Author: malaysiang

Posted on

Boracay readies security, safety measures for tourists this summer

ILOILO CITY: The Malay local government has activated its municipal incident management team to monitor tourist arrivals in Boracay Island this summer.

‘In terms of preparation, we consider our peace and order and security, medical and emergency preparedness, as well as our solid waste management. So far, we are in place already,’ Malay chief tourism operations officer Felix delos Santos Jr. said on Monday.

Delos Santos said that for this summer, among the big events they are preparing are Love Boracay and a series of international events, sports tourism, and beach activities that are expected to usher more tourists to the island.

Love Boracay is the biggest and most highly anticipated annual party season on the island, emphasizing environmental conservation through a series of activities from April 26 to May 1.

In the last week of April, there are two international events –the beach volleyball and dragon boat competitions.

While they have no target number of arrivals, delos Santos said based on the pre
-pandemic data, it could reach a total of 200,000 during the summer months of April to May.

‘We consider that as the super peak,’ he said.

Meanwhile, during the Holy Week, the tourism office recorded 56,134 tourist arrivals, the highest on Maundy Thursday with 13,898. This was a bit lower compared with last year’s 62,241 arrivals, of which over 16,000 was during Maundy Thursday.

While lower than last year, delos Santos said the arrivals were highest compared with the pre-pandemic period, especially in 2019.

‘Today, the PNP (Philippine National Police) declared that we are generally peaceful and have zero incidents. So thank you for coming to Boracay, but this is also an invitation for them to come back,’ he added.

After the pandemic, around 70 percent of the arrivals are domestic, and 30 percent are foreign tourists, delos Santos said.

Source: Philippines News Agency

Posted on

Boutique airline transfers hub from NAIA to Clark

CLARK: Boutique airline Sunlight Air has officially made Clark International Airport (CRK) its new hub with an inaugural flight to Coron on Monday afternoon.

Sunlight Air transferred its hub from the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) to redefine its services and provide the best experiences for its passengers.

‘Our decision to expand our operations to this beautiful and spacious airport is a strong testament to this vision of ours. By operating our flights in Clark, we are not just changing our physical location, we are reaffirming our commitment to enhancing efficiency and convenience for our passengers,’ Sunlight Express Airways chief executive officer Ryna Yvette Brito-Garcia said.

Brito-Garcia also told reporters on the sidelines of the event that the airline also wanted to be a first mover in relocating its hub to CRK from NAIA before the main gateway undergoes major rehabilitation.

In 2023, CRK was named by Prix Versailles as one of the 24 world’s most beautiful airports and is also the only
airport in Southeast Asia to make it to the list of the prestigious institution.

With its transfer of primary operations to Clark, Sunlight Air now has daily flights to and from Coron and Siargao, twice a week flights to Boracay, and seasonal flights to San Vicente, Palawan.

Department of Tourism (DOT) Region 3 Director Richard Daenos said Sunlight Air’s relocation of its hub to CRK is also seen to bring economic opportunities in Central Luzon.

‘This potential is being strengthened, ushering in a new era of connectivity and convenience for travelers. This new hub represents more than just a physical expansion… but also opening new opportunities in tourism and economic growth,’ Daenos said.

Moreover, the company also offers chartered flights, which now has a big demand for business-to-business clients as well as for private events like weddings in the country’s major tourism areas, the executive noted.

Brito-Garcia said the airline still maintains its Manila-Cebu route in NAIA.

On April 3, Sunlight Air w
ill also launch new flights from the Mactan-Cebu International Airport (MCIA) going to Coron, Siargao, and Manila.

It will expand its routes in MCIA to Iloilo, Cagayan de Oro, and Caticlan.

Brito-Garcia also said Sunlight Air is also considering international flights.

With its optimistic outlook in the future, the executive said the boutique airline eyes to add one or two aircraft to its fleet in the coming years.

Source: Philippines News Agency

Posted on

Vietnam come third at int’l friendly futsal tournament 2024


HCM City: Vietnam’s national futsal team emerged third at the 2024 International Friendly Futsal Tournament after conceding a 3-1 loss to powerhouse Iran at the Lanh Binh Thang Stadium, Ho Chi Minh City, on March 31.

Vietnam had drawn 2-2 against New Zealand in their first game of the competition before holding Morocco to a 3-3 draw on March 30.

Against Iran, the Vietnamese team certainly did not lose their focus where they matched the world No. 7 side for much of the opening quarter before conceding in the 14th minute to a quick counterattack that was finished by Alii Khalivand.

Ali Asghar then finished from close range in the 19th minute to put the score at 2-0 for Iran.

Two minutes to the end, Behrooz fired in the third goal for Iran before Vietnam pulled a goal back thanks to Duc Hoa in the very last minute of play.

In the other match of the day, Morocco beat New Zealand 6-2 to be crowned the champions.

Held by the Vietnam Football Federation (VFF) in collaboration with the Ho Chi Minh City Football
Federation, the tournament was a preparation for the Vietnamese team to play at the AFC Futsal Asian Cup 2024, slated for April 17-28 in Thailand. Vietnam is in the same group with host Thailand, China and Myanmar./.

Source: Vietnam News Agency

Posted on

Cultural, sports activities to commemorate Hung Kings


Phu Tho: A series of cultural, sport and tourism events will be held from April 9 – 18 in the northern province of Phu Tho to commemorate Hung Kings – the legendary founders of the nation.

Director of the provincial Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism Nguyen Dac Thuy said a plan for organising the events has been built by the local authorities.

Accordingly, in addition to ritual and festive activities, a running “Den Hung Spirituality Marathon 2024” will be organised in the Hung Kings Temple historical site with the competition of 6,000 athletes nationwide.

