Tw32 26 aug

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26 Aug, 2010

07
Six Senses Hideaway Con Dao
set to open in December

36-37
10 culture and customs of Spanish
to know when travelling & living in Spain
Private Travel

38-39
How to Live in a Different Country
for a Short Time

www.travelweekly.com.vn

Off
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26 Aug, 2010
07

Dear Travel Weekly readers! 36-37
10 culture and customs of Spanish
to know when travelling & living in Spain
Private Travel

38-39
How to Live in a Different Country
for a Short Time

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Thursday 26.08.2010

VIETNAM NEWS 02 FEATURES
02. Hanoi plans to let off fireworks on
03
07
National Day Six Senses Hideaway Con
03. Local tourists to opt for budget tours Dao set to open in December
04 Con Dao Six Senses Hideaway is a new luxury real
04. Golfplan breaks ground on Saigon
resort 18 estate development and spa in Vietnam. Located 180km
05 off the Southeast coast of Vietnam in a dramatic archi-
06. Czech Cultural events to be held in pelago of 14 islets, Con Dao offers spectacular views,
Hanoi protected tropical forests and pristine beaches and
06 stunning coral reefs. Six Senses will welcome its first
08. Human resources look for qualified guests in December.
workers
07
11. Travel expo expresses heritage sites
and river tourism
08
12 . Vietnam Hotel Expo 2010 delayed
until December
09
1,000 YEARS OF
THANG LONG - HANOI
10
15. Key programs for the capital’s grand
anniversary 11
16. Hanoi sprints last days to its an-
niversary 12 36 - 37 10 culture and customs
of Spanish to know
INTERNATIONAL NEWS when travelling & living in Spain
14 Spanish culture is widely known for Flamenco music and
18. Bangkok Airport Rail Link begins full dance, bullfights, fantastic beaches and lots of sunshine.
commercial operations But what is Spain known for? It has much more to offer
16 than that. It is - and has been for thousands of years, one
19. Hong Kong sees visitor arrivals up of the cultural centers of Europe. Live in and experience
your emotion.
21. Australia lures more Chinese tourists 17
to Gold Coast

22. Hawaii welcomes visitor arrivals
growth
19
24. WTM introduces Technology & Online
Travel Theatre
22

AVIATION NEWS 23
28. Indonesia to build 14 new airports

29. Korean Air enhances Skypass loyalty 24
scheme

30. Garuda Indonesia launches direct
flights to Tokyo
25
38 - 39 How to Live in a Dif-
ferent Country for a
Short Time
31. LOT Polish Airline launches Hanoi - 26
Warszawa direct route Let’s say your parents have decided to take you abroad
for a year, maybe because they have a sabbatical or
32. Chile’s LAN and Brazil’s TAM launch 28 maybe just for “fun”. To an adult, it may seem like the
LATAM Airlines perfect opportunity for you to learn a new language and
make new friends but it’s a whole different story! What
DO YOU KNOW 30 about the whole part where you have to LEARN A NEW
LANGUAGE?
BUSINESS ADVICE 32
MEDICAL TOURISM
34
40 - 41. Medical Tourism ~ Solution for
Healthcare
36
DESTINATIONS
38
42 - 44. Vegetarian Festival - For Health
and Environment
40

2 VIETNAM NEWS

Thirsty Thursday
comes to HCMC
Thirsty Thursday, Southeast Asia’s biggest tourism industry
networking event, returns to HCMC on 16 September 2010.

Following a successful first event at the New World Hotel in
May, September’s Thirsty Thursday will take place at one
of Vietnam’s newest and most stylish venues, Roof Garden
Saigon at Kumho Plaza (next to Intercontinental Saigon), and
is sure to attract a big crowd from the city’s tourism & hospi-
tality industry.

The event, organised by Saigon Tourism Industry Networking
Group and Travel Daily Asia, features complimentary beer
provided by Tiger Beer, complimentary wine provided by
The Warehouse, and free snacks/soft drinks provided by the
venue and sponsored by TRG International/eHotel Alliance.
There will also be a lucky draw with prizes donated by Life
Resorts, Victoria Hotels, Bhaya Cruises, Duxton Hotel, Petit
Fute, The Boathouse and Come & Go Vietnam.

Entrance is free of charge to anyone working in the tourism &
hospitality industry, while non-tourism guests can enter for a
nominal VND100,000 fee.

For more information, please contact Tim Russell on tim@
Kumho Plaza, HCMC
comeandgovietnam.com , telephone 0903 393723.

Work starts on Ocean US$1,8 billion invested Hanoi plans to let off fireworks
Window development in Eco-tourism project
Eurowindow Nha Trang Investment Polaris Kty Vietnam has recently on National Day
and Tourism Joint Stock Co broke broken ground for a large Eco-
ground on the Ocean Window Spa tourist project in Ky Thinh Com-
and Resort. The 34.2-ha project has mune, Ha Tinh. The Eco-tourist
VND1 trillion (US$51.28 million) in project, named Tau Voi Tourist and
investment capital. It will include Services Resort, drawing US$1,8
a five-star hotel, spa, restaurant billion in investment. Under the
and bar, shopping centre, events’ schedule, parts of the project will
centre, sports centre and beaches. be operational in 2011, while other
The resort, in central Khanh Hoa sub-projects will be wrapped up in
Province, is expected open for December 2016.
business in 2013.
HCM City hosts
German tour operators vegetarian festival
explore MICE A vegetarian festival themed “For
Tour operator Asian Trails Co will Health and the Environment” will Hanoi will organise firework displays in four locations on 2nd
organise tours for more than 300 be held in HCM City from 26-29 Au- September to celebrate the 65th anniversary of National Day.
MICE (meetings, incentives, con- gust, attracting the participation of
ventions and exhibitions) organis- famous vegetarian restaurants in the
According to Vice Director of the municipal Culture, Sports
ers from Germany who want to city and nearby localities. Nearly
look over Vietnamese destinations. 100 dishes will be introduced at and Tourism Department Nguyen Khac Loi, high-range fire-
The group, which will be here on 80 pavilions during the festival. works will be set off by Hoan Kiem Lake (Hoan Kiem District),
4-10 September, will visit Hanoi, Ha The event aims to raise public Thong Nhat Park (Hai Ba Trung District), Ly Tu Trong monu-
Long Bay, Hoi An, and HCM City. awareness of the benefits of eating ment (Tay Ho district) and Van Quan Lake (Ha Dong District).
Bui Viet Thuy Tien, managing direc- vegetarian food and is expected to
tor of Asian Trails, said Germany be held annually on the 15th day of To celebrate the August Revolution (19th August) and National
and Belgium are the company’s the seventh lunar month towards the Day as well as to mark 30 days ahead of the 1,000th anniver-
biggest customers for MICE tour- Vu Lan festival to show children’s
sary of Thang Long-Hanoi, many cultural activities will take
ism to Vietnam. gratitude to their parents.
place in the centre of the city and 29 Districts.
Thursday 26.08.2010 www.travelweekly.com.vn

VIETNAM NEWS 3

Local tourists to opt
for budget tours
According to a survey released lion per trip increased from 22.3% lion, then under VND3 million and
that the number of local people of last year to 33.8% in this year’s over VND8 million.
making plans for vacations this survey.
year has increased strongly, but Up to 43% of respondents
they tend to spend less on travel. The budget-saving trend is clearer searched for travel information on
with 24% of respondents saying the internet, while 40% obtained it
Nearly 64,5% of the respondents the most uncomfortable thing in from friends or relatives, accord-
in the survey said they and their “Tourist tend to travel is the additional charges ing to the survey. The marketing
spend less on
families made frequent trips every travel, as more from service providers, followed method via leaflets and advertis-
year, compared to over 54% of last people bought by complaints about the unprofes- ing is less influential on customers
year’s similar survey. budget tours sional service from tour guides and as only nearly 9.3% of the people
and fewer
people agreed food quality. looked for travel information by
While more people are travelling to pay a higher this way.
this year, they tend to spend less cost”, accord- Despite the price-conscious
ing to a survey
on travel, as more people bought released trend, travellers still choose well- As for domestic destinations, local
budget tours and fewer people by the local established brands rather than travellers still preferred familiar
newspaper Sai
agreed to pay a higher cost, ac- Gon Times.
comparing prices. More than 52% places such as Halong Bay, Phu
cording to the survey. It showed of respondents said they selected Quoc, Nha Trang, Hanoi, and Phan
that 19,9% of the respondents tours from the trustworthy brands Thiet.
agreed to spend more than VND10 while only nearly 17% of travellers
million per trip, down from 20,2% of saw prices as a decisive factor. The survey handed out the Viet-
2009, and 46,3% of the respondents nam Favorite Trademark Awards
agreed to spend VND5-10 million The survey had been performed 2010 to 61 companies, including
per trip compared to over 57,4% in with people from 18 to 64 years travel firms, hotels, restaurants, re-
last year’s survey. old, who were divided into differ- sorts, supermarkets, banks, insur-
ent income categories, from VND3 ance service providers, and other
Meanwhile, the proportion of million to VND5 million per month, consumer service providers.
people willing to pay VND2-5 mil- from VND5.1 million to VND8 mil-

