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News
December 3, 2002
Vietnam's tourist industry cashing in on regional terror fears
HANOI (AFP)
- The deadly bomb attacks in Bali may have cast a shadow over many of Southeast
Asia's traditional tourist hotspots, but Vietnam is cashing in on its reputation
as an oasis of calm in a troubled region.
Tour operators across the country are reporting increased bookings, and "no
vacancy" signs are being hoisted at many top hotels in Hanoi and in the southern
business capital of Ho Chi Minh City.
"Compared to last year, the number of guests has increased by 25 percent in the
months of October and November," said Alfonso Romero, general manager of Hanoi's
Melia Hotel.
Like many hoteliers, he attributes the rise to the October 12 blasts on the
Indonesian island of Bali, which killed more than 190 people and decimated the
tourist industry at one of the region's most popular get-away destinations.
"Many countries are warning against travelling to Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand
and the Philippines, but Vietnam is one of the few places in Southeast Asia that
is considered safe," he said.
"People are afraid to fly to Muslim countries, but most tourists do not think
international terrorists will strike here."
The Vietnam National Administration of Tourism (VNAT) estimates that 2.65
million tourists will have visited the country by the end of the year, 150,000
more than targeted.
Le Quang Hau, sales director at the Sofitel Metropole Hotel, one of Hanoi's
oldest and grandest institutions, said better tourist infrastructure and
improved investment conditions were also having an impact on numbers.
"The operating environment for both the tourism and corporate market has
improved dramatically," he said.
"We have just closed the books for November and the results are fantastic. We
had a 92 percent occupancy rate compared to 72 percent in November 2001. We
haven't experienced such figures since May 1996."
However, he acknowledged the most significant reason for the bursting occupancy
rates was "the perception that Vietnam is politically stable".
The communist-ruled country was ranked by the Hong Kong-based Political and
Economic Risk Consultancy (PERC) in late October as the safest Asia-Pacific
country for business.
"Although located in Southeast Asia, Vietnam is not vulnerable to the Islamic
unrest that is taking place in such neighbouring countries as the Philippines,
Malaysia and Indonesia," it said in a report.
"Moreover, Vietnam's security apparatus is so tight that it is very unlikely any
foreign terrorists would consider it worthwhile even to try to cause an incident
there."
Lionel Moinard, general manager of the Novotel Garden Plaza Saigon in Ho Chi
Minh City, said he anticipated the occupancy boom to continue as a result of
Vietnam's immunity from regional woes and its emerging reputation as a "new
tourist destination".
"We are doing very well at the moment. Our occupancy rate was 97 percent in
November and we are confident it can stay above 90 percent in the coming
months."
Pham Tu, deputy head of VNAT, said that while Vietnam had benefited from
regional terrorist threats, it had also played a pro-active role in boosting
tourist arrivals.
"The number of tourists coming to Vietnam is increasing more and more each year
because we have taken concrete measures to improve the tourist infrastructure.
"We have also undertaken a concerted marketing campaign overseas in Europe,
North Asia and Australia," he said.
Over 2.17 million tourists visited Vietnam in the first 10 months of the year, a
11.3 percent increase over the same period in 2001, according to official
figures.
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Vietnam pulls TV
screening of "Apocalypse Now"
HANOI (Reuters)
- Cable television viewers in Vietnam's capital, frustrated by the government's
blackout of "Apocalypse Now Redux", can just run out to their local bootleg DVD
store and buy a copy of the Vietnam War classic.
Local cable operator Vietnam Cable Television Co, bowing to the government's ban
on "sex, violence and politically sensitive issues", stopped the screening of
"Apocalypse Now Redux" on Sunday night about a half an hour after it started.
"...we cannot relay (the film) when we see scenes of shooting and killing our
people in the film," Nguyen Huu Loc, director of the company, said in a
statement on Tuesday.
Yet copies of the critically acclaimed classic by Francis Ford Coppola --
re-edited with 49 minutes of additional footage -- are easily available in
stores in downtown Hanoi.
A visitor to a shop on Tuesday bought a pirated DVD copy of the movie -- based
on Joseph Conrad's book "Heart of Darkness" -- for $1.30.
Despite moving swiftly in economic development, Vietnam continues to exercise
tight control on media and information, and movies must be approved by the
government before being screened.
It remains sensitive about the Vietnam War, which ended in 1975 with the
northern communists' defeat of South Vietnam forces backed by the United States.
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Vietnam reaps diaspora windfall
By Oliver Woods
BBC World Service business reporter in Vietnam
(BBC News) -
Vietnam's recent history has been turbulent, characterised by wars and political
change.
The past 50 years have seen many Vietnamese leave the country to begin new lives
in America, Australia and Europe.
But some of the descendents of this diaspora have now returned to Vietnam and
have brought fresh business ideas with them.
Although they have had a mixed welcome.
Dramatic return
Two hours drive from Ho Chi Minh City is Long Hai, the former summer home of the
last Vietnamese emperor.
It is now a holiday village owned by Anoa Dussol Perran, a French Vietnamese who
left the country in 1961 with the departing colonial power.
Thirty years later, she made a dramatic
return.
Piloting her own helicopter she flew from Paris, over 22 countries, before
landing in the Vietnamese capital Hanoi.
The authorities seemed less than impressed.
They were also suspicious about to her plans to start a helicopter piloting
business.
Ms Perran said she came back to Vietnam with her own helicopters because she is
a trained pilot and she thought she could use this skill to help her home
country.
Coffee opportunities
Coffee house owner David Thai is opening a flagship cafe in Ho Chi Minh City.
He is a Vietnamese American from Seattle, but has been in Vietnam for eight
years.
He first came back as a student, but soon
realised there were business opportunities and he could utilise his experiences
in America to exploit them.
"What you know and what you've been exposed to, you can bring that back to
Vietnam," he said.
"I saw some business opportunities for example in coffee.
"Coffee was something that I wanted to improve in Vietnam and so I came back to
start a coffee business."
Changing attitudes
After initial suspicions returning Vietnamese - or Viet Kieu - are now being
accepted by many in the country.
They bring money, outside ideas and an understanding of the Vietnamese way of
doing things.
Factors increasingly recognised by the Vietnamese government.
Tran Si Choung of US investment consultants James Riedel Associates said there
were many untapped opportunities.
"In the past two years we've seen a remarkable change in attitude on the part of
the Vietnamese government about the need to assimilate the towns, the resources,
of the overseas Vietnamese," he said.
"But I still feel that we haven't even scratched the surface."
Changing Vietnam
Yet for many Viet Kieu it has been a struggle.
Anoa Dussol Perran ended her helicopter business and now runs a successful beach
resort.
She said you have to have patience and need to understand the mentality of
Vietnam to succeed.
Returning Vietnamese may not have the financial power of multinational
corporations but they do offer something different - cultural understanding and
enthusiasm that are already changing Vietnam.
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