Can Tho city in southern Vietnam’s Mekong Delta region listed in world’s 15 most beautiful canal cities

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Can Tho is a city in southern Vietnam’s Mekong Delta region. Set on the southern bank of the Hau River, it’s known for its canal network and nearby floating markets.

The modern 2.75-km cable-stayed Can Tho Bridge spans the river. The busy Ninh Kieu waterfront is a hub for boat trips on surrounding waterways. Illuminated at night, Can Tho’s waterfront is home to floating restaurants, bars and hotels.

Fruit orchard in the Mekong Delta-source: http://www.bestpricevn.com

The city has been listed in the top 15 most beautiful canal cities across the globe by Getty Images, the world’s largest photo agency.

As a dynamic city in Vietnam’s Mekong River Delta, Can Tho is the fourth largest city in Vietnam in regards to its population.

Vietnam’s Can Tho listed in world’s 15 most beautiful canal cities

Possessing rich culture and vast tourism potential, the city provides travellers with an amazing travel experience through its immense system of canals and rivers.

The city is famous for its local floating markets, with Cai Rang being the largest and most popular one. Tourists are recommended to visit the city in summer when they can explore abundant orchards and explore the local life there.

Can Tho Market

The Getty Images’ list also include many popular places around the world, including Venice (Italy), St. Petersburg (Russia), Annecy (France), Amsterdam (Netherlands), and Birmingham (UK).

Not just attracting FDI, Vietnam’s firms invest nearly $440m abroad

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Total outbound Vietnamese investment topped nearly US$440 million from the beginning of this year to August, Vietnam News Agency reports.

Approximately $340 million was poured into 102 newly licensed projects while the remaining $99.6 million was injected into 23 already operating projects.

According to the Foreign Investment Agency under the Ministry of Planning and Investment, in the first eight months of the year, the wholesale and retail sector lured the largest share of Vietnamese investment with $97 million, accounting for 22 per cent of the total. The agro-forestry-fishery sector ranked second with $89 million, making up 20 per cent of the total, and the science and technology sector came third with $84 million or equivalent to 19 per cent, followed by real estate trading with $72 million or 16 per cent.

Among the 30 countries and territories where Vietnamese investors were active from January to August, Australia was the largest recipient with $179 million or 41 per cent of the total, mainly thanks to two large-scale projects of TH Group worth a total of $88.5 million, the agency said, adding that the projects are in agriculture and dairy farming.

Australia was followed by Spain which attracted $60 million or 14 per cent. Other destinations for Vietnamese investments were the US ($46.3 million or 11.2 per cent), Cambodia ($39 million or 9 per cent) and Singapore ($36 million or 8 per cent).

Experts forecast that Vietnamese overseas investment would continue to increase if the world economy stays stable. Meanwhile, free trade agreements which Việt Nam has joined could help drive local enterprises to seek investment opportunities in foreign markets thanks to tax cuts.

Hertz: New franchise partner in Vietnam

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Hertz Asia has announced the appointment of New City Rent A Car as its new franchisee partner in Vietnam.

As a local car rental expert, New City Rent A Car will offer customers a range of transportation solutions through Hertz and its other brands Dollar and Thrifty.

All brands will now be available in Ho Chi Minh City, with Hanoi launching later this year. Customers seeking short and long-term car rentals in Vietnam will now benefit from a wide range of luxury SUVs, sedans and car rental services, such as the Hertz Chauffer Drive service, a door to door professional driver service, convenient for airport and city transfers, half-a-day or full day service.

Both the business and leisure markets continue to grow in Vietnam. More than 130,000 new businesses started up in 2018, bringing the nationwide total to 700,000*. Furthermore, the country is expecting to welcome up to 20 million tourists by 2020, an increase of 33% from 2018*.

Eoin MacNeill, Vice President for the Asia Pacific region, said: “We are thrilled to welcome New City Rent A Car to the Hertz family. Hertz is committed to offer in Vietnam the high-quality car rental service it is globally well-known for, meeting the expectations of business travellers and tourists alike. New City Rent A Car, with its invaluable knowledge of the Vietnamese culture and the industry will help us fulfil this commitment through a wide range of Hertz, Dollar and Thrifty rental options.”