4 VIETNAM NEWS

Golfplan breaks ground
on Saigon resort 18

VIETNAM NEWS 5

T
he course architects at Golfplan have According to Dale, because of the very
stepped up construction of 18 resort high water table, no more than 4 meters of
holes here in the Vietnamese capital. fill are allowed anywhere on the site, lest
Jeong San Vina Golf Club takes up unique that spot recede. “This is not the sort of
residence on an island in the Saigon River, project that can be improvised in the field,”
directly between the city’s expatriate dis- Dale said. “The grades of our architectural
trict and its new international airport. drawings must be extraordinarily precise,
and each green site will be supported by
The course at Jeong San Vina GC will pilings to support and reinforce elevations
stretch out along a man-made waterfront that will exceed the 4-meter limit.”
that Golfplan will outfit with a 50-meter
natural buffer and overarching tropical At the other end of the spectrum, Golfplan
garden landscape. The golf will serve as is the firm that dredged Singapore Har-
anchor to a high-rise condominium and bor to create the man-made acreage that
hotel development overlooking course, under-girds the famed Serapong Course at
river and city. Sentosa Golf Club.
“The plan is for Jeong San Vina to be very “At Sentosa, we were reclaiming mangrove
high-end but still very accessible resort swamps and a portion of Singapore Harbor,
facility, which is just what the golf culture but the exercises there - and here at Jeong
in Vietnam needs,” said Golfplan partner San Vina - are comparable,” Dale said. “We
David Dale, who expects the course to took a similar approach at Oulu Golfklubb
open for play in late 2011. “When the hotel in Finland, home of Nokia and one of the
component is finished, it will function as an northernmost golf courses in the world.
urban golf resort, and there’s nothing like There, we reclaimed peat bogs and used a
that in Ho Chi Minh City today.” geo-tech style sheeting to create a floating
pad to support the sand fill on 27 holes.
Dale and the Korean development consor- There is no need for geo-tech sheeting in
tium backing this project, Taekwang Vina Ho Chi Minh City but you can see we’re
Industrial Co. Ltd., have been poised to pretty darned experienced in engineering
begin course construction in earnest for these types of courses.”
better than a year, but a series of factors
had slowed matters until this spring. Most Jeong San Vina will play 6,595 meters
important, the bridge linking the island with from the championship tees and feature
the mainland - Ho Chi Minh City’s District a diverse mixture of bunkering, from
2, just north of downtown - was not com- enormous, sandy waste areas that tie into
pleted until March 2010. greenside hazards, to the free-standing
bunkers that dictate strategy in the fairways
In reality, Jeong San Vina’s progress was and off the tee.
additionally complicated by the extraordi-
nary engineering efforts the site requires. “It’s a beautiful finishing flourish, not
According to Dale, more than 1.5 million unlike what we created at the Serapong
cubic meters of fill were required to build Course, or what Pete Dye created at the
up the site and in some ways “create” the TPC Sawgrass in Florida,” said Dale. “But
waterfront landscape. the beauty and compelling strategy of
the golf holes must work in the context
“All of this sand was dredged from the of practical environmental matters. The
Saigon River north of our island, then trans- wetlands at Jeong San Vina, for example,
ported by boat and pumped onto the site were created so that when the river rises
in watery slurry, which is spread around to its highest point, water will be accepted
the property by a network of giant piping,” onto the course site and into this network
Dale explained. “It’s a pretty impressive of wetlands. It’s a very attractive, totally
process. There were some 20 cubic meters golf-centric form of stormwater retention
of fill per boatload. Do the math. When you capability.
do, you can understand why it’s taken two
years to complete the reclamation.” “What’s more, our lakes are set higher than
the wetlands. When the lakes overflow, they
Spreading the fill around this site, in the release into the wetland network.”
context of golf construction and shaping,
is nearly as complicated as getting it there.

6 VIETNAM NEWS

More tourists choose
Travel agencies reported that inbound
and outbound short-day tours during the
holiday of 2nd September are attracting

short-day tours
75% of visitors and the number of tourists
during this special holiday is expected to
increase by 15% in comparison with the
same period last year.
Destinations are Hong Kong (China), Ma-
laysia, Singapore, the Republic of Korea,
Cambodia and Taiwan.
Ms. Doan Thanh Tra, a representative
from the Saigontourist, said that the com-
pany introduced 35 inbound tours and 12
outbound tours, departing on 30th August
and the company expects to attract 2,500
tourists. Nearly 1,000 tourists have to date
registered for tours to Thailand, Singa-
pore, Cambodia and Hong Kong (China).
Meanwhile, inbound tours to Sa Pa lures
more tourists than tours to the sea due to
stormy weather during that time, accord-
ing to Ms. Duong Mai Lan, the head of the
Vietravel Hanoi Market Development Re-
search Department.
Ms. Lan added that the number of tourists
is expected to rise thanks to various pro-
motion tours in August such as “Thousand
years of Thang Long-Hanoi” (a discount
of 30%) or tours to Thailand and China (15
to 20% discount).

Best hotel receptionists
contest to be held

According to the Vietnam National Admin-

Czech Cultural
istration of Tourism (VNAT) said nearly 140
contestants from 26 provinces and cities na-
tionwide will join a contest to select best hotel

events to be held in Hanoi receptionists in the tourism sector.

The Hanoi Children Palace will join the Palace expressed the hope that follow- The event, which will be held from 12nd -15th
Prague Arts Troupe from the Czech Re- ing the programme, his palace would September in Hanoi, is part of activities to cel-
ebrate the 1,000th anniversary of Thang Long-
public to host a series of events to mark cooperate with its Czech counterparts
Hanoi and National Tourism Year-Hanoi 2010.
the 1,000th anniversary of Thang Long- to organise exchanges between the two
It aims to honour outstanding receptionists
Hanoi. countries’ children to enhance mutual un- who have contributed to improving the quality
derstanding and assistance. of tourism services.
The ten-day programme which will last
on 10 October will include a painting ex- The Czech friends have helped built the The qualifying rounds, which include profes-
hibition, a water puppetry, a concert and palace which has become a major centre sional skills and foreign languages, will take
a Czech traditional gastronomic festival. for cultural and sports activities for Ha- place in Hanoi from 12nd - 14th September. The
noian children. top ten contestants will go on to enter the final
Le Quang Tuan, Vice Director of the round scheduled for 15th September.

VIETNAM NEWS 7

Six Senses Hideaway, Con Dao Island


S
ix Senses Con Dao, the first luxury of 200 guests. Each villa has both space traditional low-sitting chairs and tables,
resort on the famous Con Dao Is- and privacy along with indoor and out- while at the Deli, guests have the option to
land in the southern province of Ba door bathrooms. grab a bite to go.
Ria-Vung Tau will welcome its first guests
in December. Accommodations and Rates Six Senses Spa
The spectacular Con Dao archipelago of Six Senses Hideaway Con Dao presents The uniquely designed Six Senses Spa
islands is located to the south-east of Viet- elegantly designed modern accommoda- provides a truly relaxing and revitalizing
nam. The largest and most beautiful, Con tions offering generous personal space experience presenting some of Vietnam’s
Dao Island, hosts the Six Senses Hide- with lush tropical mangrove vegetation specialty treatments, such as cupping,
away Con Dao along a one-kilometre, and breathtaking views. There are 35 vil- together with an extensive menu of tradi-
white sand beach surrounded by dramatic las with Private Pools plus 16 Residential tional and signature treatments. Skilled
mountain landscapes. The remote setting Villas, each with two Private Pools. Styles therapists create sensory journeys for
and preserved natural landscape provides range from single-level to duplexes and guests with a range of holistic wellness
an extraordinary sense of seclusion, creat- offer one, two and three bedrooms, many programmes and pampering therapies
ing an ideal place to escape, relax and with indoor-outdoor bathrooms and sev- using products made only from natural
live close to the natural elements. eral with personal spa suite salas. ingredients and at one with ecological
responsibility.
The five-star resort boasts “ultra-contem-
porary architecture designed to enhance
Dining and Refreshments
the natural beauty of the site”. All mate-
How to get there
The arrival and main guest area of Six
rials and resources have been locally
Senses Hideaway Con Dao recreates Con Son Island, which hosts the Six
chosen, and from sustainable sources, the
a fishing village and local market, and Senses Hideaway, is around 230-kilome-
resort developers say.
features truly Redefining Experiences tres, or 145-miles, from Ho Chi Minh City
concepts. At the Fishery, guests view the and is served by Co Ong Airport. It can be
The resort has 50 villas, each with its own
whole preparation process of local sea- reached by the resort’s private airplane,
private infinity pool and unobstructed
food to be served in the restaurant. The 45-minutes from Ho Chi Minh City.
views of the East Sea with a total capacity
Vietnamese Coffee Shop is furnished with

Furama Resort Da Nang

Human resources look for qualified workers VIETNAM NEWS


VIETNAM NEWS 9

Nowadays, tourism industry needs more high-qual- tor for many months, but no candidate has turned
ification staffs to meet the increasingly demand of up. A whole team of managers has to come from
hotels and resort, however, it’s really difficult to Taiwan to run another resort that has just opened in
find a excellent trained manpower. Da Nang.

In order to solve this fact, investors focus on train- Whether supply’s and demand’s regulations
ing a labour force and retain qualified workers, un- solve the problem or not?
fortunately, they faced limited supply - a problem
for the travel industry throughout the central coast Huynh Tan Vinh, General Director of the Bac My An
region. Furama Resort, is chairman of the Da Nang Tourism
Association. He says Da Nang is now the “promised
Resorts are looking for qualified workers land” for tourism development.

