Hanoi (VNA) - Founded by the Astra Global Technology Company, the newlylaunched Astra Tourism Social Network is expected to become a platformconnecting citizens around the world through the typical culture of eachnation, reported the Voice of Vietnam (VOV).

Each member of the network will be an ambassador to introduce and promote theircountry, its culture and people.

Astra is Vietnam's first tourism social network, helping domestic users connect,interact, share experiences, places, and cuisine, and explore tourism potentialat home and abroad. The network has features to connect the global onlinetravel market, share travel experiences and reviews with others, and purchasetravel services.

“Astra’s highlight is promoting Vietnam’s image to the world and bringing theworld to Vietnam. Whenever a user is in a country, the national flag of thatcountry will appear at the corner of that person's avatar photo," saidAstra CEO Nguyen Tiep.

"Astra is a social network contributed by users who are rewardedcorresponding to the values they have contributed to us. The payout is based onthe quality of users’ articles. The rewards can be redeemed for travelproducts, vouchers, flight tickets, and movie tickets,” he added.

One of Astra’s highlight features is creating a schedule for each trip. At theend of the trip, the schedule is saved and an album of the trip is created.When a holiday maker live-streams the places they visit, the live-stream issupported with light, music, and sound effects.

Astra also has features to find friends, invite friends to join your trip,provide a travel guide map, and search for nearby hotels, restaurants, andbars. Outstanding members of the Astra community are automatically honored inthe system.

Miss World Vietnam 2019 Luong Thuy Linh, the network’s ambassador, said: “Astrahelps the community, especially young travel lovers, who, through the network,can find useful information for their trips, even new fellow-travellers forfuture journeys. Astra is a catalyst helping people learn about touristattractions and boost the development of the hospitality industry in Vietnamand the world.”

Astra users can access quickly and accurately reference information they needon tourist destinations, store and share beautiful moments, and saveinformation about restaurants, hotels and transportation services.

Through Astra, users can contact service providers directly, reducing the costof their trip. They can also feel more secure about purchasing products whichhave been reviewed by others.

“I think the network is useful and will be used widely. It will save me time inlooking for information,” said Lan Huong, an Astra user.

In the first year, Astra hopes to attract 1 to 2 million users with a goal ofpromoting Vietnam, its land and people, to the world, bring the world toVietnam, and create a community of travel lovers./.