Nim Vuon Phu, New City Rent A Car’s Chairman, added: “We are immensely happy to start operating Hertz, Dollar and Thrifty in this flourishing market, serving both local and international customers with different transportation needs and preferences. In addition to our varied car rental options, services such as Hertz Chauffer Drive will help us serve our growing business community as well as international travellers who prefer not to drive.”

Saigon Heat became the first team to enter the final of the VBA

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After defeating Hochiminh City Wings 74-71 in game two of the playoffs, Saigon Heat makes it to the VBA final for the first time.

The match was held in HCM City on Thursday. With the advantage of winning the first match, Saigon Heat started the game with an aggressive stance, knowing the Wings had to win to keep their hopes alive.

After the opening whistle, both HCMC City teams tried to use an attacking strategy. With the strong play of Wayne Martin (7 points), the home team bombarded the Heat’s basket. However, with its more diverse array of attacking threats, Saigon Heat held the lead after the first period by a score of 16-12.

Wings tried hard to turn in the tide in the second period but still lost ground because of the non-stop scoring of Tavarion Nix (13 points). The second period ended 36-30 in favour of the visitors. Holding the advantage, Saigon Heat was content to sit back and defend and find chances to break quickly the other way. Try as they might, the Wings could not gain a foothold and trailed at the end of the third period, 48-55.

Wings narrowed the gap in the final period but it was not enough to keep their hopes alive, falling 71-74. After missing out on place in the VBA final the past two years the wait will continue for at least another season.

Reaching the final is the biggest achievement for Saigon Heat to date. Their opponent will be the winner of the meeting between Cantho Catfish and Thang Long Warriors. The series is tied 1-1 and the third match will be played on August 31 on Cantho Catfish’s home court.

- VNS

Vietnam Is The Next Payments And Commerce Frontier, Here’s Why

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Here’s a thought as the unofficial end of summer draws near and a new decade looms: Pay more attention to Vietnam.

No doubt you already are, but maybe pay even more attention, especially to get a better sense of how digital and mobile payment and commerce trends are playing out in one of the fastest-growing economies in the world.

In a new PYMNTS interview with Karen Webster, Ryan Frere, the vice president of global payments at Flywire, made one of the latest cases we’ve heard about why Vietnam not only matters when it comes to payments and commerce, but why that country and that market is significant to all the things that are important to the digital economy.

Similar Paths

Granted cash — and cash-on-delivery — still have principal roles in Vietnam. A robust middle class is still emerging, and wealth is pretty small compared to the region’s leading player, China. However, things are changing, things that signal an ongoing and lasting move toward more digitalization.

“It’s taking a similar path as China,” Frere told Webster. That is, consumers in Vietnam are moving toward the general idea of using their mobile devices — “The device in hand,” as he described it — to handle the multitude of transactions that pop up in a typical day. Those transactions might include food delivery, ride-hailing and retail purchases, among others. Already, China-based operations such as Alipay are building their presence in this Southeast Asian country, and more mobile offerings are sure to follow or find deeper footings there.

Indeed, Flywire is getting involved in the payments game for Vietnam and its consumers. As PYMNTS has covered, the company is joining forces with Vietnam Prosperity Bank (VPBank) to make it easier for Vietnamese students to make international tuition payments. According to a release, Flywire will allow the students — many of whom study in Japan and Australia — to make payments in VND in the method they choose. That includes bank transfers, which are very popular in Vietnam.

So what does it take to achieve payments success in Vietnam — to have a chance to grab meaningful market share and have an opportunity to build a product or even ecosystem that will attract and retain consumers?

Champion Bank

According to Frere, having the right bank partner is critical. Vietnam’s government and central bank have rather strict FX and currency controls, and working with the right local bank will help an outside company navigate those thickets of regulations. “The amount of documentation to make FX transactions can be almost prohibitive,” he told Webster. “The government doesn’t want currency moving out of the country. You need a strong champion bank.”

Outside firms that want to play a significant and profitable role in Vietnam in the 2020s also need to pay attention to how manufacturers are moving there, and all the general supply chain issues related to that. After all, such economic activity is sure to bring more income benefits to Vietnamese consumers, and to help build that middle class. Moreover, those trends, in turn, will almost certainly encourage more efforts to bring even more digital and mobile transactions to the country.

What is happening, or has happened, in neighboring countries — and to developing countries in general — also is worth studying. After all, Vietnam has the benefit of taking lessons from those experiences. Also, in many respects, what is happening with payments and payment process in Vietnam is not too dissimilar from what was happening in other parts of that region, Frere said.