On this occasion, the province will inaugurate a bas-relief featuring “President Ho Chi Minh talking to officers and soldiers from the Vietnam People’s Army at Gieng Temple intersection’.

An art performance programme highlighting cultural heritage will be held on every Saturday evening at the Hung Vuong Museum in Viet Tri city.

A men’s football tournament has kicked off, attracting the participation of 210 players from Viet Tri city, 13 district
s, and the provincial Police and Hung Vuong University.

At a conference to discuss the plan to organise the celebration of the death anniversary of Hung Kings, and an ‘Ancestral Land Culture and Tourism Week 2024’, Vice Chairman of the provincial People’s Commitee Ho Dai Dung asked members of the organising board to strengthen coordination to completee tasks on schedule.

The commemoration of the Hung Kings comes on the 10th day of the third lunar month, which falls on April 18 this year and is a national holiday. The practice of worshiping them in Phu Tho province was recognised by UNESCO as part of the world’s intangible cultural heritage in 2012.

Main rituals during the event include ceremonies to offer incense to Lac Long Quan and Au Co – the progenitors of Vietnam – as well as flower offerings at the monument featuring President Ho Chi Minh talking with soldiers from the Vietnam People’s Army./.

Source: Vietnam News Agency

Posted on

Vietnamese community in RoK holds futsal tournament?


Seoul: The second open futsal tournament of the Vietnamese community in Siheung city, Gyeonggi province of the Republic of Korea (RoK), was held on March 31.

The one-day tournament brought together 16 Vietnamese futsal teams across the RoK, which were divided into four groups. Kwangju FC team won the gold medal while Storm FC bagged silver and the bronze medal came to Dat to (homeland) FC.

Chairman of the Vietnamese association in Siheung Le Van Huy said that the sport event is held to welcome the anniversary of the establishment of the Ho Chi Minh Communist Youth Union in an attempt to further promote solidarity and community bonds through physical training.

Nearly 300,000 Vietnamese are living and working in the RoK, of whom 70,000 have got married to Koreans.

Vietnam is the RoK’s third largest trade partner, with two-way trade hitting nearly 80 billion USD last year. The RoK ranks first among foreign investors in Vietnam, with 9,863 investment projects totaling around 90 billion USD and over 8,000 comp
anies operating in the Southeast Asian nation.

Last year, Vietnam also welcomed more than 3.5 million Korean holidaymakers, and there are currently 180,000 Koreans living in the country./.

Source: Vietnam News Agency

Posted on

Vietnamese piece to be performed at world music fest


Hanoi: Vietnamese music piece Tieng Rung (The Sounds of the Jungle) will be performed at the 2024 ISCM World New Music Days festival in Faroe Islands, Denmark.

The piece was composed by Do Hong Quan in 2014 for three flautists. It has been performed by Monash Academy Orchestra in Australia in 2018.

“Tieng Rung uses polymelodies to convey the sounds of nature and the jungle,” said Quan. “If people listen they will feel the sentiment of the jungle and the love for the jungle which is a part of human life on the planet.”

Concert flute, alto flute and bass flute will perform Tieng Rung in the Trios or Quartets category. This section also includes the piece Tempo variabile by Svetlana Savic from the International Society for Contemporary Music (ISCM) Serbia and additional works from Faroe Islands TBA.

The festival will include concerts by Faroese and Nordic ensembles, informal ensembles and collaborations and soloists.

The music featured throughout this festival will include new and innovative works from acro
ss the international membership of the ISCM.

The concert venues range from concert halls and theatres to jazz bars and open-air ravines and grottos.

The festival is held by ISCM from June 21-30. It is a premier forum for the advancement, dissemination and interchange of new music from around the world.

Attending the festival are 64 composers from 55 ISCM member countries. The works are shorter than 10 minutes in duration and composed after 2014.

Through ISCM, members promote contemporary music in all its varied forms, strengthening musical life in their local contexts and making their music and its creators known to world.

Organised each year by a different host, the festival presents music from each of member section, showcasing the incredible diversity of musical practice in time. Recent festivals have taken place in Estonia, China, Canada, the Republic of Korea, Slovenia, Poland, Belgium, Australia, Croatia, Hong Kong and Japan.

Since its founding in 1922, the network has grown to include more than 6
0 organisations in over 50 countries and territories, on every continent.

Musician Quan studied composition with Professor Albert Leman and conducting with Leonid Nicolaev at the Moscow State Conservatory in Russia, and did his senior internship at Paris National Conservatory.

His works have been performed in Moscow, Uzbekistan, Bonn, Paris, Tokyo, Singapore, Bangkok, Manila and Kazan with renowned conductors from Japan, France, Germany, Spain, Russia and the US.

He has directly conducted and arranged opera works. Currently, he is chairman of the Vietnam Union of Literary and Art Associations. Quan joined the ISCM Virtual Cooperative Series 2020.

Tieng Rung will be performed on June 26 at Funningur Kirkja./.

Source: Vietnam News Agency

Posted on

Vietnam attends francophone cultural festival in France


Paris: A Vietnamese delegation took part in a francophone cultural festival held by the Maison de la Francophonie association in France’s Bussy-Saint-Georges on March 31, impressing attendants by a large number of performances.

Activities by the delegation, which accounted for the majority of the event’s duration, included dances, martial arts, and singing performances.

The festival is an initiative of the association, with the first event organised in 2023. This year, in addition to the five Asian countries of Laos, Cambodia, China, India, and Vietnam, there was also participation from African delegations such as Morocco, Tunisia, and Togo.

Speaking at the event, the head of the association, Clément HONG, expressed the hope that through this event, the cultural and linguistic diversity among French-speaking countries can be promoted to the international community./.

Source: Vietnam News Agency