To date, the symbols of 4 APEC member economies have already been placed at the APEC Park in Da Nang.  They are Australia, New Zealand, the USA and Chinese Taipei.  The placing of those of the 17 remaining countries is expected to be completed by late this month.

The symbol of Australia

The construction of the APEC Park is being kept on track on a 3.047m² triangular-shaped vacant land lot at the intersection area of 2 September street and Bach Dang extended street, near the western end of the Rong (Dragon) Bridge, in Hai Chau District’s Binh Hien Ward.

The symbol of Chinese Taipei

The park features tiled pathways and pedestrian areas within a total area of 752m2, whilst the remainder of the site are designated for planting trees and grasses.

The symbol of the USA and ....

...that of New Zealand

Last Saturday, over 1,000 flower baskets were placed along Bach Dang Street in preparation for the upcoming 2017 APEC Economic Leaders’ Week (AELW) next month.  The total cost of over 15 million VND was donated by businesses, hotels and restaurants operating along the street. 

On the same day, a total of over 1,000 staff members from all wards of Hai Chau District together cleaned up a total 25 local areas and sections of some streets.  The participants also grew flowers and trimmed the existing ones at these sites.

Employees from local hotels and restaurants are attending training courses on reception, bed-making, table setting, cooking and bar services on 30 September, and 1 and 3 October. 

The 3-day courses are being jointly provided by the municipal Department of Tourism, and the Asia Advanced Tourism Management Company (ATM ASIA) which is headquartered in Ha Noi.

These courses are taught by the heads of these aspects at 5-star hotels in Ha Noi.  These hotels were selected to have served the APEC 2006 in the Vietnamese capital city and other international large-scale events.

Apart from enhancing their professional skills, the trainees are also being introduced to the special cultures of APEC’s 21 member economies, along with necessary reception and diplomatic principles.  In particular, they also learn more about how to effectively handle common situations arising during the 2017 APEC events, and to cook Islamic dishes.

In addition, 5 meetings on logistics services for the forthcoming AELW 2017 are being organised during the same period. 

The 5 events are attended by representatives from 5 groups of hotels and agencies respectively, all of which have been selected to serve AELW 2017. 

In detail, the 1^st and 2^nd groups involve ‘primary’ and ‘secondary’ hotels serving the heads of state and international delegates attending AELW 2017.   The 3^rd consists of hotels serving businesspeople, journalists and other escorting teams, whilst the 4^th with local travel agencies and transport businesses, and the last one with local tourist sites, restaurants, shopping and entertainment areas, and other service providers.

In a similar vein, 3 training courses on communication skills and behaviors towards visitors arriving in the city recently took place in the city.  The courses benefited a total of 120 representatives from local small-scale home producers on the Son Tra Peninsula, those touting for business on the Hai Van Pass, and some staff members from local wards and districts.

The organisation of the courses was in active response to the ongoing ‘Da Nang Smile’ campaign in an effort to make Da Nang a civilised, friendly and hospitable city.