Fresh Investment

No matter what, relevant and interesting things are happening in Vietnam. One recent example? Grab recently announced that it will invest $500 million into Vietnam, and the Singapore-based provider of transportation and other services is now revealing details about what it has planned for Vietnam. Already, Grab has teamed up with Vietnam FinTech company Moka to introduce a digital wallet. The company also partnered with Japanese credit card outfit Credit Saison to offer loans and credit insight to small entrepreneurs in SE Asia.

It’s hardly news that Vietnam is on the rise. However, a closer — and sustained — look at the payment and commerce trends playing out there could pay big dividends down the road.

- PYMNTS

European Union supports the victims of floods in Vietnam

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In response to the widespread floods that wreaked havoc in many parts of Vietnam in early August, the European Union is providing €100 000 EUR (VND2.6 bil) in humanitarian aid funding to assist the most affected communities.

The aid will directly benefit over 18 000 people in some of the hardest hit areas in the southern provinces of Dak Lak, Kien Giang, and Lam Dong.

This EU funding supports the Vietnam Red Cross Society (VNRC) in delivering much-needed assistance through the distribution of household kits, which include blankets, mosquito nets, kitchen sets, and water buckets. Cash grants are being provided to enable the most vulnerable families to meet their basic needs and sustain their day-to-day livelihoods. To ensure access to clean water, families whose water resources have been contaminated in the aftermath of the floods will also receive water purification power. As outbreaks of vector diseases such as malaria, dengue, and typhoid are common following flooding, disease prevention and hygiene promotion activities are also being conducted.

The funding is part of the EU’s overall contribution to the Disaster Relief Emergency Fund (DREF) of the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC).

In early August, Vietnam experienced days of torrential downpours that triggered destructive floods in many parts of the country’s central and southern provinces, affecting close to 130 000 people. As a result of the flooding, over 12 000 houses were inundated while thousands of hectares of rice and other crops sustained damage, leaving the livelihoods of many in the predominantly agricultural nation in tatters. The southern province of Kien Giang was the worst hit area where more than 8 000 homes were submerged in water. The collapse of the Cam Ly landfill, which sat on top of a hill in the tourist city of Da Lat in Lam Dong, increases public health risks for those living in the affected areas.

Read original article here

Friendship Order was awarded to US’s PeaceTrees Vietnam Founder

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Ambassador Nguyen Phuong Nga, with the authority given by President of Vietnam, on August 29 bestowed PeaceTrees Vietnam Founder Jerilyn Brusseau with the Order of Friendship, in recognition for her efforts to heal war wounds in Vietnam. Vietnamplus reports.

The order is a high honour of the State of Vietnam to foreign individuals and groups who have made tremendous contributions to the development and promotion of friendship and cooperation between Vietnam and other countries.

Speaking at the awards ceremony, Nga, also Chairwoman of the Vietnam Union of Friendship Organisations (VUFO), said over the past two decades, Brusseau has made endless efforts to support Vietnam in addressing war aftermaths and to build trust, as well as, promote friendship between Vietnamese and American people.

Thanking her for what she and PeaceTrees Vietnam have done for the country, the ambassador expected Brusseau will make more contributions to Vietnam. The VUFO is committed to working alongside Brusseau and PeaceTrees Vietnam and other foreign non-governmental organisations to develop ties between Vietnam and other countries, Nga stressed.

For her part, Brusseau told the story of her family and what made her devoted to Vietnam. Jerilyn Brusseau is the sister of an American pilot killed in Quang Tri in central Vietnam after his helicopter was shot down in early 1969.

After a visit to Vietnam in 1996 that allowed her to see the devastating consequences of the war with her own eyes, she, her husband Danaan Parry and her mother Rae Cheney decided to found PeaceTrees Vietnam to honour the dead on all sides and build bridges of trust and friendship between the two peoples.

PeaceTrees Vietnam was the first international non-governmental organisation permitted by Vietnam to engage in humanitarian demining work.

US Ambassador Daniel Kritenbrink said Vietnam and the US are cooperating in various fields, including trade-economy, security, energy, environment and people-to-people exchange, and that could not have happened without people like Jerilyn Brusseau who has got over her personal pain to help both sides heal.

