No more Miss Universe tours

VietNamNet Bridge – Travel firms are now refusing all requests to book tours to Nha Trang city to see the Miss Universe 2008 pageant.

Miss Universe contestants

“This is a rare chance to directly watch the Miss Universe pageant. Foreigners have to travel thousands of kilometres to Vietnam for this event. My family is ready to pay several thousand USD for a trip to Nha Trang but all travel agents say they are out of tickets for the pageant,” said Long, a businessman in Hanoi.

Hong Yen, an employee of a media company in Hanoi, was lucky to book a tour to Nha Trang two weeks ago. She said: “My family and two other families decided to combine summer holiday with Miss Universe pageant. This is the first time Vietnam has hosted the contest so we are very keen on it.”

Schedule of Miss Universe pageant in Nha Trang:

- June 29 evening: welcome party

- July 2 evening: swimsuit show at Vinpearland

- July 3, 4, 6 evenings: Gala Night

- July 8 evening: final performance

- July 13 evening: final competition

- July 14 morning: crown ceremony

Travel agents say it is very difficult to book tours to Nha Trang at present because hotels in the city are fully booked. “We have had to refuse hundreds of customers because we couldn’t book rooms for them,” said Luong Duy Nga, Director of Newstar Tour.

Viettran Tour offered tours to Nha Trang very early and it has booked 200 visitors. “We are very surprised to see many Vietnamese book tours for Miss Universe pageant but we can’t meet their demands at this moment because it is too late to book hotel rooms now,” said a representative of Viettran Tour.

Saigontourist carefully prepared for Miss Universe tours so it can serve a large number of tourists. Tours from HCM City to Nha Trang city to see the Miss Universe competition are priced at VND1.8-2.9 million per person (not including Miss Universe tickets). However, Saigontourist only offers tickets for the three major shows of Miss Universe 2008: the final performance, final competition and the crown ceremony. Tickets for the two first events are between $25-500 and $50-1,800 for the third.

(Source: VNE)

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