Star Cruises Back To Vietnam
Star Cruises, the leading cruise line operator in the Asia Pacific, is set to reemerge in Vietnamese waters early next month after shunning Southeast Asia due to the SARS and bird flu epidemics in the past three years. 
It would bring 12,000 tourists by the end of this year, Suresh Abraham, its international relations deputy manager recently wrote in an email to Thanh Nien.
Its Super Star Gemini cruise ship would bring 700 tourists, including many overseas Vietnamese, to Ho Chi Minh City April 6, he said further.
The liner would make 17 trips to HCMC, Quang Ninh, Da Nang, and Nha Trang each time with 700 vacationers.
Scores of foreign cruise ships have docked at Vietnamese ports in 2006. Statistics with the Vietnam National Administration of Tourism show that arrivals by sea made up over 20 percent of the 320,000 foreign visitors to the country.
While in the country, they spent some 20-30 percent more money than their air and road counterparts.
Source: Thanh Nien News - Reported by Dang Ngoc Khoa
