The country’s travel hub of HCMC this year will spend around VND9 billion, or US$600,000, on tourism promotion activities, twice compared to the last year’s budget, an official said.

Foreign airlines active in Vietnam have pointed out low global demand for air travel and volatile oil prices as the major challenges for their performance this year.

Amwaterways, a European riverway shipping company, has announced it will bring its La Marguerite cruise ship to Vietnam to work beginning this September.

The Vietnamese government has approved a proposal allowing hotels of four- and five-star standard to offer some entertainment services until 2am from now to the end of 2010.

The economic downturn and H1N1 flu pandemic have made Vietnamese air carriers stagger. The national flag air carrier Vietnam Airlines has reported low profit for the second quarter. Indochina Airlines is still in debt and Vietjet Air remains uncertain when it will offer its first flight

 Ha Long Bay, one of Vietnam’s two UNESCO natural world heritage sites, take the list of 11 candidates of Group G in the second phase of campaign voting for seven new world wonders of nature.