Tran Quoc Pagoda on the West Lake, a tourist attraction in Hanoi

In 2016, the municipal Party Committee issued aresolution on the capital city’s tourism development which aims to makebreakthroughs in the local industry to turn Hanoi into an attractive andhigh-end destination.

Magnetfor domestic, foreign holidaymakers

From 2016 to 2018, the number of touristarrivals in Hanoi grew by 10.2 percent each year. Notably, the annual growthrate of foreign visitors reached 22.5 percent.

Last year, the city welcomed 26.3 millionvisitors, up 10.4 percent and accounting for 27.5 percent of total touristnumbers in Vietnam. That included more than 6 million foreigners coming toHanoi, equivalent to 38.7 percent of all foreign visitors to the country.

In the list of the top 100 city destinations2018 released by Euromonitor International, Hanoi ranked fourth among capitalcities in Southeast Asia in terms of foreign tourist numbers, following Bangkok(23.69 million), Singapore (18.55 million) and Kuala Lumpur (13.43 million).

Its revenue from tourists increased from nearly61.78 trillion VND (2.6 billion USD) in 2016 to 77.48 trillion VND in 2018, up12.1 percent annually on average.

According to a survey conducted by municipalagencies, the average stay of foreign tourists in Hanoi rose from 3.64 days in2017 to 3.67 days in 2018, and that of domestic travellers from 2.12 days to2.32 days.

A foreign traveller staying overnight in thecity spent an average of 2.6 million VND (113.5 USD) a day in 2018, up almost18 percent from the previous year. Those visiting Hanoi for one day spent some2.1 million VND each, up nearly 13 percent.

The respective figures of Vietnamese visitorswere 1.75 million VND, up 3.2 percent, and 1.4 million VND, up 27 percent.

Statistics released by Mastercard in September2018 showed that spending by a foreign traveller was 124 USD in Kuala Lumpur,154 USD in Tokyo, 173 USD in Bangkok and 181 USD in Seoul.

The municipal Department of Tourism saidalthough foreign tourists’ spending in Hanoi is still lower than in othercities, it is nearing the figures in big tourism cities in the region and theworld.

Data indicated that tourism’s contribution toHanoi’s gross regional domestic product has been rising, reaching 8.07 percentin 2017 and 10.15 percent in 2018.

Effortsto further tap into tourism potential

To bolster tourism, Hanoi considers improvingthe quality of destinations and developing infrastructure and tourism productsas important tasks. 

The capital plans to attract investment to buildshopping centres and accelerate major projects like the Kim Quy cultural,tourism and entertainment park in Dong Anh district, the horse racing andentertainment complex in Soc Son district, and the Hanoi Museum. It will alsoboost preservation projects at the Imperial Citadel of Thang Long, Bat Trangpottery village and Van Phuc silk village.

Efforts are also being made to develop 20 – 30high-quality tourist sites across the city. Additionally, the values of localcultural heritages and traditional villages will be brought into play to turnthem into attractive places of interest.

Hanoi will also augment preparations forupcoming big sports events such as Formula One racing and the 31st SoutheastAsian Games to attract visitors.

Additionally, it will also make use of localculinary culture and promote MICE tourism as well as tourism products based on thestrengths of its localities.

The Vietnamese capital is also working todevelop high-end accommodation facilities.

Director of the Tourism Department Tran Duc Haisaid the municipal People’s Committee has approved in principle 75 high-endaccommodation projects with nearly 20,000 rooms. As of June this year, therewere 3,499 accommodation establishments with 60,812 rooms in the city,including 67 hotels rated three to five stars with 10,004 rooms and sevencondotel complexes rated four to five stars with 1,349 rooms.

Cooperation in tourism development is also a keytask of the sector, he said, noting that his department is carrying out thepromotion cooperation programme for 2019-2024 with TV channel CNNInternational.

It will also take part in meetings of theCouncil for Promotion of Tourism in Asia and cooperation activities of theTourism Promotion Organisation for Asian-Pacific Cities.

Coordination with airlines, domestic and foreignmedia, embassies, international organisations and travel companies will also bestrengthened to hold trips for businesses and reporters from key markets,according to the Tourism Department.

Hanoi aims to welcome 30 million touristarrivals, including 5.7 million foreigners, in 2020, and attain annual growthof 8 – 10 percent in the sector. Its revenue from tourists is expected to reach120 trillion VND in 2020 and grow by 15 – 17 percent year on year.-VNA