PeaceTrees Vietnam, so far, has safely removed and destroyed more than 105,800 pieces of unexploded ordnances in Quang Tri and provided mine risk education for 86,830 children and family members. Up to 215 victims and 62 families affected by unexploded ordnance accidents have been supported and 1,664 scholarships distributed to children of affected families.

The organisation has also built a PeaceTrees Friendship Village for 100 affected families, 15 kindergartens, 12 libraries  and two community centres and, at the same time, planted trees and provided help for hundreds of women to develop their own businesses.

On the same day, the Vietnam–US Society hosted a gathering for Vietnamese and American veterans as Brusseau was on a visit to Vietnam.

Vietnam is ripe for private equity investors: CNBC

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The prolonged trade fight between the United States and China is reordering the global supply chain and Vietnam could stand to be a winner for investors, according to a senior executive at U.S. investment firm General Atlantic.

As American companies plan to move their manufacturing bases outside China, countries in Southeast Asia could be the biggest beneficiaries, Sandeep Naik, head of India and Southeast Asia at General Atlantic, told CNBC’s “Street Signs ” on Tuesday.

“If you look at certain sectors like auto and chemicals, you see a large outflow of those manufacturing opportunities moving to Vietnam,” he said, adding that the investor community is closely watching for new investment destinations in the region.

According to CNBC, General Atlantic has about $35 billion assets under management. The company invests in start-ups with high growth potential in four main areas: consumers, financial services, health care and technology.

Employees use sewing machines at the Pan-Pacific Company Viet Pacific Clothing (VPC) factory in Vo Cuong, Bac Ninh province, Vietnam on March 1, 2019. Pan Pacific manufactures and exports feather-down products, apparel, bedding goods, and needlework products. SeongJoon Cho | Bloomberg | Getty Images

“We’re looking at Vietnam as a very interesting destination at this point,” Naik said. “With manufacturing moving to Vietnam, with more employment getting created there, people having higher disposable income, that starts a trend of consumption story.”

Related: Company formation in Vietnam

Analysts previously said Vietnam, which exports phone parts, furniture, automatic data process machines, emerged as the largest beneficiary as trade flows were diverted.

There are new opportunities for financial services too, he added, explaining that the manufacturing firms shifting to Vietnam need credit.

“So credit to the (small and medium enterprise) sector, credit to the mid-sized manufacturing unit, then creates another fillip or a boost to the financial services industry,” Naik said.

He did not mention any specific companies in Vietnam that General Atlantic is currently looking at.

But Naik noted that investors will need to grapple with a lot of local issues and nuances as they learn to operate in the local landscape.

“We need to have people on the ground that will really help us navigate those issues, but if you look at the foreign direct investment that’s happening in Vietnam at this point, you can see that the gates are opening,” he said.

Still, other analysts have cautioned that Vietnam may have other challenges.

Recently, the president and CEO of the U.S.-ASEAN Business Council told CNBC that the labor market in Vietnam is tightening, and investors are now looking to move manufacturing into other Asian countries, like Thailand.

Globally, the outlook remains uncertain as the U.S.-China trade fight looks set to drag on.

Tensions between the world’s two largest economies flared up recently after China announced new tariffs on $75 billion in American goods in retaliation to additional U.S. duties announced in August.

In direct response to China’s moves, U.S. President Donald Trump announced that his administration will raise existing duties on $250 billion in Chinese products to 30% from 25% on Oct. 1. Tariffs on another $300 billion in Chinese goods, set to take effect on Sept. 1, will now be 15% instead of 10%, he added.

Podul made landfall in central Vietnam as a tropical storm early Friday morning

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After bringing gusty winds and downpours to the northern Philippines and Hainan, Podul will deliver flooding rainfall to Vietnam, Laos and Thailand.  AccuWeather reports.

Podul made landfall in central Vietnam as a tropical storm early Friday morning. The storm has since lost wind intensity and is now a tropical depression.

Locations from Da Nang to Ha Tinh will endure the worst of the storm’s impacts with strong winds and torrential rainfall into Friday.

Despite losing wind strength as Podul moves inland, heavy tropical rainfall will move inland along the center and southern side of the storm into southeastern Asia.

Total rainfall of 150-250 mm (6-10 inches) is expected from north-central Vietnam into central Laos and northern Thailand through Saturday.

This magnitude of rainfall will result in a high risk of flooding and mudslides throughout the region.

Residents and tourists should prepare now for possible evacuations and heed all advice from local authorities.