According to Tran Thi Canh, Human Resouces (HR) The Da Nang Planning and Investment Department,
Manager of Nam Hai Resort said the key positions by the end of June 2010, counted 55 tourism projects
are held by people who once worked for Furama, registered in the city, with US$2,8 billion dollars in
the first five star resort in the central region, or for capitalization. It is expected that Da Nang will gain
other resorts or hotels in HCM City or Hanoi. another 45 more projects in 2010-2012, two-thirds of
them along the coast from Son Tra to Dien Ngoc. In
Canh said that before long in the central region, the next three years, four and five star beach hotels
more posh resorts will be put into operation by big alone will need 8000 workers.
name chains. She expects competition in the labour Unskilled workers are abundant, while qualified and
market to become very stiff, and many key staff to trained workers are scarce.
jump to other jobs.
According to Vinh, students graduated by local
Anticipating this, Nam Hai and other top resorts and schools meet only ten percent of the demand. Most
hotels are reconsidering their labour force policies. study to become receptionists or tour guides, while
They are recruiting assistants to key staff in anticipa- few are trained to become cooks, chambermaids or
tion of possible defections and improving benefits security guards.
and promotion opportunities. And the managers of
restaurants, hotels and luxury resorts in the central Vitours chief Cao Tri Dung says the central region
region all express worry about their chances of re- lacks tour guides that can work with tourists from
cruiting ordinary staff in the next several years. new markets like South Korea, Thailand and Spain.
At the Huong Giang Travel Agency, Nguyen Hang
The central region is especially short of top manag- Quy says 40 percent of his clients are from Thailand,
ers. Big resorts and hotels in Da Nang City and adja- but he’s unable to find tour guides who can speak
cent Quang Nam province are raiding workers from Thai.
other resorts and hotels by offering attractive wages
and job promotion opportunities. Tourism sector firms seem to have lost faith in the
market to meet their needs. Many urge that local
The director of a travel firm said that said that one authorities ‘should apply suitable policies’ to attract
new complex has been looking for a general direc- highly qualified workers from HCM City and Hanoi.

10 VIETNAM NEWS

Vietnamese cultural
showcase to open in RoK
A Vietnamese cultural showcase scheduled to
open at the end of August in the Republic of Korea’s
(RoK) National Folk Museum in Seoul to promote
the country’s many different cultures.

The ‘Welcome to Vietnam’ showcase and another
on Mongolian culture (Senbeno Mongolia) are the
first two items launched this year in the RoK, where
almost 1,2 millions foreigners live.

With this programme, children in the RoK will be
able to find out more about the country’s range of
diverse cultures, which will help to stamp out cul-
tural problems in the country.

Through the showcase, the visitors will have chanc-
es to find out about Vietnam’s history, its language,
environment, cuisine, customs, religions, musical
instruments and traditional games by examining
the plentiful and vivid documents and artefacts.

At present, there are over 90,000 Vietnamese peo-
ple living and working in the RoK, the second larg-
est foreign community after China including 35,000
Vietnamese brides married to Korean men.


VIETNAM NEWS 11

Travel expo expresses
heritage sites and river tourism
The annual International Travel Expo Under the title “Cambodia, Laos, Vietnam bodia, Taiwan, and South Korea. Anh said
scheduled for 30th September to 2nd Oc- - Three Countries, One Destination,” the the organizing committee would continue
tober in HCMC’s District 7 will highlight travel expo will feature a tourism exhibi- to receive registrations of exhibitors.
river tourism and health tourism in the city tion, meetings between travel buyers and
as well as the world heritage sites in the sellers, free-show tours and seminars. The In addition, five international media agen-
country. expo will also include the ASEAN Tourism cies named Travel News Weekly/Travel
Investment Forum. World (China); MICE in Asia (Malaysia),
Nguyen Bao Anh, Deputy Head of the Tour- Travel for Life (Russia) and CNN Trav-
ism Promotion Division under HCMC’s De- The event organizers are the city’s Tour- eler (America) have registered to join the
partment of Culture, Sports and Tourism, ism Department, IIR Exhibitions Pte Ltd expo.
told that the organizing committee would and VINEAX.
set up booths to promote above-mentioned The city’s Department of Culture, Sports
products and tourist sites alongside the Anh said 266 tourism service buyers from and Tourism is asking international airlines
booths of tourism service providers. 43 countries put their names down to join like Vietnam Airlines, Philippine Airlines,
the travel expo. Up to now, 62 exhibitors Singapore Airlines, and Turkish Airlines to
The event at the Saigon Exhibition and have booked booths at the expo, includ- support guests and organize familiariza-
Convention Center will also incorporate ing tourism service providers and provin- tion trips during the event.
a conference to promote destinations of cial tourism promotion departments from
Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia with a focus Binh Thuan, Thua Thien-Hue, Quang Nam,
on river tourism with an aim to link up the Khanh Hoa, Lam Dong, and foreign tour-
river routes of the three countries. ism promotion departments of India, Cam-

Japan & Vietnam Contemporary Art
Exhibition on display in Vietnam
Sixteen artists, eight from Vietnam and eight sents the wind in Indonesia.
from Japan, have collaborated for an art show
at HCMC’s Museum of Fine Arts. Female artist Miwa Aki uses green. Light
green describes the spring wind in Japan and
“2010 Japan & Vietnam Contemporary Art Ex- dark green describes the twilight.
hibition 8+8” displays work from La Nhu Lan,
Lam Triet, Nguyen Minh Phuong, Tran Trung Another female artist, Thanh Mai, paints old
Tin, Hua Thanh Binh, Tran Van Thao, Nguyen women’s faces and cats.
Thanh Mai and Khai Doan and Takata Yoshiki,
Hiratsuka Ryoichi, Tatsukuhama Yohichiro, Tran Thi Huynh Nga, owner of Blue Space
Takashima Yoshiyuki, Kudo Mashide, Miwa Contemporary Arts Center, the organizer of
Aki, Hashimoto Kenji and Suganuma Minoru. the show, said the collaboration had been
really positive and there would be more to
Takata Yoshiki’s art installation is a small come.
room with a chair, a fan and some thin white
thin curtains with landscapes projected on The exhibition starts from 20th - 29th August at
them. He took the photos in small villages in 97A Pho Duc Chinh Street, District 1, HCMC.
Museum of Fine Art, HCMC
Indonesia and France and said the fan repre-


12 VIETNAM NEWS
Illustrated picture bar and coffee equipment and supplies,
display and shop fitting equipment, vari-
ous food service equipment, furnishings
and fixtures, guest amenity services and
information on hospitality systems. Visitors
range from hotel and resort management
to golf club managers, restaurant owners,
food importers and wholesalers, caterers,
management of supermarkets and grocery
stores, not to mention private investors.

For further information, please feel free to
contact:
Vietnam Hotel Expo
Add: Room 404, 4th Floor, IBC Building,
35 - 37 Trang Thi Str., Hoan Kiem Dist., Ha-

Vietnam Hotel Expo 2010 noi, Vietnam
Tel: +84 462753439
Fax: +84 462753246
delayed until December Event website: www.vietnamhotelexpo.com
Organizer’s website: www.gfcexpo.com

Because of the special reasons and as per opportunity beyond simply exploring all that
requests of key exhibitors, the Organis- there is regarding hotels and tourism.
ing Board of Vietnam Hotel Expo 2010 has
decided to delay the event until 6-8 Decem- Organized by the GFC International Fair and
ber 2010 instead of 22-24 September at the Communication Company Ltd., the Viet-
Hanoi National Convention Centre. nam Hotel Expo is specifically organized
for the international hospitality community,
This year the event is held alongside the showcasing such vendors as bakery and
third annual Tourism and Camping Asia Ex- confectionery equipment manufacturers and
position, allowing travellers an even greater suppliers; products including bar and coffee

Northeastern provinces join hands in
building tourism trademarks
Eight northwestern provinces; include Lao ism products that conform to the current Also under the plan, twenty-two travel
Cai, Yen Bai, Phu Tho, Ha Giang, Hoa Binh, regulations and demands of each locality. agents from the eight provinces will be
Son La, Dien Bien and Lai Chau; held a provided training to improve 13 tourism
seminar in Sa Pa town on August 18 to dis- The localities also agreed to promote skills.
cuss measures to build tourism trademarks co-operation in investment projects for
and products. boosting community and cultural tourism in A slogan and logo design contest for each
mountainous and remote areas to support locality will be launched to create a brand
The focus of the seminar was on expand- sustainable development, environmental for the whole region and improve the ad-
ing tourism in connection with culture and protection, hunger elimination and poverty vertising of tourism.
environmental protection in remote areas reduction.
in the lead-up to sustainable development, The action plan is part of the ‘Tourism
hunger elimination and poverty reduction. They will focus on creating typical and Development in the Northeast Region’ proj-
unique tourism products for each ethnic ect, sponsored by the Vietnam National
Under the plan, the provinces reached group to attract more visitors and enhance Administration of Tourism and the Euro-
consensus on mechanisms and policy for co-operation in tourism events to exploit pean Union.
the management and development of tour- the region’s potential.

VIETNAM NEWS 13

Thang Long - Hanoi Culture Festival
promotes the Hanoi’s cultural values
Every citizen in the capital takes respon- of the culture’s significance and use it as
sibility for preserving and promoting Ha- the spiritual foundation, target and driving
noi’s 1000-year history and culture, de- force of the country’s socio-economic de-
clared Politburo member Pham Quang velopment.
Nghi at the Thang Long –Hanoi Culture
Festival held at the Hanoi Friendship Cul- Also at the festival, outstanding collectives
ture Palace. and individuals were presented with cer-
tificates of merit for their contributions to
The festival was held on the 5-year re- the campaigns ‘The Whole Nation Unites
view of Programme No. 08 of the Hanoi to Build up a Cultural Lifestyle’ and the
Party Committee on ‘Developing Culture ‘Day for Poor People’. They shared their
and Creating an Image of Elegant and experiences lessons learnt from the cam-
Civilized Hanoians in Anticipating of the paigns in their localities.
1000th Anniversary of Thang Long-Ha-
noi’ and to honour the traditional cultural The programme also featured various per-
beauty of Hanoians. formances of music and dance, a dragon
dance, a drum dance and ‘Bai Bong’ tra-
Addressing the ceremony, Politburo ditional dance performed by folk artists
member Nghi, who is also Secretary of form Thanh Tri and Phu Xuyen districts.
the Hanoi Party Committee, stressed that
Hanoi’s cultural traditions are a priceless The event was held jointly by the Party
treasure not only for Hanoians but also the Committee, the People’s Council, the
entire population. He urged all sectors People’s Committee and the Fatherland
and the public to raise their awareness Front of Hanoi.

