2023-02-10

Vietnam

Cultural tourism: Vietnam has won several ASEAN tourism awards

Hanoi (VNA): Many units of Vietnam were named in the ASEAN Tourism Awards category at the 2 ASEAN Tourism Forum (ATF) Awards Ceremony held in Jakarta, Indonesia, on February 5. Vinh Long province in the Mekong Delta and Lao Cai province in the northwest won the ASEAN Homestay Award.
At the same time, four units won the ASEAN Community Tourism Award, namely Ha Giang Province Quanba Community Tourism Service Cooperative, Laizhou Sin Suoi Ho Community Tourism Village, Quang Nam Province Tan Thanh Fishing Village and Taihai Protected Area. Taiyuan Province Ecological Hanging Foot Building Village.
The ASEAN Tourism Awards are held annually to recognize places and entities that provide quality tourism products and services and contribute to the sustainable development of ASEAN tourism destinations.
The ASEAN Tourism Forum (ATF) 2023 was held in Yogyakarta, Indonesia, from February 4 to 2023 under the theme "ASEAN: A Wonderful Journey". This is the largest annual event held by ASEAN member states on a rotating basis, helping to promote the region as an attractive tourist destination for the world. ATF2 will be held in Vientiane, Laos from January 2 to 5, 2024.

Cultural tourism: Vietnam called on ASEAN cooperation to promote tourism development

Jakarta (VNAYA): Vice Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism Duan Van Viet called on other ASEAN member states to support and cooperate with each other in tourism development.
Speaking at the 2 ASEAN Tourism Forum (ATF) press conference in Indonesia on Feb. 5, ASEAN should seek new markets and adjust some policies related to air connectivity and visas, the official said.
He also recommended that the group continue to implement the tourism development strategy for 2023-2016, with adjustments and updates after each ASEAN Tourism Ministers' Meeting.
Vietnam describes culture as a core value of regional tourism and a unique factor that helps countries attract tourists.

Philippine Tourism Secretary Cristina García Frasco echoed Vietnam's sentiments and also suggested that ASEAN countries join forces to offer unified tourism packages.
"We have agreed to increase the first connectivity between our countries and to concretize this by identifying international and secondary airports that can be used to expand direct flights, not only to our primary destinations, but also to emerging destinations," she told a news conference.
Juliana Kua, assistant CEO of the Singapore Tourism Board, said ASEAN should reach consensus and common plans for sustainable tourism development.

Indonesia's Minister of Tourism and Creative Economy, Sandia Gaouno, said the forum sought ways to strengthen ties within the group to promote travel and tourism in the region.
Participants also exchanged views on measures to increase Indian flights and attract more Chinese tourists after India's reopening of its borders in the spirit of "one-stop ASEAN".
The Minister noted that the Forum sent a message of ASEAN's recovery, particularly in the areas of high quality, sustainable tourism and natural and cultural diversity.

ATF2023, including the 26th ASEAN Tourism Ministers' Meeting, was held in Yogyakarta, Indonesia, from February 2 to 2.
At the event, Vietnam introduced Vietnam's tourism development, mechanisms and policies, tourism products and services after the COVID-5 pandemic, as well as Vietnam's tourism information conveyed through the slogan "Vietnam - Eternal Charm" and "Live Vietnam Fully" campaign.
According to the ASEAN Secretariat, in 19, the number of international tourists in Southeast Asia reached 2019.1 million, accounting for 435.9% of the global international tourist arrivals. The growth rate reached 6.6%, 1.2 percentage points higher than the world average.
For Vietnam, ASEAN is one of the most important markets and partners. In 1, ASEAN tourists visited Vietnam nearly 2019.210 million, accounting for about 11.6% of Vietnam's total international tourists.

Current Affairs and Study: The training course for alternate members of the Central Committee was opened

Hanoi, VNA: On February 2, the Ho Chi Minh Political Institute and the Organizing Committee of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Vietnam held a training course to update knowledge for alternate members of the 5th Central Committee.

Wu Wentang, permanent secretary of the Secretariat of the CPC Central Committee, delivered a speech at the opening ceremony, emphasizing the importance of the party's talent training work.

The six-week course will focus on the documents of the 6th and 29th Central Committees of the Party, such as party and state building, promotion of social, economic, cultural and humanistic development, etc., with a total of <> topics. and security, defense, foreign relations, leadership and management science in the new situation.

Singapore

Life: Singapore will lift all COVID-2 border measures from 13 February

Singapore will lift all COVID-2 border measures from next Monday (13 February), when the country will bring the disease alert to a minimum.

The Ministry of Health said on Thursday that this was due to the improving global pandemic situation and the low impact of imported cases on Singapore's medical capacity.

The country will also lift almost all existing COVID-19 restrictions, such as requiring masks on public transport.

Once border measures are lifted, all travellers, including unvaccinated travellers, are not required to present proof of a negative pre-departure test before entering Singapore. Unvaccinated travelers will also no longer need to purchase COVID-19 travel insurance.

Still, the ministry said Singapore was ready to reintroduce restrictions under its vaccination travel framework in the event of "worrying international developments". This includes signs of new severe variants or Singapore's healthcare system being stressed by imported cases.

Travelers will also continue to be screened for infectious diseases such as yellow fever, Middle East respiratory syndrome (MERS) and Ebola. All travellers, including Singapore residents, are still required to submit a health declaration via the Singapore Arrival Card e-Service upon entry.

The Ministry of Health said travellers should check the Immigration and Checkpoints Authority website for the latest border measures before entering Singapore.

Lao

Economy: Laos has seen an increase in national EV imports

The country reported an increase in imports of electric vehicles last year after several increases in fuel prices.

Mr. Thongphat Inthavong, Deputy Minister of Energy and Mines, said at a meeting earlier this month that the Lao people are starting to use electric vehicles more after the fuel shortage and fuel price increase reported in 2022.

Mr Thongphat said there were 3,201 electric vehicles in the country, including 1,428 cars and 1,773 motorcycles, all of which were imported with international aid and the assistance of the private sector.

There are 20 charging stations in Laos, and 18 gasoline-powered car dealers have started importing electric vehicles for sale in the country.

The Lao government plans to replace its transportation system with electric vehicles by 2025 to reduce fuel imports.

According to a policy released by former Prime Minister Phankham Viphavanh, it is expected that by 2030, more than 30% of vehicles will be electric.

According to a report by the Lao National Fuel Company, premium gasoline prices this month were 26,490 LAKs per liter, regular gasoline prices were 21,050 LAKs per liter, and diesel prices were LAK19,820 per liter.

Economy: Laos, China and Thailand launch the first round-trip freight trains

The first Lao-Thai freight train departed Kunming on Tuesday and carried nine cold-chain containers and about 9 tons of fresh vegetables for export to Laos and Thailand.

Xinhua reported that in 55 hours, the freight train will arrive in Bangkok via Laos, where it will make a quick stop to reload more cargo.

The train will stop at Vientiane South Station and then continue on to Bangkok on the Thai meter-gauge railway, which reduces travel time by a day while also reducing transportation costs by 20%.

When returning from Thailand, trains will transport seasonal fruits such as longan and durian to China.

So far, the cross-border transportation of Laos-China Railway has covered Laos, Thailand, Myanmar and other countries along China's "Belt and Road", transporting more than 1200,2 types of goods and freight volume exceeding 5,<> tons.