Podul will continue to weaken as it tracks westward into Myanmar on Sunday, bringing localized flooding.

A continued westward track will bring what is left of the storm into the northern Bay of Bengal before enhancing rainfall across eastern India next week.

By Eric Leister.

Artificial Intelligence (AI) is developing rapidly in Vietnam

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Artificial Intelligence (AI) in Vietnam is developing rapidly and gradually affirming that it is a pillar and breakthrough technology in the fourth industrial revolution. Technological powers have long built their own AI development strategies, taking this technology as the core for accelerating economic development. OpenGov reports.

Over the last few years, more organisations have started developing and applying AI in various fields. Including education, telecommunications, retail, healthcare, and others, which have not only gradually dominated the market but also earned huge profits.

Currently, AI is the focus of the global technology circle and governments around the world. Many countries have spent billions of US dollars on AI development strategies with the ambition to be the frontrunners of AI and bitcasino as Bitcoin Casino will be the future of gaming.

Vietnam is not outside this development trend either. In recent years, Vietnam’s AI industry has made visible strides with increasing AI content in various products, the release noted.

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Large domestic technology corporations are interested in investing in and building AI sources in addition to implementing AI projects. Many domestic companies as well as innovative start-ups, also tend to invest in AI and carry out many new applications in new business models.

However, like many countries that prioritize AI investment, Vietnam lacks large databases, infrastructure, resources, and a solid foundation from AI businesses.

International technology corporations and the world’s leading AI companies have opened branches in Vietnam to take advantage of well-trained resources to make products for their markets.

These activities have attracted a significant force from Vietnam’s fledgling human resources in this field. Meanwhile, the training of human resources in the AI area in Vietnam remains weak, in addition to having only a small number of people who can provide training in AI technology. Therefore, it is necessary for Vietnam to take suitable steps in training human resources to develop AI.

Notably, there are quite a lot of Vietnamese people who are conducting AI research and applications abroad, including excellent AI experts in developed countries. Thus, it is necessary to connect with them and build policies to encourage them to contribute to the country.

Opinions raised at recent domestic and international AI conferences have shown that Vietnam has a lower starting point compared to many countries, if Vietnam follows the trend of AI development like developed countries with solid AI resources, it will be difficult for the country to keep up with them.

The focus on solving small and specific problems in real life is a trend that has been recognized and selected by AI companies. But they are still small and separate units that have not found a common voice in forming a shared platform and data sources on technologies to serve the AI ecosystem

Therefore, Vietnam must have its own direction for the AI industry. The state plans to develop preferential policies to train and develop talent in the high technology area. Also, it will connect AI communities, which have formed spontaneously, to boost the sharing of data, research, and applications towards building a strong AI platform.

By Samaya Dharmaraj

European Union brings relief to the victims of floods in Vietnam

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In response to the widespread floods that wreaked havoc in many parts of Vietnam in early August, the European Union is providing €100 000 EUR (VND2.6 bil) in humanitarian aid funding to assist the most affected communities. The aid will directly benefit over 18 000 people in some of the hardest hit areas in the southern provinces of Dak Lak, Kien Giang, and Lam Dong. Reliefweb reports.

Highway 14C is deeply submerged in water in Daklak_Photo by Ngọc Lân
Soldiers are rowing boats to save people in the flood in Daklak
Photo by Ngọc Lân

This EU funding supports the Vietnam Red Cross Society (VNRC) in delivering much-needed assistance through the distribution of household kits, which include blankets, mosquito nets, kitchen sets, and water buckets. Cash grants are being provided to enable the most vulnerable families to meet their basic needs and sustain their day-to-day livelihoods. To ensure access to clean water, families whose water resources have been contaminated in the aftermath of the floods will also receive water purification power. As outbreaks of vector diseases such as malaria, dengue, and typhoid are common following flooding, disease prevention and hygiene promotion activities are also being conducted.

The funding is part of the EU’s overall contribution to the Disaster Relief Emergency Fund (DREF) of the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC).

In early August, Vietnam experienced days of torrential downpours that triggered destructive floods in many parts of the country’s central and southern provinces, affecting close to 130 000 people. As a result of the flooding, over 12 000 houses were inundated while thousands of hectares of rice and other crops sustained damage, leaving the livelihoods of many in the predominantly agricultural nation in tatters. The southern province of Kien Giang was the worst hit area where more than 8 000 homes were submerged in water. The collapse of the Cam Ly landfill, which sat on top of a hill in the tourist city of Da Lat in Lam Dong, increases public health risks for those living in the affected areas.