President Ho Chi Minh’s
Mausoleum draws huge visitors
Over the past 35 years, President Ho Chi and led by our party, the national economy
Minh’s mausoleum has welcomed more increased, people’s lives were improved.
than 40 million visitors, including 7 million More and more people from localities na-
foreigner visitors from many different coun- tionwide went to President Ho Chi Minh’s
tries and territories as well as international Mausoleum to pay tribute to Uncle Ho.
organizations. About ten thousand people per day visit
President Ho Chi Minh’s Mausoleum dur-
The mausoleum was inaugurated on 29th ing days-off, festivals, his birthday and the
August 1975. It has become a place for anniversary of his death.
generations of Vietnamese to converge
feelings and beliefs with Uncle Ho – the It is also a place where important activi-
national liberation heroine and a world cul- ties of the party and state, meetings and
tural activist. parades take place. Political and cultural
activities are also usually held here.
Implementing the renewal policy initiated

days to come 1,000 years of Thang Long - Hanoi

Historical relics of Hoa Lo prison and the traditions
of Thang Long - Hanoi

The Relics Management Board under the Hanoi City Department of Joint Stock Bank and the Vietnam Nature Museum.
Culture, Sports and Tourism launched a contest to study the historical 30 multiple choice questions about Hoa Lo relics helped young peo-
relics of Hoa Lo prison and the traditions of Thang Long – Hanoi on ple understand more about patriotism and serving the struggle of
18th August. communist soldiers.
The contest has three main components, including studying about The contest aimed to educate the revolutionary and patriotic tradition
Thang Long – Hanoi, about the Hoa Lo prison and eloquence about of the older generations, and improve people’s awareness of pre-
the 1000-year culture capital, Hoa Lo relics and heroes who have sac- serving and promoting values of historical and revolutionary relics
rificed their lives for the national liberation, drawing the participation in the capital.
of over 70 young people from different agencies such as the Military

Artisans donate bells, drums and gongs to Hanoi’s
millennial celebration
As approved by the Hanoi People’s Com-
mittee and the Preservation Center of Co
Loa – Hanoi ancient capital relic, to wel-
come 1,000 years of Thang Long – Hanoi
and to welcome Thang Long Royal Cita-
del’s recognition as World Cultural Heri-
tage by UNESCO, the Handicraft Asso-
ciation of Hanoi trade villages will donate
bells, drums and gongs to the Thang Long
Royal Citadel.
According to the organizing committee, the
large drum, with a diameter of 2,35 meters
and a width of 3 meters, made by artisan
Pham Chi Tinh in Doi Tam drum village in
Doi Son Commune, Duy Tien District, Ha
Nam Province, is expected to be com-
pleted on 15 September to be available in
the Thang Long – Hanoi handicraft villages
and streets festival.
The copper gong with a diameter of 2.01
meters and the copper bell weighing 3,000-
3,500 tons and having a width of 3,050 me-
ters and a diameter of 1,650 meters is made
by artisan Nguyen Tan Thinh, the director
of the Phu My Loc joint-stock company.
The bell will be cast from 12-18 September
before being presented to the Kinh Thien
Palace in the Thang Long royal citadel on
25 September.



Key programs for the capital’s grand anniversary

Deputy Prime Minister Nguyen Sinh Hung, to well organize the 10-day grand anniversa- and Tourism, together with the Hanoi Peo-
Head of the National Steering Committee of ry which consists of 30 cultural activities and ple’s Committee and relevant agencies.
the celebration of 1,000 years of Thang Long festivals to solemnly show people’s affection During the meeting, while the national an-
– Hanoi, told that the preparations for the and gratitude to ancestors, and highlight tra- them is being sung, 21 gun shots will be fired
celebration must focus on three important ditional historical and revolutionary values of at the Hanoi Flag Tower Stadium. The Dep-
programs, these are the opening ceremony the Vietnamese nation. uty Prime Minister specified that no gong,
on 1 October, the meeting and parade on The art performance is expected to be last drum or horn sound should be used during
the morning of 10 October and the art and for 100 minutes. It will finish with a 20-30 min- the meeting, VGP reported.
cultural performance on the evening of 10 ute firework performance. The three large programs are expected to be
October. According to the Deputy Prime Minister, the rehearsed in late September.
He instructed the Hanoi People’s Committee meeting and parade on October 10 will be
to closely coordinate with relevant agencies prepared by the Ministry of Culture, Sports

1,000 Hanoi enterprises to be announced in late September
1,000 typical enterprises, 1,000 typical businessmen and 1,000 typical products of Hanoi will be awarded on 24th Septem-
ber 2010 to welcome the great festival of the 1,000th anniversary of Thang Long – Hanoi.
This is the main content of a program named: “Thang Long – Hanoi Intelligence”, co-organized by the Vietnam Associa-
tion of Young Scientists and Engineers (VAYSE), the Vietnam Intellectual Property Association (VIPA), and the Vietnam
Illustrated picture

Culture and Information Ltd., Co.
The 1,000 typical businessmen are young businessmen who are brave and innovative in their work or who are excellent
leaders that lead their teams to overcome difficulties in the economic crisis period, contributing to promoting the coun-
try’s socio-economic development.
On September 18th, the organizing board of the program: “Thang Long – Hanoi Intelligence” will select 100 young intel-
lectuals of Hanoi to welcome the special event of Thang Long – Hanoi.


VIETNAM NEWS
Giant embroidered picture on display
An enormous embroidered piece named
“Coi xua” (Old Origins) to mark the 1000th
anniversary of Thang Long Hanoi will be
on display at the Viet Xo (Vietnam-Russia)
Friendship Cultural Palace at 91 Tran Hung
Dao Street from 25th – 29th August.
This is an opportunity for Hanoians and
visitors to see the giant embroidered piece
made by hundreds of artisans from the Coi
Xua Handicraft and Export Co in Van Lam
craft village in the northern province of
Ninh Binh to express their love for the capi-
tal city. Cội xưa
The 5.5 by 31 meter embroidery, weighing
1.5 tons, was begun in 2009 and has used
nearly 170 square meters of Italian wool and
around 250 kilograms of thread. The picture
contains images of the ancient capital Hoa
Lu and important historic landmarks in the
dynasties of Dinh, Tien Le and Ly. The pic-
ture also features the establishment of the
state of Dai Co Viet; Hoa Lu capital’s land-
scape including two temples worshipping
two kings Dinh Tien Hoang and Le Dai
Hanh; and the typical traits of the capital’s
terrain. The last part is the royal decree by
King Ly Cong Uan to move the capital to
Thang Long. .
The embroidery is proposed to the Bui Xuan
Phai entitled “For the love of Hanoi 2010”.

Hanoi sprints last days
to its anniversary
The Hanoi People’s Committee on 20 August
launched an emulative campaign in the last days to
the 1,000th founding anniversary of Thang Long - Ha-
noi.
Vice Chairperson of the municipal People’s Com-
mittee Ngo Thi Thanh Hang said: “Celebrating the
1,000th founding anniversary of Thang Long - Hanoi
not only means to construct grandiose buildings but
more fundamentally and profoundly to make the so-
ciety more beautiful, to beautify each and every per-
son’s soul, awareness and behavior.”
At the campaign launching ceremony, Municipal
Party Committee Secretary Pham Quang Nghi asked
agencies and people to raise awareness of emula-
tive movements and popularize cultural, sports and
tourism activities.
The campaign is part of the Thang Long–Hanoi Cul-
tural Festival and the sum-up of the Municipal Party
Committee’s Program 08 on cultural development.


18 INTERNATIONAL NEWS

Bangkok Airport
Rail Link begins full
commercial operations
The Airport Link connecting downtown Bangkok and Suvarn-
abhumi airport began its first day of commercial services on 23
August after four-year delay, with trains now running from 6am
to midnight.

Two services will be offered. The first is the 15-minute Express
service between Suvarnabhumi Airport and Bangkok’s city
centre, priced at THB150 (US$4.69), with a promotional fare
of THB100 (US$3.12) offered until year-end. The second is the
30-minute City Line commuter trip, priced between THB15
(US$0.46) and THB45 (US$1.40) for each station stop, but for
the meantime, with a promotional fare pegged at a flat fee of
THB15 also until year-end.

The Makkasan Station is the designated City Air Terminal.
Phaya Thai Station, close to the Victory Monument – favourite
site of mass civilian rallies – is the last stop on the route.

The City Line will make eight stops across the capital, start-
ing at Phaya Thai, before heading to the airport. The trains
take 30 minutes from Phaya Thai to Suvarnabhumi. Passengers
using the City Line pay a flat rate of 15 baht for a trip during
the promotion period. Fares will range from 15 baht to 45 baht,
depending on the distance travelled, after Jan 1, 2011.

