Sightseeing My Son Sanctuary by air
(QNO) - The first tour by helicopter to My Son Sanctuary of Quang Nam province took place last weekend. It’s a part of the helicopter tour Hoi An - My Son introduced by the Viet Nam Travel Mart Company.
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| The helicopter tour to be introduced at My Son sanctuary site the first time. Photo: Vinh Loc |
New tourism product
The EC130T2, VN - 8632 helicopter landed beside the Khe The bridge of My Son land with 6 members of Alexander’s family on 11th April.
The visitors from Russia were warmly welcomed right at the helicopter’s door by the staff of the My Son Relic and Tourism Management Board (My Son RTMB). After visiting the monuments of the World Cultural Heritage, Mr Alexander was very excited: “We have spent a wonderful day experiencing Hoi An Ancient town and My Son Sanctuary site - two World cultural heritages of Quang Nam provine. It’s a splendid tour for us for the first time to come to My Son Sanctuary. Its old monuments, landscape, forests and the Champa dances remind us of the images of the Apsara dancers at Cambodia’s temples and in some other Asean countries. Our family will come back Quang Nam again…”.
“We have organised many helicopter tour for tourists before without landing. This helicopter tour Hoi An - My Son landed successfully today will open a new period to develop this tourism product. The flight, however, was just a test. From 24th April 2015, this tourism product will be officially organised for all tourists by the My Son RTMB and the Central Helicopter Corporation. The tourists can choose to enjoy My Son view from the board or to land for a walking tour visiting the complex of Champa monuments,” said Mr Tao Viet Thang, Director of the Vietnam Travel Mart’s Service Unit.
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| Mr Alexander’s family at My Son sanctuary. Photo: Vinh Loc |
All helicopter tours must not only meet the strict demands of landing security, but the price is very high (about 3,500 USD/hour, not including other service fees, such as security, landing field, flight permission…). Therefore, most of tourists are the high-class ones.
“After this flight, we will calculate expenses and examine other requirements to build a fully-done product,” Mr Thang said
Promoting the heritages
In the process of organizing a helicopter tour, the most important problem is the landing infrastructure. Currently, Hoi An Ancient town and My Son Sanctuary site can meet this demand. Before flying to My Son, the helicopter had landed at the Hoi An stadium. However, in future, those landing fields have to be upgraded better.
According to Mr Phan Ho, Chief of the My Son RTMB, the Vietnam Travel Mart Company and the My Son RTMB will meet and discuss the building of a helicopter landing field and a high-class mini hotel to serve the tourists better and better.
By VINH LOC