serve more than 15,000 tourists, up 15% compared to last year, and some of its domestic and foreign tours during Tet holidays have already been sold out. The recently launched tours before Tet holidays are expected to meet the high demands of customers.


Similarly, Viettravel, Fiditour and BenThanh Tourist have also introduced more than 200 domestic and outbound tours from late December last year to early February, 2011.







 

Overseas tourist favourite destinations are the US, Japan, Egypt, Australia, Thailand, China, Singapore, Japan and some other countries. Domestic tours mainly are to Nha Trang, Dalat, Hue, Hoi An, Phu Quoc, Ha Long bay, Yen Tu mountain, Sapa Town and Ninh Binh City.


The Hanoi Redtour is expected to serve more than 1,500 tourists during Tet holidays, an increase of 20% compared to the same period last year. Some of its tours have been sold out despite price increases of between 5% and 10% due to increases in exchange rates and transportation expenses. The number of people booking these tours keeps increasing every day and some people even booked tours three months ago.


 Mr. Nguyen Cong Hoan, Deputy-Director of Hanoi Redtour, said the company stopped taking bookings to ensure the service quality and warned tourists of bogus travel companies as their prices might be lower but services are not up to the standards.


Source: HNM


Translated by Duy Minh


Source: QDND

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Exporting Vietnamese Tet

In Uncategorized on January 8, 2011 at 4:11 am




Exporting Vietnamese Tet


QĐND – Thursday, January 06, 2011, 21:19 (GMT+7)

Pickled onions, egg plants, green square cakes etc. were exported to Europe, Japan, and the U.S etc. bringing traditional Tet (Lunar New Year) to overseas Vietnamese.


And such Vietnamese foods are become annual export goods.


Businesses working in this special export industry say that these goods have found their firm positions in supermarkets and shops, instead of small bazaars for only the Vietnamese, as was previously the case.


30 tonnes of square cakes from Tran Gia Square Cake Manufacturer have been exported to France and the U.S.A. to serve the Tet demand of overseas Vietnamese there. Mr. Tran Thanh Toan, Tran Gia owner said that the order this year doubled compared to last year. Moreover, the order must be made a month in advance so that the business can have time to prepare.


As the Lunar New Year is coming, the two workshops of the company in Bien Hoa City and Vinh Cuu District, Dong Nai Province, have to mobilise 500 workers to meet the demand.


To keep the original and special flavours of the cakes, every step in the process has been carefully done, from choosing the leaves, rice and meat. Thanks to the good quality of the products, Tran Gia also coordinates with confectionery shops to export candies and jams.


Not only square cakes, jams and other Tet specialties from all walks of life in Vietnam have been exported overseas, but also things like flapjacks, pickled shrimps, pickled garlic etc. have also been exported to markets in the U.S.A., Japan and European countries.


Mrs. Pham Thi Ngoc Lien, owner of Ngoc Lien Food Processing Company in Ho Chi Minh City, which specialises in producing sweet and sour foods, said that her company has exported three containers of the above foods to the U.S.A. She also revealed that the demand for the foods in this season is high and her company is working at full capacity to meet the demand.


 Many other Vietnamese companies are also operating at their best to serve the demand of the overseas Vietnamese as Tet is coming.


Vietnamese people, from every place in the world, usually celebrate Tet with foods which bear special traditional flavours of their origin country.


Source: Tuoi Tre

Translated by Ngoc Hung

Source: QDND

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Poor people to have new homes before Tet holiday

In Uncategorized on December 24, 2010 at 4:23 am




Poor people to have new homes before Tet holiday


QĐND – Tuesday, December 21, 2010, 21:9 (GMT+7)

PANO- Permanent Vice-Chairman of The Hanoi People’s Committee, Phi Thai Binh, recently urged investors and entrepreneurs in social housing projects in the locality, to accelerate the implementation.


At a meeting between local authorities and the investors and entrepreneurs, the official asked them to speed up the construction of social housing projects in order to hand over homes to social beneficiaries before the traditional Lunar New Year Holiday.


According to the City Construction Department, there are 8 businesses that are investing in 11 social housing projects with some 16,500 apartments.


The agency estimates that only 1 project has been finished and several others could be wrapped up before the holiday.


Under the schedule, some thousands of low income families in Hanoi can move into their new homes to celebrate the happiest Tet holiday.


Translated by Thu Nguyen


Source: QDND

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Vietnam Airlines to operate more flights during Tet

In Uncategorized on December 16, 2010 at 9:49 am

Vietnam Airlines said it would add 583 more flights on the 10 major routes during the Lunar New Year Tet holidays from January 18 to February 20.

According to the carrier, they will increase their seating capacity by over 100,000 seats. 

307 flights will operate between Ho Chi Minh City and Hanoi, which is an increase of 63,000 seats and 41% more capacity than on normal days and 8 % higher than last year during Tet.

129 flights will be added on the Ho Chi Minh City and Danang route which is an increase of 26,820 seats and 35% more capacity than on normal days and 24% higher than during Tet last year.

The flagship carrier will mainly operate these flights at night to avoid traffic congestion at airports.

VNA will also operate these flights from lunar December 24 to 29 (January 27 to February 1) and lunar January 3 to 13 (February 5 to 15). Tickets for these special flights will be sold on December 10 and 20, 2010 and January 3 and 17, 2011.

Source: SGGP

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PM wants stable prices and supply of goods during Tet

In Uncategorized on December 16, 2010 at 9:34 am

Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung on November 30 called on ministries, sectors and local agencies to continue to boost production of goods and supply, and ensure a stable market during Tet (Lunar New Year) next February and the first quarter of 2011.

Shoppers at a supermarket in Ho Chi Minh City during Tet last year.

The PM said though the Government has adopted many measures to step up production and ensure price stabilization and the balance of supply and demand for goods and services since the beginning of this year, the consumer price index (CPI) rose to 9.58 percent in November, impacting production and people’s lives.


The CPI of November increased by 1.86 percent over the previous month. This figure was an increase of 11.09 percent over the same period last year.


The national average CPI in 11 months exceeded the annual forecast with a year-on-year increase of 8.96 percent.


At the beginning of this year, the Government targeted a nationwide CPI of eight percent.

PM Dung said the cause of the problem was a few organizations and individuals that did not take price management seriously.


Speculation and groundless rumors about goods shortage and financial situation haven’t been controlled and prevented promptly, affecting implementation of the Government’s measures against inflation and for ensuring social welfare.


He instructed ministers and local authorities to focus on removing legal barriers and create favorable conditions for enterprises to expand production and business to ensure smooth provision of essential commodities like rice, poultry, meat, vegetables, milk, construction materials, medicines and travel services.


He wanted producers to forecast demand to ensure adequate supply nationwide before, during and after the festival.


The Ministry of Finance was assigned to co-ordinate with other relevant ministries and localities to maintain the prices of coal, electricity and petrol.


He wanted the ministry to reschedule adjustment of prices of goods and services that are subject to the State’s pricing control. 


He told the State Bank of Vietnam to take strong measures to stabilize the prices of gold and foreign currencies as well as interest rates.


The bank was asked to keep watch on the market and give severe punishments to those who speculate or corner gold and foreign currencies on the market.


The Ministry of Industry and Trade was ordered to adopt solutions to ensure sufficient supply of goods, and encourage enterprises to attend the price stabilization program and expand their distribution systems to rural and remote areas.


He also instructed market agencies to keep a close eye on things to prevent speculation, smuggling, and trade fraud, and apply criminal prosecution if necessary.

Source: SGGP

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Train tickets for Tet Holiday to be sold online

In Uncategorized on November 15, 2010 at 3:59 pm