Teething problems have been noted, however, including the
lack of a downward escalator connecting the BTS Phaya Thai
skytrain station and the Phaya Thai airport rail link station as
well as the absence of a single commuter ticket combining the
services of the airport rail link, BTS and MRT (subway). This
means a traveller has to buy tickets separately at each inter-
change.

Forbidden City to open KLIA passenger traffic
more areas to public climbs 16.6% in Q2 Lombok looks forward
Beijing’s famous Forbidden City is
planning to open more areas to the
public. Authorities will open 70% of
Total passenger movements at
Kuala Lumpur International Airport
(KLIA) increased to 8.31 million
to hosting TIME 2010
the once strictly off-limits imperial in the second quarter of 2010, up The Indonesian island of Lombok, West Nusa Tenggara will
palace to tourists, up from just 30% 16,6% from the 7,13 million pas- again host the annual Tourism Indonesia Mart and Expo
currently. The Beijing Morning Post sengers it catered for in the same (TIME) (Pasar Wisata Indonesia) from October 12 to 15.
reported the Head of the Adminis- period last year. International pas-
tration of Cultural Heritage, Shan sengers accounted for 68.8% of the Chairman of TIME 2010’s Steering Committee, Meity Robot,
Jixiang, as saying that the newly- total throughput. said TIME promotes Lombok and West Nusa Tenggara to
opened areas could see visitor the international market and speeds the development and
numbers rise by 30,000 per day, to Australia named in improvement of infrastructure, tourism facilities and tourism
around 130,000. world’s top attractions in the region.
Hilton Worldwide joins ‘Best Countries’ A new international airport is expected to be operational later
Expedia’s Green Hotel Newsweek revealed ‘Best Coun- this year, and this development is expected to attract more
tries’ list for 2010, measuring the tourist arrivals to the island and speed improvements to infra-
scheme world’s nations based on five fac- structure such as new hotels and tourism attractions.
Expedia.com has announced that a tors: education, health, quality of
first batch of 300-plus Hilton World- life, economic dynamism & political To be held at Santosa Villa & Resort Lombok, TIME is aimed
wide properties using ‘LightStay’ environment. In the Asia Pacific at promoting Indonesia as a tourist destination in international
will be added to the Expedia.com region, Australia was the highest markets and at the same time raising the country’s image as a
Green Hotel programme. LightStay rank, coming 4th in the global list.
global travel destination and be expected to attract 150 inter-
is Hilton’s sustainability measure- Japan was 9th followed by New Zea-
national buyers and 150 sellers from all over Indonesia.
ment system, which calculates and land (13th), South Korea (15th) and
analyses the environmental impact Singapore (20th). Thailand ranked The show attracted 127 buyers from 25 countries and 250
of its properties. It is currently be- 58th, one place ahead of China. Fin- sellers from 15 provinces last year. Robot said the number of
ing rolled-out and will be in place land was rated as the world’s ‘Best
buyers attending TIME for seven consecutive years has been
at Hilton’s entire portfolio by 31 Country’, followed by Switzerland
relatively steady.
December 2011. and Sweden. The USA was 11th.


INTERNATIONAL NEWS 19

Hong Kong sees
visitor arrivals up
Visitor arrivals to Hong Kong in July 2010 the market. This significant growth could up by 10,6% compared to the same month
reached the highest ever single-month be attributed to the fact that summer is a last year. As for the emerging markets,
level at 3,136,794, a robust increase of popular travel season among Mainland Russia, the Middle East and India reg-
31,9% year-on-year. For the first seven visitors. In addition, the implementation istered growth of 86%, 47,5% and 44.9%
months of this year, total visitor arrivals of measures under the Individual Visit respectively, as propelled by such factors
amounted to 19,992,810, representing a Scheme in Shenzhen has made it easier as economic recovery and more frequent
24,4%-rise compared to the same period for Shenzhen residents to visit Hong Kong. flights.
last year.
Among other short-haul markets, South In July 2010, overnight visitors exceeded
The arrivals base for comparison this July and Southeast Asia achieved nearly 1,82 million. The figure represented 58.3%
is relatively lower, given that visitor arriv- 40% increase in arrivals, as there were of all visitors to Hong Kong and was 35,7%
als in the same month last year were im- greater travel sentiments resulting from more than in July 2009. The increase
pacted by the human swine flu pandemic. the improved economic conditions and was contributed by the rise in overnight
The gain in visitor arrivals in July 2010 is increased flight capacity. Taiwan also visitors from most market regions, espe-
still strongly encouraging; with arrivals recorded growth of 10,4%, a sign that cially short-haul markets, such as Taiwan
surpassing the July 2008 figure by 15,8%. the effect of direct cross-strait flights is (+46,1%), Mainland China (+44,9%) and
The growth in overall arrivals in July was stabilising. South and Southeast Asia (+42,7%).
led by Mainland China, with more than Cumulatively, between January and Ju
2 million visitor arrivals. The figure was Meanwhile, visitor arrivals from the long- ly this year, overnight visitors amounted to
not only 40% more than in last July, but haul markets also grew steadily. Overall 11,3 million, or 56,6% of all visitors to Hong
was also the highest monthly figure for arrivals from these markets in July went Kong, a year-on-year increase of 23,3%.


Kazakhstan to test the tourism products of
India to head buyers list at Thailand.

Thailand Travel Mart 2010 Plus TAT has also sought to ensure quality
buyers by requiring them to pay a nominal
registration fee of USD 200. A number of
buyers invited from the domestic Thai
market will be charged USD 50 for regis-
tration.

The buyers will meet 428 registered
sellers from various business categories
such as hotels and resorts, tour operators
and travel agents, eco and adventure,
wellness and spa, airlines, entertainment/
theme parks/culture products, golf cours-
es, associations, other travel services and
the Greater Mekong Subregion/ NTOs.

Suraphon Svetasreni, Governor, TAT said,
“This year’s TTM Plus is important for us
because it comes as part of our recov-
The Tourism Authority of Thailand is the changing mix of buyers. For the first ery programme from the recent political
(TAT) has confirmed that the Thailand time, buyers from India will head the list. unrest.
Travel Mart Plus Amazing Gateway to the
Greater Mekong Subregion (TTM+ 2010) 341 buyers from 49 countries registered to It is also part of our strategy to diversify
will be held from 8-10 September 2010, at participate in the event including India (70 the sources of visitor arrivals and expose
the IMPACT Convention Centre (Hall 9), buyers), followed by the United State (26), Thailand and the GMS region to new
Muang Thong Thani in Bangkok. the UK (24), Russia (22) and South Korea buyers from countries and regions which
(16). TAT will invite new buyers from Bra- could deliver promising results in the
The most important development this year zil, Mexico, UAE, Turkey, Lithuania, and future.”



Australia lures more
Chinese tourists
to Gold Coast
The Chinese tourism market on the Gold Coast can
double in three years if local businesses can pro-
vide a more ‘Chinese-friendly’ service.

Last year, 106,000 Chinese tourists spent over
AU$60 million on the Gold Coast, exhibiting growth
of 15 percent for the tourism hot spot, compared to
Chinese visitation to Australia which grew by a rela-
tively subdued 2,8 percent over the same period.

Gold Coast Tourism (GCT) said it was not alone
in recognising the business and tourism potential
of China and was one of the few Australian travel
agents preparing the local industry to maximise the
opportunity.

As parts of its preparations, GCT will bring together
dozens of front-line tourism staff for a workshop on
Chinese Culture and Customer Service, to heighten
cultural intelligence of Chinese social customs and
nuances. This builds on the recent Chinese Culture
and Business workshop attended by 30 staff from
various Gold Coast businesses seeking to better
their trade relationships with China.

“It is one thing to increase Chinese visitor numbers,
it is another thing to develop a prosperous and sus-
tainable market,” GCT Marketing Manager - China,
Taiwan, and Hong Kong, John Chan said.

“We need to break down barriers between Gold
Coast businesses and our Chinese visitors and
tourism distribution partners. Our ability to raise the
Gold Coast’s profile in China and attract a larger
quantity and quality of Chinese tourists is as much
about Gold Coast businesses being able to effec-
tively engage the market as it is about destination
brand marketing.

“If Gold Coast Tourism can help foster an aware-
ness and appreciation amongst local tourism busi-
nesses for how best to interact with both Chinese
tourism businesses and consumers, then without
doubt we have a far greater chance of achieving
more lasting and sustainable tourism growth for the
Gold Coast.”

The Gold Coast has achieved greater growth than
most areas in Australia because of targeted cam-
paigns at specific cities in China. Aspects of the
workshops include educating key players that:

• Chinese people focus on building a sincere rela-
tionship before negotiating business deals.

• How to say ‘hello’ in Chinese, because they ap-
preciate efforts made to communicate in their lan-
guage.

• Mutual respect must be established before do-
ing business.


welcomes visitor arrivals growth



H
awaii said aloha to 625,522 visitors in June 2010, a 13,6 percent up over June
2009 and testament to the industry’s recovery from recent events which had
dampened travel to the region.

Elvis and the Brady Bunch have been there (though perhaps not together) as has
any sitcom worth its set budget, but Hawaii, like other US destinations, suffered visi-
tor declines due to the recent economic downturn and last year’s H1N1 epidemic,
which it is now showing signs of besting.

According to the Hawaii Tourism Authority, the efforts of Hawaii’s tourism industry to
boost arrivals during the recession “have been successful”.

“Our focused efforts to increase travel demand to Hawaii in our major market areas
are paying off with increases in arrivals from US West, US East, Canada, and Japan,”
Hawaii Tourism Authority chief executive Mike McCartney told Bloomberg.

