At the Asia Park in central Da Nang city. (Photo: VNA) According to the Vietnam National Administration of Tourism (VNAT), night tourism products and services are quite bustling in a number of cities and tourist hubs like Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City, Da Nang, Hoi An, Sapa, and Hue. They take place in the forms of walking streets, shopping malls, night food, night markets, bars, cafes, cinemas, discos, and other art and entertainment events on and off the street. At the Hoan Kiem Lake walking street in Hanoi (Photo: VNA) These activities keep tourists to stay longer and stimulate consumer demand, which in turn will attract more investors to pour their capital in entertainment and shopping facilities. Meanwhile, travel agencies will have plans to offer longer tours, and longer stays mean more money spent. In July 2020, the Prime Minister approved a project on the development of nigh economy serving the promotion of domestic consumption and tourism. It focuses on developing cultural services, entertainment, dining, shopping, and tourism activities taking place from 6pm to 6am the next day. Specifically, by 2025, Vietnam will form a system of night tourism products in large urban tourist centres like Hanoi, Quang Ninh, Hai Phong, Thua Thien-Hue, Da Nang, Hoi An, Nha Trang, Da Lat, Can Tho, Phu Quoc, and Ho Chi Minh City. As a result, the average spending of visitors are expected to increase by 5-6 percent; while the average length of their stay will be half a day longer. Currently, many localities in the central region have embarked on building and developing night tourism products to better meet the needs of holiday makers. Quang Binh is building its evening sightseeing tour by electric cars and a night market street in Dong Hoi city as well as night leisure services at the Phong Nha –Ke Bang area. Thua Thien-Hue province’s Hue city, meanwhile, is ready to launch a night walking street around its imperial citadel area. Quang Nam province, which considers night tourism services a path toward the realisation of sustainable tourism development goals, focuses on activities in the local Hoi An ancient town, and at the Vinpearl Nam Hoi An complex, Hoi An Impression Theme Park, and Hoi An Lune Centre. Daily COVID-19 infections fall to one month low of over 65,000 Vietnam recorded 65,619 coronavirus cases on April 2, representing a fall of nearly 7,000 cases compared to the previous day, the lowest figure recorded in the past month, reported VOV.Photo for illustration (Source: VOV) Official data from the Ministry of Health show 65,616 cases were logged in the country, including 42,193 cases diagnosed in the community. Only three people tested positive upon returning from overseas. The COVID-19 outbreak is showing signs of waning nationwide with most cases infected with the Omicron variant. Hanoi capital topped localities, registering 7,423 fresh cases, followed by Dak Lak, Nghe An, Yen Bai, Phu Tho, Bac Giang, Quang Ninh, Lao Cai and Ha Giang that reported more than 2,000 each. Notably, Dak Lak province in the Central Highlands announced 3,999 new cases, an increase of 900 cases compared to the previous day.Photo for illustration (Source: VNA) During the day, nearly 107,000 patients were discharged from hospital after making a full recovery from the disease, while an additional 37 patients died of the virus. As of 06pm on April 2, Vietnam has confirmed 9,716,282 COVID-19 cases since the start of the outbreak, ranking 12th out of 227 countries and territories worldwide. Of the infected patients, 7,713,354 have been discharged from hospital, and 42,563 patients have died of the virus. More than 206 million vaccine doses have been administered nationwide. Made-in-Vietnam biodegradable materials to be sold in North America Biodegradable plastic materials meeting strict international standards produced by An Phat Holdings (APH) of Vietnam will be distributed throughout North America in the coming time. Made-in-Vietnam biodegradable materials to be sold in North America (Photo: baodautu.vn) AFC Ecoplastics, a new member of An Phat Holdings (APH) based in Texas, the US, will cooperate with Nexeo Plastics – a global thermoplastics resin distributor – to sell the bioplastics in Canada, Mexico and the US. These bio-compounds meet ASTM D6400 - the standard specification for solid material biodegradation (by composting). They are ideal options for producing cutlery, straws, and bottle caps. Chairman of the Board of Directors of APH Pham Anh Duong said North America, especially the US, has always been a strategic international market of the firm. Biodegradable plastic materials and products have been the strength of the company for more than a decade, he said, adding that with its new investment activities, the company will generate different values in the global green material supply chain. It has successfully registered a trademark for the AnEco – the first Vietnam’s compostable product brand in the US. This is hoped to pave the way for APH to expand business cooperation projects and promote its products in the US in particular and the Northern America in general. The partnership with Nexeo Plastics marks an important development in APH’s efforts to make inroads into the American market, Duong said. An Phat Holdings is the leading company in the field of advanced plastic production technology and environment-friendly plastic products, serving a diverse customer base across North America, Latin America, Europe, the Middle East, Africa and Asia. Early this year, the firm commenced the construction of a PBAT biodegradable resin factory with designed capacity of 30,000 tonnes per year in the northern city of Hai Phong.