The volume of international visitors coming to Vietnam by sea in March rose by over 2.8 times compared to the previous month, according statistics of the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism’s Vietnam National Administration of Tourism.

Malta-flagged cruise ship Mein Schiff 5 docked at Ha Long international port in the northern province of Quang Ninh province on March 26, carrying 2,191 European visitors to the locality.

Small ship itineraries along Ha Long Bay, the Red (Hong) River and the Lower Mekong River in Viet Nam were named among the top four best Southeast Asia cruises by the U.S. travel guidebook series Frommer’s.

The Malta-flagged luxurious cruise ship Mein Schiff 5 docked at the Ha Long International Cruise Port in the northern province of Quang Ninh on March 6 with nearly 2,000 tourists on board.

In February, three cruise ships canceled trips to Nha Trang after travel companies found it difficult to organize tours to Nha Trang and the surrounding area.

Saigontourist Travel Service Company welcomed the arrival of the Spectrum of the Seas of the United States’s Royal Caribbean on February 26 at Phu My Port in Ba Ria Vung Tau Province, with 3,500 foreign visitors.

UK newspaper the Telegraph has revealed its list of the top 10 river cruises in Asia, with four routes passing through Vietnam.

Many cruise ships have begun carrying foreign passengers to Vietnam, particularly during the Lunar New Year holiday, or Tet, signaling the recovery of international tourism after more than two years of declining due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

The number of cruise tourists accounts for only 2-3% of the total number of international visitors to Vietnam.

Four ships operated by Silversea Cruises are scheduled to carry thousands of international tourists around Asia, including Vietnam, this December.

Ho Chi Minh City has great potential to attract international cruise tourists as part of an effort to speed up tourism recovery post-pandemic, experts said.

The cruise line industry faces a long journey back from the coronavirus pandemic.

 VietNamNet Bridge – Young UK tourist Sean Williams chose Vietnam for his first trip to Asia in November, and revelled in the country’s rich culture and cuisine.

 VietNamNet Bridge – Vietnam should invest more in infrastructure, cruise terminal facilities as well as shore itineraries and develop unique tourism products to tap its cruise tourism potential.

 VietNamNet Bridge – The HCM City tourism sector needs to provide better inputs to the Government and improve marketing and promotion to maximise the city’s tourism potential, 

 VietNamNet Bridge – Vietnam has huge potential for cruise tourism, but the sector is underdeveloped, with a lack of ports and services.

Travel firms complain that cruise tourists don’t have the opportunities to spend money in Vietnam since there are very few points of sales serving the special travelers.

 VietNamNet Bridge – Vietnam welcomed nearly 285,600 international tourists by cruise ship last year, rising six times from 2010, but the figure is still lower than the industry’s peak a decade ago.