By the start of September 2009, Hue had received 943,400 tourists, equivalent to 94% of the same period last year and earned VND481.7 billion (about USD26.7 million).

Vestiges of an ancient village dating back around 2,700 years have been discovered in Van Ninh District, central coast Khanh Hoa Province.

After one-month excavation in an area of 500m², archaeologists have found hundreds of objects which are believed to belong to the Sa Huynh Culture such as pieces of pottery, tombs, stone axes and rock crystal Linga.

The excavation is scheduled to last until November this year.

The programme “A day being a resident of an ancient quarter” brings hundreds of visitors to Tra Que vegetable village a day. Visitors taking part in the programme have a chance to plant, harvest and process vegetables like local residents and enjoy traditional dishes in the village.

Local and foreign tourists to Vietnam will enjoy price discounts ranging from 30 to 50% of 99 tours around the country for two months, starting from August, 2009.

The discount programme, which was initiated by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, is part of the effort to attract more international tourists and promote local travel for the national tourism industry, which has seen deep plunges in the number of travellers since early this year.

7 international travel agents, 3 transport companies, 61 hotels and 14 shops have registered to join the scheme, which is to focus on nearby markets, with China to be the first priority for the remaining months of 2009.

Vietnam’s famous destination Halong Bay will enjoy widespread publicity on the international TV channel Cable News Network, or CNN, under a deal to promote Vietnam’s tourism likely to be signed in next September, a tourism official said.