Oahu recorded the strongest June growth at 18,3 per cent over June 2009, followed
by the Big Island with 8,9 per cent, Maui with 5,9 percent and Kauai with 5,8 percent
increases.

“Although we still have a ways to go to make up for what has been lost during these
challenging economic times, our visitor industry is on the right path and there is
reason for increased confidence in Hawaii’s economic recovery,” Hawaii Tourism
Authority spokesperson Marsha Wienert told the newspaper.

Ms Wienert said higher per person per day spending and higher overall visitor ex-
penditure in June was a sign the industry was strong.

For the first half of 2010, total tourist expenditure in the state climbed to USD5,3 bil-
lion, a 7,8 percent increase compared with the same period last year.

International tourism to Hawaii continued to grow by 33,5 percent, led by a 47,8 per-
cent increase in Japanese visitors.

“It is also encouraging to continue to welcome more visitors from developing tour-
ism markets in Asia, specifically Korea, China and Taiwan,” Ms Weinert said.

World Trade Market 2009 - Excel London

WTM introduces Technology
& Online Travel Theatre
World Travel Market, the premier global event for the travel industry,
is expanding its technology seminar programme for 2010 with the
introduction of a presentation theatre on the exhibition floor within the
technology and online travel section.

It’s the first time a conference venue has been positioned on the World
Travel Market exhibition floor in the event’s 31 year history.

The new Technology and Online Travel Theatre at WTM is an exclusive
platform for exhibitors to promote their products and services in 45
minute slots to technology and online travel buyers (member of WTM’s
Meridian Club), other exhibitors and visitors.

Leading social media site TripAdvisor and travel industry website de-
sign and development company ZOLV are two technology also signed
up to the Technology and Online Travel Theatre.

The 80-seat theatre is part of a much expanded technology and online
travel conference and events programme which also includes presenta-
tions from British Airways, lastminute.com, Tui Travel, Google, Yahoo!
and WAYN on a range of topics including social media and mobile.

World Travel Market Exhibition Director Simon Press said: “The new
Technology and Online Travel Theatre is a great initiative to help ex-
hibitors communicate the benefits of their products and services to the
global travel and tourism industry.

“World Travel Market is a leader in innovation in the exhibition industry,
and I’m delighted to be launching such an innovation to the travel and
tourism industry in 2010.”


Four Seasons Hotel Bangkok
to Host Charity Concert
Four Seasons Hotel Bangkok is pleased to announce a charity
concert in aid of the “Friends of Ratchaprasong Fund” on Thurs-
day, 2nd September 2010.

H.E. Admiral M.L. Usni Pramoj, Privy Councillor and accom-
plished musician, began composing his first String Quartet last
April when the nation was facing its most serious turmoil in recent
years. As work on the music progressed, a story emerged almost
of its own volition.

The first movement portrays rural life, whereas the second move-
ment portrays the red shirt tide of demonstrators sweeping over
Bangkok and occupying key areas of the city. The third move-
ment expresses an outpouring of grief, from all sides, for the hurt
inflicted upon the nation, while the fourth and last movement
does not tell a story, but instead, projects the hope that Thais will
find a fair resolution, come together to rebuild the nation so that
normalcy shall be restored, to be once again united in peace.

The evening starts at 7:00 pm with a cocktail reception in the
Pimarnman Room followed by the performance of the String
Quartet after which a four-course set menu will be served.

H.E. Admiral M.L. Usni Pramoj will be on the viola, with Tasana
Nagavajara on the first violin and Siripong Tiptan on the second
violin, with Kittikhun Sodprasert on the cello.

With the support of the members of the Ratchaprasong Square
Trade Association, tickets are being sold for Baht 3,500 net per
person.

Singapore visitor spending
surged during Youth Olympic Games
The Singapore economy has seen a boost in foreign visitor spending
during the days leading to the opening day of the Singapore 2010
Youth Olympic Games, according to spending data from Visa. More
than US$8,3 million was spent by international visitors to Singapore
on Visa-branded payment cards on the Opening Day of the Singa-
pore 2010 Youth Olympic Games in Singapore.

The money spent by visitors on their Visa Credit, Debit and Prepaid
cards on 14 August 2010, showed an increase of nearly 50 percent
over the same day in 2009.

In the lead up and first two days of the Games (11-15 August 2010),
more than US$42,5 million was spent by international visitors to Sin-
gapore on Visa-branded payment cards. This is a 45 percent increase
from the same period in 2009.

Top contributors to visitor spending in Singapore as measured by
spending on Visa-branded payment cards were:

1. USA
2. Indonesia
3. Malaysia
4. Australia
5. Japan
6. UK
7. China
8. Hong Kong, China
9. India
10. Thailand

INTERNATIONAL NEWS


28 AVIATION NEWS

Indonesia to build 14 new airports
Minister of Transportation Freddy Numberi has given
an opportunity to the private sector to develop 14 new
airports the government will build starting in 2011.
According to local media reports, the country’s
President, Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, told that the
government has earmarked IDR198 billion (US$22
million) from the 2011 budget for the construction of
14 new airports, and the reconstruction of 18 existing
hubs.

Indonesia’s Minister of Transportation, Freddy Num-
beri, added that “if the private sector wants to join,
just go ahead.”

According to a Jakarta Post report, Numberi said that
the new developments would include a second air-
port in Bali and a hub for West Nusa Tenggara. “In
West Nusa Tenggara it is still in process. In Bali we
will build another one as the Ngurah Rai airport has
already been in over capacity,” the minister was quot-
ed saying by tempointeraktif.com. This appeared to
conflict with another statement issued by the Ministry
of Transportation, however, which listed the 14 new
airport sites, without mentioning Bali. The new loca-
tions were named as Eastern Seram (Maluku), Bone
(Sulawesi), Enggano (Bengkulu), Muara Bungo (Jam-
bi), Muara Teweh (Central Kalimantan), Morowali
(Central Sulawesi), Saumlaki Baru (Maluku), Sinak
Baru (West Papua), Tojo Una-Una (Central Sulawesi),
Tual Baru (Maluku), Wagete Baru (West Papua), Wa-
isai Raja Ampat (West Papua), Nam Niwel and Suma-
rorong (West Sulawesi).

The airports will mostly cater for small aircraft to
boost domestic air traffic across the archipelago.

Jetstar Pacific launches cheap tickets for
domestic flights

The budget carrier Jetstar Pacific will sell ang route or Ho Chi Minh City – Danang route cards, such as Visa, Master Card, Amex, and
cheap tickets for flights between three big will cost from VND 300,000, while tickets for JCB, and by domestic debit cards, such as
cities, Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City and Danang flights between Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City Connect 24 (Vietcombank), E- Partner (Viet-
City, from 7th September to 27th October cost from VND 600,000. inbank), and VIB.
on the occasion of the 1000th anniversary of The air carrier often launches promotional
Thang Long – Hanoi. Cheap tickets will be available on the Jetstar programs for passengers at special events
Pacific’s website from 9am to 5pm on August every year.
Accordingly, each ticket for the Hanoi - Dan- 20th, and can be paid for online by credit

AVIATION NEWS 29

Korean Air enhances Skypass
loyalty scheme
Korean Air has made several changes ance, airport lounge access, and KAL
to its frequent flyer programme, includ- limousine transport and will increase the
ing extending the expiry date for earned selection of redemption travel, accom-
miles to ten years, and allowing miles modation and tour packages available.
to be redeemed against lounge passes Korean Air is also enhancing its Skypass
and excess baggage. Family Plan, allowing miles to be shared
Under the new terms mileage earned af- with wider family members including
ter July 1, 2008 will be valid for ten years siblings, parents-in-law, sons-in-law,
(up from the current five years), and any and daughters-in-law.
mileage earned before this date now has Finally the carrier is increasing the valid-
lifetime validity. ity of award tickets to one year (up from
In addition the carrier has increased the the current six months), and will also al-
number of seats available for award trav- low members to earn miles of additional
el, and a new online system has been in- seats purchased for musical instruments
troduced allowing Skypass to check the or for convenience reasons.
availability of award seats at koreanair. Korean Air says the changes will gradu-
com. ally become effective as system updates
The airline says it will also gradually add are completed.
new ways of redeeming miles, on ser-
vices including excess baggage allow-

Siem Reap receives more flights in the winter

Siem Reap International Airport will have two per cent more week- eight additional services – one from Pusan and seven from Incheon.
ly flights in the coming October 2010-March 2011 winter timetable, Airport operator Société Concessionnaire des Aéroports (SCA) has
mainly from regional destinations such as China, South Korea and held two fam trips this year for South Korean agents and media. A
Singapore. similar fam will be held in Japan next week to spur interest in char-
SilkAir’s additional flight will bring its services from Singapore to nine ter or regular flights into SCA’s three airports in Cambodia, including
a week. Phnom Penh International Airport and Sihanoukville Airport.
China Southern Airlines will increase its Canton-Siem Reap services Etienne Lefort , Airport Manager said Siem Reap Airport International,
from two to five weekly flights. Meanwhile, Yunnan Airlines has re- in particular, will receive more charter flights in the winter season.
quested for slots for daily flights between Kunming and Siem Reap. This month alone, the airport will have hosted 60 charters from Hong
Asiana Airlines will up its Incheon-Siem Reap flights to six a week, Kong, China, Taiwan and South Korea.
from the previous four. Korean Air will have 17 flights a week through

30 AVIATION NEWS

Tiger Airways expands its network to Manila
Tiger Airways begins daily days.
flights between Singapore and Promotional rates are available
Manila’s Ninoy Aquino Interna- from now till August 25, starting
tional Airport (NAIA) from 31st from S$55 (US$40) for travel
October 2010. between October 31 and July
The low-cost carrier already 31, 2011.
flies nine times a week from Earlier, Tiger Airways strength-
Singapore to Clark’s Diosdado ened moves to expand in the
Macapagal International Air- region, tying up recently with
port (DMIA), a 90-minute drive THAI Airways to form a new
from Metro Manila. budget carrier Thai Tiger.
The new service has a depar- In another development, the
ture time from Singapore of Philippine Civil Aeronautics
1710 and an arrival time in Ma- Board awarded Philippine car-
nila of 2040. Return flights will riers, Philippine Airlines, Air
depart at 2110 and arrive in Sin- Philippines, Cebu Pacific, Zest
gapore at 0040. An Airbus A320 Air, more capacity to operate to
will be used on the route. Singapore, following the sign-
Frequency will increase from ing of more bilateral agree-
December 1 to twice a day, ments between Singapore and
except on Tuesdays and Sun- the Philippines.

