Socialist Republic of Vietnam

Several US veterans who fought in the Vietnam War are calling for the launch of well-organized theme tours to Vietnamese sites where they operated, an ex-interpreter during the War has informed Thanh Nien.

Le Thanh Giai, in an e-mail to the newspaper, said many US veterans, inspired by the story of a young North Vietnamese doctor’s diary they read on Thanh Nien’s English-language website, www.thanhniennews.com, were hoping to return to Vietnam.

Fifty foreign and 80 Vietnamese tourism firms have come to the 2005 International Tourism Exhibition in HCMC.

The exhibit, which runs from Friday to Sunday, provided local tourism agencies a chance to showcase their products to domestic clients and scout for foreign partners, La Quoc Khanh, deputy head of the HCMC Tourism Department, said.

On the first day, some 60 tour operators from neighboring countries expressed a desire to send tourists to Vietnam soon, he said.

Vietnam will lift visa requirements for foreign visitors to the southern resort island of Phu Quoc, which the government wants to develop into a leading ecological tourist site, media and officials said Tuesday.

Foreigners and overseas Vietnamese will no longer require visas if they spend less than 15 days on the island, known for its white sandy beaches, Tuoi Tre newspaper said. The new rule is to take effect Oct. 1, it said.

The US' Winvestment-LLC Group has received a license to build a US$300 million tourism site in the southern seaside Vung Tau city, a local official said.
The Sai Gon Atlantis Hotel resort will feature a hotel that can accommodate 2,000 guests, according to the project.

Besides, the 300-ha resort will also feature an entertainment park with both land and water games, a sports complex, including a golf course, and exhibition halls, which can welcome some 100,000 visitors a day.