Hanoi (VNA) – Last year,
northern localities enjoyed flourishing tourism while many destinations in this
region won international awards and recognition, greatly contributing to
Vietnam’s tourism development.
Vu The Binh, Chairman of the
Vietnam Tourism Association, said northern provinces and cities have shown
fruitful cooperation in creating many tourism products to attract more visitors
and encourage holidaymakers to extend their stay, thus helping with tourism
development nationwide, reported Dau tu (Vietnam Investment Review).
Tourism in
the north has bounced back strongly since the COVID-19 pandemic was brought
under control, especially in 2023.
Nguyen Manh
Than, head of the group of northern localities’ tourism associations and
Chairman of the Hanoi Tourism Association, said the Hanoi association worked
with its peers to organise many programmes last year such as the one on tourism
development cooperation between eight northeastern provinces and Ho Chi Minh
City; a trip for the tourism associations of some provinces, including Quang
Ninh, Hai Phong, Hai Duong, Thai Binh, Nam Dinh, and Ninh Binh, to explore products in central Binh Dinh province; and a delegation of travel companies
coming to Laos for tourism promotion activities.
He noted thanks to
such programmes, many new tours and routes have taken shape, forming strong
links among localities to attract more visitors to their destinations.
In 2023, Vietnam’
tourism revenue was estimated at 37.8 trillion VND (1.5 billion USD), surging
52.5% from the previous year, proving the effectiveness of travel stimulation
policies of provinces and cities, including those in the north. Many in this
region like Hanoi, Quang Ninh, and Ninh Binh were among the best performers
nationwide in terms of the tourist number and revenue, according to the
Vietnam National Authority of Tourism.
In addition, many
international tourism titles came to northern localities last year. For
example, Hanoi was named Asia’s Leading City
Destination and Asia’s Leading City Break Destination at
the World Travel Awards 2023, Ha
Giang province – Asia’s Leading Emerging Tourism Destination, Ha Nam province – Asia’s Leading Regional Cultural Destination, Moc Chau
district (Son La province) – Asia’s Leading Regional Nature Destination, Cuc
Phuong National Park – Asia’s Leading National Park, and
Tam Dao township (Vinh Phuc province) – Asia’s Leading Town Destination.
International
media have also honoured many destinations in the north such as Ha Long Bay as
one of the idyllic seaside places across Asia to
watch sunrise and sunset by Travel
Leisure (the US), Hanoi as one of the most beautiful destinations in Southeast Asia by The Travel (Canada), and Ninh Binh as one of the best places to travel
in 2023 by Forbes (the US).
Most recently,
Ha Long Bay of Quang Ninh province and Sa Pa township of Lao Cai province were
listed among the seven destinations honoured at the Traveler’s Choice Awards
Best of the Best of Tripadvior.
To enrich
tours and strongly help develop tourism in 2024, Binh suggested localities in the
north further capitalise on such new products as golf tourism, MICE (meetings, incentives, conferences, and exhibitions)
tourism, cultural tourism, and ecological tourism.
As northern destinations
are forecast to attract more domestic and international tourists who will stay longer
and spend more there in the coming time, travel companies have been working to
create new tours and products focusing on the region’s advantages, and
diversify services to raise revenue.
Meanwhile,
Than noted the Hanoi Tourism Association will coordinate with other localities
to increase promotion and stimulation activities as part of Visit Vietnam Year
2024. The group of northern localities’ tourism associations will also
strengthen partnerships with domestic and international airlines to introduce
their products and services to passengers and organise tours more
professionally./.