Garuda Indonesia launches direct flights to Tokyo

Garuda Indonesia will launch direct Jakarta-Tokyo services from 31 The aircraft features Garuda’s refreshed cabin products, which in-
August 2010. cludes a 180-degree fully flat bed seat in Business class, touchscreen
LCD monitors in all classes, a state-of-the-art flight entertainment sys-
The carrier already flies from Denpasar, Bali to Tokyo daily, to Nagoya tem with Audio and Video On Demand (AVOD), which offers a choice
three times a week and to Osaka five times a week. of 25 films, 250 audio tracks and 25 video games.
GA884 will depart from Jakarta at 2350 and arrive in Tokyo at 0900. Travellers from Japan can also take advantage of onboard visa-on-
Return flight GA885 leaves Tokyo at 1200 and arrives in Jakarta at 1745. arrival services.
An Airbus A330-200 with a capacity of 222 passengers, 36 in Business
class and 186 in Economy class, will be used on the route.


LOT Polish Airline launches Hanoi – Warszawa direct route AVIATION NEWS 31

The LOT Polish Airlines will open a new Hanoi-War-
saw direct flight route starting on 15th November
2010.
The Chief Representative of LOT in Vietnam, Krzysz-
tof Kolodziej, said that the Hanoi – Warszawa is the
latest among 10 flights the airlines will operate in
2010. LOT is proud to be the unique carrier connect-
ing Warszawa and Hanoi on the occasion of the great
festival of the 1,000 anniversary of Thang Long – Ha-
noi.”
The Hanoi – Warszawa route will have three flights a
week on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. The flights
on the return route will be on Monday, Wednesday,
and Saturday each week.. LOT will use aircraft Boe-
ing 767-300 with the capacity of 225 economy seats
and 18 business seats.
LOT started selling tickets for direct flights from Ha-
noi to Warszawa as well to other destinations in the
carrier’s flight network. Round-trip tickets for flights
from Hanoi to Warszawa and Europe start at a price
of USD380, excluding VAT and other charges. The
price is as half as that of other carriers.
LOT is one of the oldest carriers in the world and
is now the member of the Star Alliance. In 2010, the
carrier will be the first European carrier operating
aircraft Boeing 787 Dreamliner.


32 AVIATION NEWS

Chile’s LAN and Brazil’s TAM
launch LATAM Airlines
T wo of South America’s biggest airlines,
Chile’s LAN and Brazil’s TAM, an-
nounced they planned to merge to create
Latin America’s largest carrier.
The new parent group would be called
LATAM Airlines but the separate TAM and
LAN logos would be maintained on aircraft
in each country, the airlines said in a joint
statement.
Regulatory authorities and shareholders
would have to give their approval to the deal,
which was outlined in a memorandum of un-
derstanding.
If the marriage goes ahead, the new airline
would have combined revenues of more
than eight billion dollars, and fly passengers
to 115 destinations in 23 countries. It would
have a combined workforce of 40,000 em-
ployees and a total fleet of 241 aircraft.
The companies said they believed the merg-
er could save the new LATAM airline 400 mil-
lion dollars.
Sao Paulo-based TAM is Brazil’s biggest air-
line, controlling 43 per cent of the domestic
market in Latin America’s biggest economy.
LAN, which also has operations in Peru and
Argentina, is one of the biggest airlines in
Latin America, with a strong network of in-
ternational routes which generate more rev-
enue per passenger than domestic flights.
According to the trade review Air Transport
World, TAM carried 29 million passengers
last year, most of them inside Brazil, whose
population of 190 million is Latin America’s
biggest. LANAirlines carried 15 million pas-
sengers.
TAM’s revenue passenger kilometers (RPK),
an industry measure, was 42.4 million to
LAN’s 30 million.
LAN, however, had a 2009 operating profit
of 435 million dollars on 3.7 billion dollars
of revenue, compared with TAM’s 98 million
dollars on 4.9 billion dollars.
TAM is a member of the Star Alliance airline
cooperation group while LAN is part of One-
world.
Simone Luciano, a spokeswoman for Brazil-
ian investment bank BTG Pactual, told AFP
her bank participated in the merger negotia-
tions.
Under the deal, TAM shareholders would
get 0.90 LATAM shares per TAM share.
TAM would be delisted from the Sao Paulo
exchange, which would instead offer Brazil-
ian Depositary Receipts for the new LATAM
Airlines.
The New York stock exchange would offer
American Depositary Receipts for the new
company. Depositary receipts are the paper
equivalent of shares for companies on for-
eign exchanges.
Last year, LAN had revenues of 3.7 billion
dollars while TAM took in 4.9 billion dollars.

AVIATION NEWS 33


34 AVIATION NEWS

Private jet luxury for Singapore passengers
S tar Alliance partners Lufthansa German Airlines
and Singapore Airlines are joining forces to of-
fer luxury travel combining scheduled flights and
private jets to and within Europe.

Passengers originating from Australia can now com-
bine their Singapore Airlines travel to Europe with
Lufthansa Private Jet services, connecting them to
over 1000 more airports in Europe and the Russian
Federation. The collaboration provides passengers
with travel service and access to even the remotest
parts of the European continent, while saving time
on the ground and in the air.
Subhas Menon, Singapore Airlines Regional Vice
President South West Pacific, said: “With this joint
product that combines premium service with flex-
ibility, customers now enjoy the option to travel in
top-notch comfort from Australia all the way to not
only the popular European gateways but also to the
less served European cities.”

After arriving at Singapore Airlines’ European desti-
nations, passengers can continue board a Lufthansa
Private Jet and travel within Europe according to
their own timetable. Kai Peters, General Manager
Lufthansa Australia said: “The premium traveller
is increasingly demanding more convenient travel
and the ultimate in service. This exclusive partner-
ship is a response to customers demand for a pre-
mium package tailored to their needs.”
A dedicated Private Jet Event Manager provides a
tailor-made solution to individual customer require-
ments and ensures that the entire journey is coor-
dinated from start to finish – including limousine
services, baggage transfers, customer’s individual
wishes for catering and in-flight entertainment, ac-
cess to high-quality lounges, and hassle-free pass-
port and customs controls.
Lufthansa Private Jet can be booked at a fixed price
based solely on distance flown starting from 6,900
euros (A$9,900) regardless of the number of travel-
lers, subject to available seating capacity.


AVIATION NEWS 35

Qantas to boost domestic capacity

Qantas Group Ltd will in- Perth.
crease capacity across its He said an A330-300 would
domestic route network by be added from January, with
9.6 per cent over the next nine a further five B737-800s being
months, including new routes progressively added to the
for Qantas and Jetstar. domestic network from March
next year.
Qantas chief executive offi- Mr Joyce said Jetstar would
cer Alan Joyce said the group also add new routes and in-
would increase capacity by crease services to key leisure
more than 66,000 seats per destinations as it increased
week in response to the re- domestic capacity by up to 30
covering domestic market. per cent this financial year.
The capacity will be intro- These included new services
duced over the next nine in Perth and Launceston an-
months and will see about 65 nounced last week and the
additional return services for additional 25 Cairns return
Qantas and around 120 for services from Melbourne,
Jetstar, including a 30 per cent Sydney and Brisbane detailed
increase in the low-cost car- today.
rier’s capacity to Cairns next The Qantas boss said the two
year. brands ensured the group
Qantas chief executive Alan was able to respond to oppor-
Joyce said seven additional tunities and changing market
aircraft would be added to conditions and now operated
the Qantas network this finan- jointly on more than 20 routes
cial year, including a Boeing across Australia.
767-300 last month on Sydney-


36 DO YOU KNOW

10 culture and customs of
Spanish to know when
travelling & living in Spain (part 1)


DO YOU KNOW 37

The people of Spain have a slower, known worldwide as the running of
more relaxed lifestyle than many the bulls. This festival, beginning in
other people in the world, but this Pamplona on July 6th each year, has
is because they work hard enough a history that has been lost over the
to reward themselves with such lei- years. The bull-running is held on
sure. Spain is a modern country, but July 7th, then each morning until July
many traditions from ancient times 14th. Visitors can stay behind fences
still hold. With its culture and cus- along the route, or they can join in
toms, Spanish has developed out the run.
of the country’s unique history and

4
regional differences. From food Equal Rights
to music to sport, many traditions
flourish across the Iberian Penin-
sula, though unique aspects of each Spain formerly operated under a
area in the country, from Andalusia male-dominated culture known as
to Catalonia, can be found as well. machismo. More recently, Spain has
become more equalized, with wom-

1 Family Roles en present in higher educational in-
stitutions as well as the workplace.
Spain also has more equal rights for
The extended family is just as impor- homosexuals, including legalized
tant as the nuclear family for many gay marriage.
Spanish people. Family provides

5
social and financial support, though Cuisine
it is less common now for Spanish
people to enter into the family busi-
based vegetable soup. And of
ness than it was in the past. Current- You can find jamon ser- course you
ly, birth rates are low in Spain, and rano and j a m o n
family ties have loosened slightly.

