A seminar to promote Vietnam to Japanese people has been held by the national flag carrier Vietnam Airlines, in association with Japanese and Vietnamese travel companies.

The seminar was attended by more than 40 Japanese travel businesses, Vietnamese travel agencies, representatives from departments of culture, sport and tourism of some localities. The event was part of a programme, namely “Next to Ho Chi Minh City” which was designed for the Japanese market.

At the seminar, participants expressed their hope that HCMC would be a key destination, from where Japanese tourists would travel to other well-known tourists spots of Vietnam such as Nha Trang, Hoi An and Hue city. Not only tours around Vietnam but also that from Vietnam, Japanese tourists can visit other countries in the region such as Cambodia, Laos and Myanmar.

“Next to Ho Chi Minh City” includes a mass of promotional activities such as offering vouchers for 1,000 first Japanese tourists who bought airfares to Vietnam since the programme starts, discounting ticket prices for some travel agencies and inviting Japanese travel companies to Vietnam.

Currently, Vietnam Airlines has 8 routes with 46 flights a week connecting HCMC and Hanoi with four big cities of Japan, including Tokyo, Osaka, Nagoya and Fukuoka. In 2010, the airline carried nearly 440,000 passengers including Japanese tourists and those with other nationalities on these routes and is expected to achieve 500,000 arrivals this year.

The Vietnam National Tourism Administration is now forwarding a plan of establishing a representative office in Japan in order to intensify the promotion of Vietnam tourism to Japanese tourists.

In 2010, Vietnam greeted 442,000 Japanese tourists a 24 percent increase from last year