Vietnam’s national flag displayed on public screen in Seoul

The Vietnamese national flag was screened on the Namsan Tower and the City Hall in the capital city of Seoul, South Korea on the night of September 2 to celebrate Vietnam’s 78th National Day. This is the first time the authorities of Seoul have displayed the image of the Vietnamese national flag to the public audience.

According to the Vietnamese Ambassador to South Korea Nguyen Vu Tung, the event will strengthen the relationship between Vietnam and South Korea, and tighten the bond between the people of both countries.

Passengers are instructed to buy tickets for the Cat Linh - Ha Dong Railway train. Photo: The Hanoi Times

Number of intraday passengers on Hanoi’s first urban railroad reaches new record high

Some 55,980 passengers traveled on the Cat Linh – Ha Dong Urban Railway during the National Day (September 2), a record high for the route since its official operation in early November 2021. The figure beat the previous record of 55,210 passengers made on the same day last year.

Since its operation, Hanoi’s first urban railway network has received an average of 10,000 monthly travelers out of a total of 32,000-34,000 passengers each day. On the weekend, the number of passengers ranges from 28,000 to 30,000, while regular passengers are 6,000-8,000.

Vietnamese embassy presents pomelo to Netherlands consumers

For the first time, the Vietnamese Embassy in the Netherlands introduced pomelo to the people of the Netherlands. The fruit was among Vietnamese specialties displayed by the embassy staff during the Embassy Festival held on September 2 in La Haye.

Vietnam’s product booth was located among other ASEAN representatives, revealing trademark traditional foods such as banh mi (baguette) and nem (spring roll), as well as agricultural produce from Vietnam. The festival, featuring 60 embassies, attracted some 100,000 guests.

Direct flights connecting Ho Chi Minh City and Perth to operate this weekend

The national flag carrier Vietnam Airlines will open a direct flight between Ho Chi Minh City and Australia’s Perth City on December 7. Flights from Ho Chi Minh City will depart at 3.50pm every Monday, Thursday, and Saturday, and return flights from Perth will depart at 00.50am the following days. Flight tickets were available for purchase on September 1.

According to Premier of Western Australia Roger Cook, the new direct route will open up an opportunity for the two cities and represent a whole new inbound visitor market for Western Australia's industry, tourism and hospitality sectors.

Khanh Hoa Province earns US$27.5 million during holidays

The central coastal province of Khanh Hoa estimates to earn some VND662 billion (US$27.5 million) from tourism during the four-day national holiday (September 1-4). The total number of visitors is more than 503,000 visitors, up 41% on-year.

A majority of arrivals were recorded on the first two days, and the occupancy rate of all accommodation facilities was more than 90% on the islands and 70% in the urban area of Nha Trang City.

Vietnamese golf tourism to be introduced in the Philippines

Vietnam will introduce the local golf and tourism sector to Philippine and international guests at the Travel Sale Expo 2023, which is hosted at the Megatrade Hall in Ortigas, Mandaluyong. The expo, organized from September 29 to October 1, 2023, is one of the biggest events of its kind in the Philippines. The expo features a business-to-business (B2B) section for companies to present their products and services.

Vietnam qualified for the first Asian Women’s Volleyball Championship semi-finals

Vietnamese women’s volleyball team on September 3 beat Australia 3-0 to enter the semi-finals of the Asian Women’s Volleyball Championship (AVC) 2023. This is the first time Vietnam has qualified for the semi-finals of the AVC. Vietnam will meet the host team Thailand today (September 4) to decide which one will top Group C of the tournament.

In the first two matches, Vietnam beat South Korea and Uzbekistan by 3-2 and 3-1.

Vietnamese motorbike market makes worst contraction in July

Motorbike sales in Vietnam made the worst decline in four years during July 2023 due to weaker market purchasing power. According to the global motorbike-related data website Motorcycle Data, the total sales of motorbikes in Vietnam during July 2023 fell nearly 29% on-year to some 176,729 units. In January-July, the total sales dropped 14.4% on-year to 1.56 million units.

A weak market demand, fueled by economic adversities, constantly changes in petrol prices, and lack of new models, were the main reasons for the sharp drop in domestic motor sales.