Hanoi welcomed nearly 12 million tourists in the last two quarters, earning 35 trillion VND (about 1.54 billion USD), representing year-on-year increases of 8 percent and 13 percent, respectively.

Tourists visit Chua mot cot (One-pillar pagoda) in Hanoi 

The number of foreigners visiting Hanoi in the period reached 2.3 million, up 14 percent against the same period last year, the municipal Department of Tourism reported.

According to Nguyen Van Nhung, Director of Xuan Son Travel Co., Ltd, many visitors to the capital were impressed by pedestrian areas surrounding Hoan Kiem Lake at the weekends, where they can enjoy art performances. 

Hanoi is among the top 10 destinations in the 2017 Summer Travel Trends selected by Airbnb, a US-based accommodation sharing application. 

Airbnb said Hanoi is attractive to holiday-makers as its boasts historical relic sites and special cuisine.

The positive results are attributed to effective measures taken by municipal authorities to develop tourism. 

The city’s decision to open more walking areas surrounding Hoan Kiem Lake in September last year helped improve the capital’s tourism sector. 

Recently, a cuisine culture exchange was held in the city, featuring various kinds of foods in 50 booths. The event also offered food from Italy, France, Japan, China, Laos, Indonesia and Thailand.

In the future, IT use in tourism management will be increased. 

Apart from pedestrian areas, visitors will be able to use free wifi in other tourism sites in the city. The move is part of building a smart tourism city.

Attention will also be paid to branching out new tourism products and popularising the city’s images to domestic and international friends via the Cable News Network (CNN), which is broadcast across Asia-Pacific, Europe, the Middle East, North America and South Asia.

Hanoi tourism officials will also attend international tourism fairs in key and new markets, and welcome  delegations from the UK, Japan, France, Thailand, the US, China and Germany.

This year, the city aims to welcome 23.61 million travellers, a year-on-year increase of 8 percent. 

VNA