Spectrum of the Seas, Asia's largest luxury cruise ship, docked at Nha Trang port on August 21, marking its visit for the second time in a month.

In the first half of this year, Vietnam attracted over 6.6 million foreign visitors, about 30,000 of them came by sea. Particularly, 11 cruises with over 13,000 tourists arrived in Khanh Hoa province.

In the first half of this year, Khanh Hoa received over 2.7 million visitors, about 70% of this year’s target.

Wu Huimin, captain of Royal Caribbean's Spectrum of the Seas, said that when the cruise docked at Tokyo port to pick up Japanese tourists, they were looking forward to coming to Vietnam because of the country’s beautiful scenes and friendly people.

The captain said that during the 12-day journey, about 4,300 guests on the cruise will explore Asia's top destinations including Nha Trang city and Ba Ria-Vung Tau province in Vietnam, Tokyo, Kumamoto, and Kagoshima in Japan, Hong Kong (China), and Singapore.

Angie Stephen, CEO of Royal Caribbean International Asia-Pacific, said that the company owns the world's leading fleet with 226 cruises. Two of its cruises will soon return to Vietnam, and expectedly bring tourists to Hue city, Nha Trang city, and Ba Ria-Vung Tau province.

The official said that at the docks, cruise passengers are interested in experiencing local culture, visiting craft villages, shopping, and enjoying local food, which will bring economic benefits to Vietnam's tourism industry.

Tran Thi Thu Hien, Deputy Director of the Department of Tourism of Ba Ria-Vung Tau province, said that cruises create opportunities for the province to promote its image and boost tourism.

Hien said that with the local Cai Mep - Thi Vai deep-water port, the province has over the recent past welcomed three large cruises, which shows that cruise travel has returned to normal.

She said the province is developing a specific tourism promotion plan for international cruises

At the Seatrade Cruise Asia Pacific slated to take place in Hong Kong in October, the province will connect with the world’s leading cruise firms to attract more international visitors.

Nguyen Quy Phuong, head of tourism promotion management department under the Vietnam National Authority of Tourism, said that there are 15-16 million cruise tourists in the world each year. Although the number of the tourists in this group is not large, this is a segment with high spending and long stays./.VNA