6
iberico, different
styles of dry-cured
Food, Drink and

2 Religion Spanish
hanging in
throughout
h a m ,
stores
the county
Nightlife
Spanish people enjoy a type of food
known as tapas, which are small
The majority of Spanish people and en- joyed by all
practice Roman Catholicism, with Spaniards. Across the appetizer portions. Many Spanish
94 percent of the population consid- country, typical dishes people hop from tapas bar to tapas
ering themselves to be Roman Cath- include pa- ella, a rice bar during an evening. A night out
olic. Many Spanish holidays have dish with a variety often begins with el paseo, which is
religious ties. Holy Week is marked of other ingredients; a walk through the main streets of
by processions throughout Spain, tortilla es- panola, an a city. Spanish people enjoy coffee
with many of the participants walk- egg om- elette with and bottled water. Seafood plays a
ing barefoot while wearing pointed fried po- tatoes; large part in Spanish dishes, as well
black hats as penance. and gaz- pacho, as Serrano ham.
a cold,

3
to - ma-
Holidays to-

Christmas is a major celebration
in Spain, celebrated in three parts-
--Christmas Eve, Christmas Day
and Three Kings Day. Before the
festivities of Christmas take place,
the state government holds a lot-
tery known as El Gordo, or the fat
one, in which thousands of winners
are announced each year. During
Christmas time, Spanish people vis-
it church often, and midnight mass
on Christmas is very popular.

The festival of San Fermin is


38 BUSINESS ADVICE

How to Live in a Different Country for a Short Time
By: Anonymous, Richard, Lizzi the Fizz, Travis Derouin

Let’s say your parents have decided to take you abroad for a year, maybe because they have a sabbatical, or maybe just for “fun”. To an
adult, it may seem like the perfect opportunity for you to learn a new language and make new friends, but you its a whole different story!
What about the friends you’re leaving behind? What about the whole part where you have to LEARN A NEW LANGUAGE?

1, Stay calm or freak out ahead of time: But when that fateful
day arrives, the first day in a foreign school, act as if this is what you do ev-
eryday. Scream and pound your fists in your head and curse the heck out
of everyone, in your head, but play it cool. Remember, everyone around
you is wondering how they would react to this situation, and it impresses
them to see you so collected.

2, Evaluate other people: There are always some kids who want to
be the first to know the new kid, to veto them or accept them. It’s usually
the popular ones. The great thing about a new school is that they don’t
know the first thing about you! So, watch them, and either laugh at them
(this always helps in a pinch) or mold to them. They are actually usually
nicer to you than the other kids.

3, Beware of the opposite sex, especially if you’re a girl
and especially in France: They can get pretty crude, and don’t
take no for an answer. Just brush them off if you need to. Getting flustered
does NOT help.

4, Use lots of sign language: Point at things and make funny fac-
es. If you can make people laugh while making them understand, you get
even more points!

5, Talk: Talk. Talk. Talk. Not just with teachers when they ask you a ques-
tion, but with all the kids, whether you like them or not. They will be so
busy trying to understand you that they won’t notice how weird you speak.
And if anyone makes fun of how you talk, other people will get mad at
them, seeing how much you try.

6, Enjoy yourself: Reminisce about your old home, but don’t dis the
new one. It’s got its quirks, sure, but mostly its an okay place. As long as
you work with everyone around you, you’ll catch on faster than you had
EVER imagined.


BUSINESS ADVICE 37

Tips
• Speak as often as you can, but whats even more im-
portant is reading. If you have a study period, and you
can go to the library, go. Read a comic book. Read a
fairy tale. It doesn’t matter, just read. When you read,
your mind doesn’t stumble over the words; it just goes a
little slower, unlike your mouth. Its the best practice you
could possibly hope for.

• Ask for help. If there is a word you forget or don’t un-
derstand, ask a friend to help you understand. Mime it
out if you have to. And don’t worry you will make friends
very quickly.

Warnings
• Never cry in school, except maybe on the last day
when you have to say goodbye and its incredibly hard.
All your friends will cry too.

• Don’t complain. People will immediately look over
all your good qualities and see just the complaining,
which is not attractive, especially in someone who has
so many reasons to complain.


Medical Tourism ~ Solution for Healthcare
By John C. Goodman

I t ’ s t o o early in the implementation phase to predict the specific ways health reform w i l l i m p a c t
t h e m edical tourism industr y. However, the health care problems that spurred th e g r o w t h o f
m e d i c a l t o uris m in t he firs t pla c e wi l l not be sol ved by the Pati ent Protecti on and A f f ordable
C a r e A c t (PPACA). In fact, many problems, such as high costs, are likely to increas e u n d e r t h e
l e g i s la t i o n. Lu c kily, m edic a l t o uri sm can hel p sol ve these concerns.

Perverse Incentives
In the US health care system, there are few
incentives to control health care spending
and hold down costs. Under the reforms
recently signed into law, nearly every-
one’s incentives will become worse, not
better — especially patients’.
The cornerstone of health reform is an
individual mandate that requires virtually
all U.S. residents to have health coverage.
This certainly will do nothing to control
costs. Indeed, because of the third-party
payment system (employer-sponsored
plans, insurers and government), every
time a patient in the United States spends a
dollar on health care, only 12 cents comes
out of his own pocket, on average. This
means patients have an incentive to con-
sume health care until its value to them is
worth only 12 cents on the dollar.

Failure to Control Costs
During his campaign, then-candidate Ba-
rack Obama’s health advisors said they
could save the average American house-
hold $2,500 a year through such reforms
as coordinated care, preventive care, evi-
denced-based care, pay-for-performance
care, electronic medical records and a
slew of similar ideas. The Congressio-
nal Budget Office responded that these
reforms will only save about 1 percent of
what President Obama’s team projected,
and maybe nothing at all. Basically, you
cannot expect to change the practice of
medicine by merely telling doctors (and
hospitals) to practice medicine in a pre-
determined way with top-down reforms.
Almost nowhere in the health care sys-
tem are providers competing for patients
based on price. Since they are not com-
peting on price, they have no interest in
reducing the cost of care. The PPACA
does nothing to change this fact.
www.travelweekly.com.vn

MEDICAL TOURISM 41

What This Means for Medical Tourism Medical Tourism Offers a Solution
Despite lower cost, the quality of health care abroad can be high. For Estimates vary, but more than a half million Americans travel outside
example, foreign doctors are often trained or board certified in the the United States for health care every year, and the number is grow-
United States. More than 300 hospitals abroad are accredited by the ing. Americans are finding package prices that include airfare and
Joint Commission International — the arm of the organization that ac- hotel rooms for one-third, one-fourth or even one-fifth of what they
credits American hospitals participating in Medicare. Some foreign would pay in the United States. Virtually every major U.S. insurer is
hospitals are owned, managed or affiliated with prestigious American actively studying how to enter this international market.
universities or health care systems, including the Cleveland Clinic, Traditionally, uninsured patients were the ones who traveled abroad
Johns Hopkins and Harvard International. The best foreign hospitals in search of lower cost, high-quality health care. However, beginning
not only post quality data (such as their case-adjusted mortality rates), in 2014, all businesses with more than 50 workers will be required to
they compare their rates to those at the best U.S. hospitals. There are offer employee coverage or pay a per-worker fine. With no cost con-
even medical travel bureaus that help patients find high quality care trol provisions in the PPACA, health plans will have to find out-of-the-
to meet their needs. box solutions to the ever-rising cost of medical care. Increasingly,
On a recent trip to Guatemala City, Guatemala I toured a facility run runaway costs will force employer-sponsored plans to offer workers
by Grupo Hospitalario, a private hospital chain. The CEO of the facil- the opportunity to travel abroad for some medical procedures in re-
ity was a Cornell University MBA. Most of the doctors who practice turn for a share of the savings.
there are U.S. trained, and most are board certified. They have all the
latest equipment and can do just about anything an American hospi-
tal can do. For starters, the hospital we visited looks like a modern
hotel — rooms come with a TV, minibar, Internet hookup and 24-hour
Bottom Line
I have no confidence the health reform legislation will solve our health
room service. And the price is right: a private room is $55 a day (a care problems. But I do have a lot of confidence that entrepreneurs
suite is $85). can. As entrepreneurs develop the medical tourism industry, it will
Almost all medical services cost a fraction of what they would in the become commonplace for employers to help workers find a high-
United States. Whereas MRI scans in the United States range, say, quality health care provider abroad, saving both the employer and
from $500 to $1,500, the Guatemalan equivalent costs $240 (daytime) employee money. Domestic hospitals and clinics will recognize their
or $100 (evening). Gastric bypass surgery, a popular procedure for lost business and begin to compete for patients on the basis of price.
American patients, costs $8,000 in Guatemala, compared to $25,000 in
the United States.
Currently, only 10 percent of their patients are foreign and only 2 per-
cent to 3 percent are American, but as the U.S. health care system be-
comes increasingly dysfunctional, a low-cost, high-quality alternative
like Grupo Hospitalario could become a hotspot for individuals trying
to escape suffocating medical expenses.

Tw32 26 aug

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