It's a good time to be a hotel operator in communist Vietnam's biggest city.
A multinational company had been planning a meeting in Bali drawing participants from around the world. Then came the bombing in the Indonesian resort in October, killing more than 180 people, many of them tourists.
The company decided to shift its plans to Bangkok. That became a problem after several Western countries issued travel warnings on possible similar Muslim militant attacks in Thailand and several other Southeast Asian nations.
Finally, the organizers looked to Vietnam.
They aren't alone in their choice. Ho Chi Minh City, still known by its pre-independence name of Saigon, is cashing in on the perception that Vietnam is one of the safest travel venues in a region jittery about further terror attacks.
The suicide bombing of an Israeli-owned hotel in Kenya and attempted downing of an Israeli chartered flight on Thursday has further deepened travel angst.
"Vietnam appears to be the safest place in Southeast Asia," said Bertrand Courtois, executive assistant manager in charge of rooms at Sofitel Plaza Saigon in the southern commercial hub.
"The Japan leisure market is coming back very strongly," he said in an interview.
European tourists who had already paid for tours in Asia to countries such as Indonesia were rebooking to Vietnam rather than canceling their trips, Courtois said.
Stephen O'Grady, general manager of the Caravelle Hotel in Ho Chi Minh City, said he's had to turn customers away on at least seven days this month.
"We look to finish the month at 86 percent [occupancy]," he said. That compares with 65 percent in November last year.
The business crowd has been particularly robust, in part because of a huge expansion in trade following last December's trade pact with the US, industry experts say.
O'Grady said that in addition to Vietnam's reputation as a safer country, "it's a new leisure destination in people's eyes."
The travel industry was also reaping the benefits of promotions by state-run Saigon Tourist and private groups such as hotels and airlines, he noted.
Hotel operators say their bookings into March look healthy, with O'Grady forecasting the Caravelle to reach up to 90 percent occupancy in March next year from 81 percent a year ago.
Overall for Vietnam -- seen to be secure in large part due to the tight controls the government exerts -- tourism is looking rosy.
The country of 80 million with one of the most vibrant economies in Asia expects to receive up to 2.6 million foreign visitors by the end of this year, up from 2.3 million last year.
Of those, Ho Chi Minh City, home to seven million people, should see a rise of 16 percent in international tourists from a year ago, Nguyen Thi Lap Quoc, director of the city's tourism department, said.
"Vietnam has been voted as a destination of safety for visitors and this is particularly impressive after Sept. 11 and the Bali bombing," she said, referring to the suicide attacks on New York and Washington in September last year.
But she said tourism officials weren't yet ready to hype the safety aspect in promotions -- hotels in the bustling, traffic choked metropolis still display pre-2000 banners declaring Vietnam as the destination of the "new millennium."
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