Background

The European Union together with its Member States is the world’s leading donor of humanitarian aid. Relief assistance is an expression of European solidarity towards people in need around the world. It aims to save lives, prevent and alleviate human suffering, and safeguard the integrity and human dignity of populations affected by natural disasters and man-made crises.

Through its European Civil Protection and Humanitarian Aid Operations (ECHO), the European Union helps over 120 million victims of conflicts and disasters every year. For more information, please visit ECHO’s website.

The European Commission has signed a €3 million humanitarian contribution agreement with the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) to support the Federation’s Disaster Relief Emergency Fund (DREF). Funds from the DREF are mainly allocated to “small-scale” disasters – those that do not give rise to a formal international appeal.

The Disaster Relief Emergency Fund was established in 1985 and is supported by contributions from donors. Each time a National Red Cross or Red Crescent Society needs immediate financial support to respond to a disaster, it can request funds from the DREF. For small-scale disasters, the IFRC allocates grants from the Fund, which can then be replenished by the donors. The contribution agreement between the IFRC and ECHO enables the latter to replenish the DREF for agreed operations (that fit in with its humanitarian mandate) up to a total of €3 million.

The 2019 Vietnam Fisheries International Exhibition (Vietfish) officially opened in Saigon

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The 2019 Vietnam Fisheries International Exhibition (Vietfish) officially opened at the Saigon Exhibition and Convention Centre in Ho Chi Minh City on August 29. Nhan Dan Online reports.

Themed “Asia’s Home Seafood”, Vietfish 2019 features over 370 pavilions by businesses from 15 countries and territories around the world, including the Republic of Korea, Japan, Germany, Singapore, Indonesia, China and Vietnam.

On display are numerous products, services, machines, chemicals and equipment in aquaculture and the fish processing industry.

Speaking at the opening ceremony, Chairman of the Vietnam Association of Seafood Exporters and Producers (VASEP), Ngo Van Ich, said that after 20 successful editions, Vietfish affirmed its prestige as one of largest fisheries exhibition in the Southeast Asia and Asia.

Vietfish offers a good opportunity for businesses to meet, exchange and seek new partners and suppliers as well as update new technologies and knowledge in the field.

A wide variety of seminars on numerous issues, including traceability, the improvement of values for seafood, will also be held as part of the three-day exhibition, with the participation of many domestic and international experts.

According to a report by the General Department of Fisheries, Vietnam’s fisheries export revenue reached nearly US$9 billion in 2018, accounting for 22.5% of the total export turnover of the whole agricultural sector.

Vietnamese fishery products have been exported to more than 170 markets, making the country one of the leading fishery exporters in the world.

How to increase hotel sales and profits in low season for hoteliers

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By Phan Le, CEO and Founder VLeisure www.vleisure.com

 

Property managers have a year-round responsibility to maximise revenue and while it’s happy days during high season, this time of year can be slim pickings for many hoteliers. But it doesn’t have to be this way.

To maintain a healthy flow of guests throughout the year hoteliers need to get creative, and it all starts with keeping a handle on your data.

Most hoteliers know how to adjust their strategies in anticipation of upcoming trends, but guest data provides the key that will unlock profitable opportunities during traditionally low periods of the year.

The problem is that hoteliers struggle with their guest data. According to hotel data company Revinate, many admit that it’s difficult to make data meaningful and find the information unstructured. While this may be true in many cases there are great CRM tools available such as Batchbook that allow you to learn more about your clients in one place and build a relationship with them – and that leads on to the all-important client engagement.

Data collection is a powerful tool for hoteliers, and many are properly managing personal data for its long-term value. An email address helps connect guest data across multiple platforms.  It’s an important factor for noticing patterns and touch points related to pre-trip, in-stay and post-trip data. Personalized email campaigns that can drive bookings and repeat stays, enabling hotels to have better occupancy rates hand-in-hand with brand loyalty.

While peak season keeps the website and location buzzing, low season is the best time to keep in touch and a dialogue going with your guests.   Stay in touch with your clients through text messages and social platforms as well as emails, to maintain brand awareness and generate booking and location excitement throughout the year. Social media enables you to share content that inspires your followers during the low season. It’s also a great way to gather testimonials and customer reviews.

