Tourism booms in late last year

According to the Vietnam National Administration of Tourism (VNAT), the number of visitors to many localities nationwide saw a satisfactory growth in November this year, contributing to the country’s exceeding of the 2016 visitor number target. 

A report by the Ho Chi Minh City Department of Tourism showed that the city welcomed 501,801 foreign visitors in November 2016, earning revenue of VND9.18 trillion, up 7.9 and 6 percent from the same time last year, respectively. Department leaders attributed the success to the city’s efficient tourism promotion programs, including river way tourism development, standard tourist services, art performances for tourists, cultural festivals, the “Ho Chi Minh City - 100 interesting things” program, and more.

Besides, the city hosted the Asia-Pacific Incentives and Meetings Expo (AIME) and the 2016 Southern Fruit Festival while participating in the 2016 ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations) Tourism Forum (ATF 2016), the Tourism Promotion Organization for Asia Pacific Cities (TPO) Forum, and the Overseas Vietnamese Conference 2016 themed “Overseas Vietnamese Join Hands to Build Ho Chi Minh City to Develop Rapidly, Sustainably and with International Integration.” All of these helped increase the number of foreign visitors to the city.

In November 2016, Lao Cai Province attracted 230,930 visitors, earning revenue of more than VND550.83 trillion, while Kien Giang Province welcomed 368,934 visitors with revenue of VND352 billion, Thanh Hoa Province welcomed 210,000 visitors (up 18 percent from the same time last year), earning revenue of VND173 billion (up 19.3 percent), and Ben Tre attracted 95,905 visitors (up 14 percent) with revenue of VND78.831 billion (up 23 percent).

Cruise tourism boomed in November. On November 16, the Genting Dream brought 2,500 foreign visitors to the Hon Gai Port in the city of Ha Long (Quang Ninh Province). On November 22, Saigontourist welcomed 1,100 visitors coming to the Phu My Port (Ba Ria - Vung Tau Province) via the SuperStar Virgo. On November 25, the Ovation of the Seas (Bahamas) with approximately 4,100 guests and 1,596 crew members docked at the Chan May Port in the city of Da Nang. In November alone, Vietnam attracted 16,640 foreign visitors coming via ships.

Many tourism development projects were put into use in November, including the Muong Thanh Grand Tuyen Quang (Tuyen Quang Province) and the Muong Thanh Cua Dong (Nghe An Province), both are four-star hotels. Quang Ngai Province invested VND200 billion to build a tourist port for ships of up to 2,000 tonnes or 400 seats. Dong Thap Province approved a project to develop ecotourism infrastructure in the Tram Chim National Park at a total cost of VND90 billion from 2016-2020.

Having managed to solve their own problems, localities have gained trust from both visitors and investors, which is the key to success for the Vietnamese tourism sector this year, said VNAT General Director Nguyen Van Tuan.

Phuong Tam / ven