LookAtVietnam – HCMC, the southern economic hub, has won most awards for top hotels and tour operators for 2008, followed by the capital city of Hanoi, according to an annual selection conducted nationwide by the Vietnam Tourism Association.

The winners include 10 international tour operators, five domestic tour operators, ten five-star hotels, ten four-star hotels, and ten three-star hotels. The award ceremony will be held in the capital city of Hanoi on July 2.

In the travel section, HCMC-based Saigontourist Travel Service Company ranks first in the top ten international and top ten domestic tour operators in the country.

In the hotel section, while the Sofitel Plaza Hanoi ranks first in the top ten five-star hotels, HCMC also boasts three hotels in this segment, namely Rex, Renaissance Riverside Saigon and Majestic.

The Grand hotel in HCMC takes the lead in the top ten four-star hotels list, while the Liberty 1 hotel in HCMC ranks first in the list of the top ten three-star hotels. (See lists below)

Criteria for the selection differ for the selection segment, according to the association.

For international tour operators, the winner must have welcomed at least 5,000 international tourists, and paid VND1 billion in taxes in 2008. Domestic tour operators should have at least 5,000 domestic tourists and paid VND100 million in taxes in 2008, and other criteria.

Hotels were chosen on criteria such as the business result and employees’ income among others.

This is the first time the association has made different sets of criteria for hotels of different ratings from three to five stars and extended the selection to top domestic tour operators.

“In previous selections, we included hotels of all star ratings in the same screening process. But we need to change the criteria so that candidates can compete on a more level-playing field,” a source from the association told the Daily on Monday.

Apart from the above awards, the association has also selected top tourist transport companies and top shopping venues for tourists.

Vietnam’s tourism in 2008 welcomed more than 4.2 million international tourists and around 20 million domestic travelers, generating total revenue of around US$3.6 billion.

List of winners:

Top ten international tour operators: Saigontourist Travel Service Company, Exotissimo – Cesais Joint Venture Company, Vietnam-Hanoi Joint Stock Company, Fiditourist, Ben Thanh Tourist, Peace Tour, Vitours, Vietnamtourism in HCMC, Huong Giang Tourism in Hue city city, and Vidotour.

Top five domestic operators: Saigontourist Travel Service Company, Ben Thanh Tourist, Youth Tourist Joint Stock Company, Hanoitourist, and An Giang Tourism Joint Stock Company.

Top ten five-star hotels: Sofitel Plaza Hotel and Melia Hotel in Hanoi, Rex, Renaissance Riverside Saigon and Majestic in HCMC, Nikko in Hanoi, Evason Ana Mandara, Sunrise Beach and Vinpearl Resort & Spa in Nha Trang City and Furama Resort in Danang.

Top ten four-star hotels: Grand and First hotels in HCMC, Sunway in Hanoi, Yasaka Saigon Nha Trang, Palace and Continental in HCMC, Grand Palace in Vung Tau City, Hoi An Hotel in Quang Nam Province, Saigon Morin Hue in Hue, and Saigon-Phu Quoc Resort in Kien Giang.

Top ten three-star hotels: Liberty 1 and Liberty 4 in HCMC, Hoa Binh in Hanoi, Vien Dong in HCMC, Petrol-Song Tra in Quang Ngai Province, Rex in Vung Tau City, Thang Long Opera in Hanoi, Phuc Long in HCMC, Festival Hue in Hue and Cuu Long in Can Tho.

VietNamNet/SGT