With personalization becoming a priority for many hoteliers, so is the founding need for analytical insights. Hotels can learn to collate across multiple touch points and data profiling to deliver a better customer experience.

This applies all year round but by structuring your data queries to focus on key periods that need a boost and using the best revenue management tools you can act with confidence.

Get Personal

According to MarketingProfs, email marketing is one of the most effective channels for over 5o% of marketers, coming second only to a hotel’s direct website.  An email address helps connect guest data across multiple platforms. It becomes an important factor for noticing patterns and touch points related to pre-trip, in-stay and post-trip data.

A report from Siteminder shows that almost 80% of hoteliers believe that prioritizing guest personalization and experience would bring the most success to them, followed by branding at 67%.

Keep your guests informed. Let them know about your latest deals and offerings. You’ll gain deeper insights into the behaviour of your clients and better understand what motivates them.  You can use this data to send targeted off-season deals.

Ask customers to share their suggestions, stories and experiences and what they want next from their visit. The key here is to keep a dialogue going with your guests and tap into what inspires them to book.

Targeted Off-Season Promotions

This is crucial. Use knowledge about your customers – likes and dislikes – to promote specific destinations, hotels and experiences during low seasons, particularly when it comes to special discounts.  This is your area and you know it better than anyone, which is a major advantage when selecting and recommending local activities, restaurants and experiences. If your hotel proposes a plan that includes accommodation, a tour, and some places in the city where you can beat the crowds and take the best pics, it will make a difference. Destination content technology companies such as Smartvel provide local information in real time. The information they provide enables hotels to enhance the customer experience, allowing customised plans for travellers but also opportunities and scope to negotiate a fair kick back from subsequent bookings and reservations.

Offering special deals to loyal customers – additional room nights, discounts on transfers, tickets and experiences is a great way to offset seasonal lows. Use festivals, sporting events, concerts and movie promotion shows and pop culture tie-ins to fill the sales gap.

The tours and events market is huge and has become a multi- billion dollar global industry. By positioning the hotel as the focal point of the destination and offering this as part of your product, you will increase revenue and room occupancy.

The prices of ancillaries can be used to recoup the difference in hotel room rates. Creating exciting content on social media such as early bird offers, and cleverly planned hashtag campaigns can help turn an audience into paying customers.

Smart Advertising and MICE

Show your property in different ways. The hospitality industry in particular thrives on this. Suite-level rooms for business travellers for an off-season low budget trip can be an effective marketing tactic.

Business travellers are not influenced by seasonal trends and this helps the tourism sector continue to thrive all year around.

The MICE sector is extremely profitable. The combination of meetings, incentives, conventions and exhibitions, is now an integral part of the global hospitality industry. It stood at $752 billion in 2016 and is projected to grow at 7.5 per cent in the next five years.

Targeting delegations can help even smaller operators earn a healthy profit, as these groups, particularly the smaller ones, often tend to look for unique and tailor-made services in terms of accommodation and tours. More travellers are combining work with leisure activities in their business destination, which again presents a great opportunity for travel agents and tour operators to keep sales going during off-seasons.

We have access to over 50,000 hotels across the globe and are big advocates of maintaining profit throughout the year. Innovative strategies to maximize revenue is key for hoteliers, destination management companies and travel agencies. A marketing framework is necessary in order to maximize the scale of profitability during low season. These are sales gaps which with clever marketing strategies can actually turn seasonal lows into highs.

 

Architectural Rendering Services and Benefits of Rendered Floor Plans

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When it comes to construction marketing and real estate both of these are not easy to work because hurdles and problems are the same and luckily the solution is the same as well.

There are tools which can be used to visualize the concept when it comes to construction or the interior of the building with the help of architectural rendering services. One can easily show the way the real building will look like after construction is completed.

There is much to talk about when it comes to 3d architectural rendering and thanks to the latest technology which is making the rendered plan more detailed and accurate which were not easy to design before. It could be said that with this visualization technology the construction marketers, realtors, and house hunters alike now have a great opportunity to attract more clients.

Why Rendered Plans from 3d Rendering Studio?

One of the major benefits of the rendered floor plan is that they enable the marketer to display the available options without going places to place. As a real estate agent, one needs to visit from place to place to show their clients’ different options. But with the help of 3d product renderings and rendered floor plans, one doesn’t have to visit or show the actual product and can show the exact product in rendered or as 3d model and can save significant time. Also, it will help clients to narrow down their choice.

