Hoi An, in Quang Nam province, central Vietnam, is a city of just 120,000 but well known for two things - its unique heritage-listed town centre, Hoi An Ancient Town, and its cheap tailoring services.

It is one of the wealthiest parts of Vietnam and largely unscathed by the Vietnam War. It is also one of the fastest-growing tourist destinations.

Masses of Western tourists flock to Hoi An each year just to get clothes made-to-measure at a fraction of the price they would pay at home.

Most of the town's tailoring stores are within or near Hoi An Ancient Town, a collection of very old stone and wooden buildings along cobbled streets. In 1999 Hoi An, as a well preserved example of a Southeast Asian trading port, was named a Unesco World Heritage site. Buildings and customs reflect early Chinese and Japanese influences and that of French and other settlers.

Minutes from the town centre is Cua Dai beach. This 30km stretch of white-sand coastline, running from Da Nang to Hoi An, was used as a rest and recreation spot by Americans during the war, and was the setting of television series China Beach. As a sign of its growing affluence, a Sheraton hotel is just one of many new five-star resorts being built on the outskirts of Hoi An.

As Air New Zealand started direct flights from New Zealand to Vietnam in June, it is also a hot destination for Kiwis.

MEASURE UP

Hoi An is well-known for its fast-turn around tailoring services. Walk into any one of the 200-odd shops in town and be measured for cheap custom-made clothing. Each store has hundreds of neatly stacked fabric samples and style catalogues to choose from. Expect pretty rough sewing from the cheaper outlets, where you would pay $60 for a perfectly fitted formal dress. But at the other end of the scale, stores like Yaly Couture, which Jeremy Clarkson famously chose to visit during an episode of Top Gear, offer a topnotch tailoring service at a very reasonable price. Beware of pushy store assistants who will have you forking out for a whole new wardrobe, or at least multiple versions of the same thing. One of the best-value services is leather shoe-making. A pair of men's leather sandals cost just NZ$21 or custom-made women's trainers, NZ$59.