Vietnam Airlines will operate 11 direct flights between Can Tho and Taiwan during the Lunar New Year in January, using Airbus 321 aircraft which can carry 100 to 130 passengers.

There will be six flights from Taipei, Kaohsiung, and Taichung to Can Tho and five in the reverse direction, with the first flight from Taipei to Can Tho scheduled for January 17.

It is for the third successive year that Vietnam Airlines is offering a direct air service between two cities to allow Vietnamese expatriates to return home for the New Year.

* Floods attract tourists

According to Vietnam travel agency, a flooded Hoi An is emerging as a favourite destination in central Viet Nam for foreign visitors during the rainy season.

When the town is flooded with water from upstream Thu Bon River, tourists take a boat trip around.

Robert Taylor, an Australian traveller, said he had come for a second successive flood season this year just to experience the pleasure of exploring Hoi An when its streets are submerged under water.

The floods also offer a chance to local fishermen, who are otherwise unemployed during the rainy season, to earn some money by serving tourists.

* Vietnam tourists return to Japan

The number of Vietnamese visiting Japan has risen again after a short interruption following the earthquake and tsunami in March 2011.

Tour operators in Viet Nam said more and more individuals and families are booking tours to Japan though tour prices are not much lower than previously.

Samurai Tour Co organised four tours in November, two of them for individuals. Tran Thanh Hanh, its manager, said this is a "good sign" for Samurai Tours since it used to be hard to get individual customers, and it was company groups that mainly used to do Japan tours.

Saigontourist will arrange two tours to Japan during the Lunar New Year.

The rise in numbers is attributed to promotions launched by Vietnam Airlines, including discounts on return fares for departures between December 21 and March 31.