Exotissimo produces Responsible Travel Guide to Vietnam

      
        Responsible Travel

Exotissimo Travel Vietnam has published an informative and enlightening guide to responsible travel in Vietnam.  The guide offers visitors advice on a range of environmental and cultural concerns on everything from protecting endangered species to respectful photography. The 12-page leaflet is illustrated with a series of lively cartoons drawn by a local Hanoi artist.

The guide marks the first step in Exotissimo's move towards implementing sustainable environmental practices and policies and will be available for all English speaking clients travelling in Vietnam from 1^st January 2004. Versions for Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar and Thailand are to follow.

Exotissimo was the first tour operator in the Asia Pacific region to become an affiliate member of Green Globe 21 - an internationally recognised environmental certification scheme that guides tour operators through the greening process. As affiliate members Exotissimo will produce a region wide Eco policy, which will set out the philosophies of the company under the guidance of Green Globe 21 as well as offer top quality exciting Eco adventure tours.

Laos ready for ATF 2004

The Chairman of the National Tourism Authority, Mr. Somphong Monkhonvilay, has reiterated that the preparations for the ASEAN Tourism Forum (ATF) are on course and the city of Vientiane will be ready to host the event from 30^th January to 7^th February, 2004. The ATF, South-East Asia’s premier tourism event, was a great success when neighbouring country Cambodia hosted it last year. During the forum, guests will be treated with traditional Lao cuisine and have an opportunity to discover other parts of the country on post-event tours. 200 relations officers have been trained to offer delegates assistance with transportation, city tours and emergencies.

The venue at the Lao International Trade Exhibition and Convention Centre was completed mid-December 2003 at a cost of 7.5 million USD and some last finishing touches will be applied in January. It offers meeting and conference rooms, dining and entertainment facilities and a car park.

To accommodate the expected influx of 1,400 visitors to the event, the national airline Lao Airlines has increased its flights from Vientiane to Bangkok and Kunming to two flights per week and there are now 3 flights a week from Vientiane to Hanoi, Siem Reap and Phnom Penh with options to increase the number of flights. The flight service from Vientiane to Ho Chi Minh City will also be reopened. The use of their new Airbus 320 has also increased seat capacity on all these routes.

Regarding accommodation in Vientiane, all the smaller hotels and guesthouses designated to house visitors have been instructed to upgrade their facilities in time for the arrival of the delegates. 1500 rooms in 77 hotels and guest houses have been reserved for the ASEAN delegates and transportation and security measures have been taken care of by event officials.

Exotissimo Travel Group’s representatives from Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar and Thailand will be in attendance at ATF in stands D21 – D24. Please contact marketing@exotissimo.com for more details.

Visa exemptions

On 4^th December, Indonesia allowed Vietnamese citizens to travel to its country for one month without need of a visa, and vice versa. Vietnam has announced that soon Japanese tourists will no longer need to obtain a visa and pay the 25 USD fee to visit Vietnam. Japan is the only country outside of South-East Asia to be given visa exemption status and joins Malaysia, Thailand, the Philippines and Indonesia in visa-free status. Lao, Cambodian and Vietnamese nationals can now travel to Singapore for 30 days without applying for a visa if they have a valid passport and can furnish a return ticket.

Exotissinmo's new Japanese department

To better accommodate the large number of Japanese clients vacationing in Indochina, Myanmar and Thailand, the Exotissimo Travel Group has launched a new Japanese department at its headquarters in Ho Chi Minh City. The new department and its operations staff is headed by Mr Masaya Uenobu. Masaya can be contacted at masaya@exotissimo.com.