When it comes to architectural rendering services, the rendered floor plans help the constructor to track the record of their progress. The clients won’t need to see the full documentation and contract instead they can just see what is exactly happening in front of them with just a few clicks.

Add More Rooms and Interior Designing

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Vietnam goes third on F1’s unprecedented 22-race calendar for 2020

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Formula One has released its calendar for 2020, with the first ever Vietnam Grand Prix set to be the third race of the year. ESPN reports.

Vietnam is one of two new additions to the schedule for next season and will take place on April 5, shortly after a double-header of Australia and Bahrain. The Hanoi race will be followed by China before the second new addition, the Dutch Grand Prix, on May 3 to kick off the European leg of the season.

This week, the Spanish Grand Prix confirmed a new one-year extension — it will take place a week after the race at Zandvoort. The news confirms that the German Grand Prix has dropped off the calendar, with title sponsor Mercedes unwilling to continue financially supporting the event.

The only provisional date is the Italian Grand Prix on Sept. 6, with a star next to the Monza race pending contract approval. Negotiations are believed to be at an advanced stage and a contract extension is expected ahead of this year’s Italian Grand Prix, which takes place next week. If that goes ahead as planned, it means Monza will continue its remarkable run as being a feature of every F1 season bar one since the world championship started in 1950.

There has been plenty of race contract news in the past few months. Ahead of the British Grand Prix Silverstone confirmed a new five-year deal to keep it on the schedule until at least 2022, while the Mexican Grand Prix has added three years to its popular event at Mexico City’s Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez. The Australian Grand Prix, which has become the traditional opener to any F1 season, also confirmed an extension of two years earlier this year to extend its race hosting contract to 2025.

Here is 2020’s calendar in full:

March 15: Australian Grand Prix (Melbourne)

March 22: Bahrain Grand Prix (Sakhir)

April 5: Vietnam Grand Prix (Hanoi)

April 19: Chinese Grand Prix (Shanghai)

May 3: Dutch Grand Prix (Zandvoort)

May 10: Spanish Grand Prix (Barcelona)

May 24: Monaco Grand Prix (Monte Carlo)

June 7: Azerbaijan Grand Prix (Baku)

June 14: Canadian Grand Prix (Montreal)

June 28: French Grand Prix (Le Castellet)

July 5: Austrian Grand Prix (Spielberg)

July 19: British Grand Prix (Silverstone)

August 2: Hungarian Grand Prix (Budapest)

August 30: Belgian Grand Prix (Spa)

September 6: Italian Grand Prix (Monza) *subject to contract signature

September 20: Singapore Grand Prix (Singapore)

September 27: Russian Grand Prix (Sochi)

October 11: Japanese Grand Prix (Suzuka)

October 25: U.S. Grand Prix (Austin)

November 1: Mexican Grand Prix (Mexico City)

November 15: Brazilian Grand Prix (Sao Paulo)

November 29: Abu Dhabi Grand Prix (Abu Dhabi)

F1 CEO Chase Carey said: “It’s with great pleasure that today we publish the draft 2020 calendar. It’s the year in which the series that is the pinnacle of motorsport celebrates its seventieth anniversary with, for the first time, a 22 race calendar.
“It is significant for our sport and confirms our long-term strategy. Since we became involved in this sport in 2017, we have talked about developing new destination cities to broaden the appeal of Formula One and at the same time, consolidating our presence in Europe, the traditional home of the sport.

“Therefore, we have Vietnam making its debut in the capital, Hanoi, one of the most exciting cities in the world right now with such a rich history and an incredible future ahead of it. And we also have the return of the historic Zandvoort circuit, on the outskirts of another vibrant city, Amsterdam, for the Dutch Grand Prix.

“In addition, we have extended our agreement with Silverstone, home to the British Grand Prix, which in 1950 hosted the first of the 1009 events held to date, and we are in negotiations with the Monza circuit, which has hosted more Grands Prix (68) than any other track. We are also pleased that, this year, we have renewed the agreements with Mexico City and two countries, Australia and Azerbaijan, which have gone for long-term extensions well ahead of the end of their current contracts with us.

“The season with a record 22 Grands Prix has received unanimous support from the FIA and all the teams and clearly demonstrates the confidence that exists in the future of our sport, which with over 500 million fans remains one of the most followed and popular in the world.”

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