Vietnam Airlines’ first flight VN927 from Kaohsiung to HCMC landed at 9h30am, carrying 160 passengers from Taiwan while the Cathay Pacific Airlines’ second flight CX769 from Hong Kong to HCMC landed at 10h25 am with 300 passengers from the US, Hong Kong, the UK, France, the Netherlands and Northern Europe.

This is part of a series of events in 2011 to promote Vietnam’s image, the country and its people and HCMC as an attractive, safe and friendly destination to international visitors and overseas Vietnamese.

La Quoc Khanh, Deputy Director of the HCMC’s Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism said that in 2011, the city’s tourism sector will focus on diversifying its products, improving the quality of cultural events in the city, and training human resources.

On the same day, Vietnam Airlines’ Boeing 777, carrying 285 passengers from Frankfurt, Germany landed at Noi Bai International Airport.

Australian tourist Hans Peter Ebuer, who is one of the first visitors to Hanoi in 2011, said that he had learnt a lot about Vietnam’s history and people. He found Hanoi different from his imagination with its friendly people and modern terminals.