Quang Nam's Tourism Department said all guests had been moved from flooded hotels and resorts like Vinh Hung, Hoi Pho and Van Loi to safer places on Monday.

Ho Minh Phuong, director of the Da Nang Tourism Promotion Centre, said all seaside resorts and hotels in Da Nang were safe.

For foreign tourists it has been an unexpected and close encounter with the floods.

But Hung said most tours to this region, including bookings made by some 1,000 tourists for tours to Hue, Da Nang and Hoi An later this week had been cancelled.

Tour company begins Cambodia, Thailand overland trips

Viking Travel and Media has launched two overland tours to Cambodia and Thailand that will be undertaken by bus or car.

The three-day fishing tour of Cambodia will include a visit to a popular fishing spot with equipment thrown in, and a tour of major attractions in Phnom Penh. Chefs will be on hand to help the anglers prepare their catch. The tour is priced at US$200 per person by 45-seater bus, an additional $145 for fees, and fuel costs.

The seven-day tour of Thailand will begin in HCM City on November 29 and visit attractions in Cambodia and Thailand before heading to Nakhonratchasima Stadium in Bangkok on December 3 to see the Southeast Asian (SEA) Games football match between Viet Nam and Singapore.

The tour of Thailand is priced at $380 per person by bus and $550 by car.

Jetstar launches HCM City-Singapore promotion

To mark its third birthday, Singapore budget carrier Jetstar launched a weeklong promotion last Monday, offering a large number of cheap seats on the HCM City-Singapore route.

Some 50,000 seats are on sale on its website www.jetstar.com/birth­day at US$23 plus tax and fees. Passengers will have to book by Sunday and fly during the first half of next year.

Sapphire Princess brings 2,600 tourists to Nha Trang

The Bermuda-registered cruise ship Sapphire Princess docked in Nha Trang on Tuesday with some 2,600 foreign tourists.

During their stay lasting a few hours, the tourists visited popular attractions like the Ponagar Cham Tower, Hon Chong (Husband Island), Institute of Oceanography, Dam Market, and traditional craft villages.

It is the vessel’s fourth visit to Nha Trang this year with over 10,000 cruise tourists in all.

Southern province eyes golf course to lure tourists

Although sea, sun, and other "S" (like Spa, Swimming) services are the major attractions to many visitors to Ba Ria-Vung Tau, authorities in the southern province are considering building six new golf courses.

They have approved a golf course-tourism complex to be developed by a Korean company. The deputy chairman of the Ba Ria-Vung Tau People's Committee, Ho Van Nien, said the 300ha complex project in Chau Duc District dovetailed with the province's development strategy.

Viet Nam has some 30 golf courses now and the figure is expected to rise to 70 by 2010.