Vietnam’s booming economy has again seen a rise of inflation since the start of 2011 and North Africa and Middle East turmoil have resulted in a sharp fuel price increases of 25-30% within March alone. We are trying our best to contain the increases with the suppliers and hold back on increasing our rates. However, given the amplitude of the price hikes, an increase of our rates will be unavoidable for new quotations as well as a ‘fuel surcharge’ on confirmed bookings from May, 2011.

Expected domestic airfare increases of 20% from Vietnam Airlines in March (See our March ENL) have not yet been approved but are now anticipated for end of April. We will keep you informed of developments and the deadlines to issue existing bookings at the old prices.  For more information on this issue please contact us directly at Vietnam@exotissimo.com

Effective from 28 April 2011 Vietnam will launch a new route from the northern port city of Haiphong (which is located 1 hour from Halong Bay), to the central coastal city of Danang and vise versa.  Flights will depart 5 days per week on Mondays, Wednesdays, Thursdays, Fridays and Sundays by ATR72 aircraft. This new route offers an excellent advantage rather than driving 3.5-hours to Hanoi’s Noi Bai Airport however flight departures are only in the evening departing Haiphong at 2045  2230 to Danang and leaving Danang for Haiphong at 1830  2005. As a smaller aircraft is used flying time will be longer than the Hanoi – Danang route and will take 1hr 35min. Also best as an option for FITs and not GIT’s as seat availability may be limited due to the size of the aircraft.

Exotissimo is pleased to announce a 10 day join-in culinary tour of Vietnam departing on 11th Oct, 2011. Led by Daniel Hoyer, the author of Culinary Vietnam as well as four other cookbooks and has resided in Hanoi Vietnam for nearly three years. His enthusiasm for Vietnamese food and the people is contagious and you are sure to enjoy this gastronomic exploration. Using food as the focus and a window into the culture, Daniel will lead you through Vietnam from north to south.
Hoyer’s experiences and insight into this exciting culinary destination allow you to experience Vietnam from a unique, intimate and well-informed perspective. The tour is not soley about food, it uses food as a catalyst for understanding the people and eating great food will benefit from this tour. You will interact with locals in each location and even stay in an ethnic minority home in Sapa. For more info on this program please, click here.

BAC CAN, 14 March 2011-Ramsar Convention has named Ba Be National Park in the northern province of Bac Can in Vietnam as a “wetland site of international importance”. Regional assistant advisor for Asia-Oceania, Marian William, says Ba Be National Park is the most important wetland in the country and it is the only site that has a natural lake surrounded by a mountainous karst ecosystem.

Ba Be National Park covers an area of 100.48 sq km which is a home of 1,268 species of flora and fauna. The park acts a protective shield for a freshwater lake along with surrounding limestone and lowland evergreen forest. It is located 240 km northwest of the capital city Hanoi. The site earlier was designated as an ASEAN Heritage park in 2004. The Convention on Wetland, known as the Ramsar Convention-is an inter-governmental treaty that encourages member countries to maintain the ecological character of their wetlands regions.

Two Mekong region world heritage site towns, Luang Prabang, Laos and Hoi An,  Vietnam, gained top slots in a British travel magazine’s list of top 10 destination. Luang Prabang retained its number one position in Wanderlust travel magazine’s 2011 list with a score of 96.89%. Luang Prabang won the title from 2006 to 2008 before falling into seventh place in 2009 and then regaining the top slot in 2010.Vietnam’s Hoi An, a world heritage town near Danang in the central coastal region of the country came in second with 96% of reader votes.Hoi An was also selected as one of Asia’s top 10 destinations for 2010 by Smart Travel Asia, a Hong Kong-based online travel magazine. Wanderlust, launched in 1993, publishes eight editions and claims a circulation in 112 countries with over 100,000 readers.

A new alternative airline in Vietnam is Air Mekong (P8). Currently routes are limited (no flights yet to the central cities of Danang and Hue) however from SGN connections are available to Con Dao and Phu Quoc as well as the Central Highlands.  From April direct flights to Phu Quoc from Hanoi will be launched.

More information on Air Mekong.com

Vietnam Airlines is planning an increase of airfares from 15^th March. A formal notice has not yet been received and new tariffs have yet to be issued however we anticipate this will happen.

Given this information we recommend to issue all tickets for persons travelling after 15th March now.  All bookings confirmed now, but issued after 15^th March will have to bear a surcharge which Exotissimo Vietnam will have to pass on to agents. The anticipated increase for a classic Vietnam tour with 2 flights North-Center and Center-South would be USD 25-30 per pax therefore for confirmed tickets/files it will be best to issue now. If some names are missing for some groups, our sales teams will ask agents to try as much as possible to provide names asap.

If tickets are issued before 15^th March and pax has to cancel a cancellation fee will apply, which would only be around USD 20 per pax for same flights as above.

Due to unforeseen circumstances, the opening of Hotel de l’Opéra Hanoi has been delayed until June 2011. The hotel will not be taking any bookings until this time. Hotel de l’Opera is a 5-star boutique property comprising of 107 rooms with 4 Food and Beverage outlets including banquet facilities. The hotel occupies a prime location on Trang Tien Street halfway between the Opera House and Hoan Kiem Lake, in close proximity to shops and restaurants. With its central location and boutique style the property brings a much needed addition to Hanoi’s 5-star hotel range. For more information please contact Vietnam@exotissimo.com

From January, 2011 Cruise Halong whose fleet includes the Jasmine, Ginger and Violet Junks now feature exclusive candle-lit cave dinners in all programs. The cave, which has not been opened to public before, features a wooden platform where tables are arranged surrounded by stalactites. The diner set is buffet style featuring seafood, meat and vegetable dishes. There are bathroom facilities at the cave and tender boats will be on hand should dinners wish to return early to their respective junks.
For longer 2 night programs the second dinner can be arranged either on the junks or back in the cave depending on passenger’s requests. Cruise Halong will also be changing their cruising programs slightly by adding Bai Tu Long Bay into all their itineraries. Situated just to the north of Halong Bay, Bai Tu Long is a far quieter part of the Bay with few tourist boats venturing this far. All Junks departure/return times to Halong City remain the same.

Qatar Airways is spreading it’s wings in Vietnam by launching scheduled flights to Hanoi as well as increasing it’s frequency to Ho Chi Minh City nearly tripling the airline’s number of services in and out of the country. The Hanoi flights go via Bangkok and Doha, and the Ho Chi Minh service flies direct from Doha.
Akbar Al Baker, Chief Executive Officer, Qatar Airways said, “Qatar Airways appreciates the support provided by the Vietnamese government in allowing us to almost triple the number of flights we operate to the country. The bilateral relationship between Qatar and Vietnam has grown significantly in recent years and this route development is one of the results of this growing friendship. Vietnam has long been an attractive leisure destination and with the country’s economic strength continuing to build, we are also seeing more business travel in and out of the country.