The Celadon Palace Hue will open its doors in July 2007. Located in the heart of Hue, this hotel will feature 236 rooms and suites, 4 restaurants, an outdoor swimming pool, a 
fitness centre and a beauty salon. The property will also have a 4-floor conference centre which will house meeting room facilities and a 921 square metre banquet room.
Bangkok Airways will begin services between Bangkok and Ho Chi Minh City in March 2007, under a code-share agreement with Vietnam’s Pacific Airlines.
Every year, Champasak province organizes the Wat Phu Festival. The festival will run this year between 23rd January to 3rd February. Festivities include elephant races, buffalo fights, and traditional musical and dance performances. During the festival, a trade fair will also be held to showcase Laotian handcrafts and arts.
Vietnam Airlines is planning to fly five direct flights a week from Vietnam to the US with a transit stop in Taiwan.The air carrier has not yet announced details about this route, including the destination city. T
ravel between the two countries is expected to soar in the coming years, and this route is anticipated to become important to both Vietnam and the US. Vietnam is now considered by many American companies as an attractive destination for doing business in Asia.
Since the signing of the aviation agreement by the US and Vietnam, only United Airlines has opened a direct route between the two countries, linking San Francisco and Ho Chi Minh City via Hong Kong.
On 23rd December 2006, Mandarin Airlines became the first Taiwanese air carrier to offer direct flights between Ho Chi Minh City and Taichung, Taiwan. The carrier flies between the two cities three times a week, on Tuesday and Thursday and Saturdays. There are already established air routes linking Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City to Taipei and Kaohsiung.
A new National History Museum will be built in Hanoi near the West Lake. There are no plans to close the existing history museums in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City. A projected completion date has not yet been announced, though it seems likely that the new museum will open sometime in late 2008.
To celebrate the new year, two Italian cruise ships docked at the central port city of Da Nang. The Costa Allegra brought 800 passengers, while the Costa Marina brought another 1,000 European tourists. The visitors stayed for one day for sightseeing and shopping. Afterwards, the two cruise ships made stops at legendary Ha Long Bay and Ho Chi Minh City. Some 30 international cruise vessels are expected to visit Da Nang this year.
Apollo is planning to offer charter flights between Stockholm and Ho Chi Minh City. This service will be the first direct flight between Vietnam and Sweden, and is scheduled to run once every two weeks on Apollo’s Novair charter airline. The Swedish charter agency reports that they are already receiving orders for this service.
Moscow-based Transaero Airlines has begun flying direct between Moscow and Ho Chi Minh City. Flights between the two cities will be flown once every ten days. The airline plans on increasing its frequency to once a week at the beginning of the summer. Transaero was founded in 1990, and flies to 30 domestic and international destinations.
Singaporean Banyan Tree group will invest US$200 million in building a tourism complex in central Vietnam. The 200 ha complex will be built to international standards and include six hotels and resorts, totalling 2,400 rooms. The property will be located by Lang Co beach, one of the most gorgeous in Vietnam.
Banyan Tree has invested in 60 such complexes in 22 countries.
