Some of central Vietnam’s top tourist destinations have welcomed the Christmas and New Year holidays in style.

Da Nang by night

According to Da Nang’s Department of Tourism, the central coastal city greeted more than 158,000 tourists in the period, a year-on-year rise of 10.5 percent.

The number of international holidaymakers increased by 12.2 percent thanks to the launch of new direct air routes such as Busan – Da Nang (Korean Air), Daegu – Da Nang (Vietjet Air, Jeju Air), Osaka – Da Nang (Vietnam Airlines), Bangkok – Da Nang (Thai Vietjet Air), and Doha – Da Nang (Qatar Airways).

Meanwhile, the central coastal province of Binh Thuan served nearly 46,500 visitors during the four-day New Year holiday, including about 10,600 foreigners.

Popular destinations in the province include Ham Tien – Mui Ne tourism site, Phan Thiet city and Hon Rom resort area.

Elsewhere, the central coastal province of Khanh Hoa welcomed about 59,600 visitors, including 32,200 foreigners. 

The local tourism sector raked in some 105 billion VND (4.5 million USD) in revenue.

The central coastal region of Vietnam boasts a broad mix of attractions, including UNESCO accredited cultural heritage sites and pristine beaches.

With a coastline of 1,430 km and most cities facing the ocean, the region is developing eco-sea tourism, leisure tourism and sea sport tourism.

The region is also rich in inland natural resources with green forests, mountain ranges, hot springs and cultural and historical relics.

Tourist arrivals surge during 2019 New Year holidays

Visitors at Hue imperial relic site 

The capital city of Hanoi was a top tourist destination during the 2019 New Year holidays, which spanned from December 29, 2018 to January 1, 2019. 

According to the municipal Tourism Department, the total figure of tourists to Hanoi exceeded 253,000, up 10.6 percent year-on-year. Of the number, there were more than 80,000 foreign visitors, up 16.3 percent over the previous year.

The most-visited destinations in the city included Ngoc Son Temple, Huong (Perfume) Pagoda and Hoa Lo Prison. Additionally, a range of art programmes were held in the city at the Vietnam National Village for Ethnic Culture and Tourism, the Vietnam Museum of Ethnology and West Lake Amusement Park, among others.

Meanwhile, nearly 45,000 tourists visited Hue imperial relic site in the central province of Thua Thien-Hue during the holidays, said Director of the Hue Monuments Conservation Centre Phan Thanh Hai. 

This year, the centre aims to diversify and improve quality of tourism products. It is working to develop cultural heritage tourism and stage frequent cultural and art performances.

Along with the tourism package themed “Hue-One Destination, Five World Heritages”, the province will work to reopen the tour to Dai Noi (Royal Palace) at night, as well as build a brand for Hue cuisine and bolster tourism promotion to draw more visitors to Hue.

In 2018, Hue imperial relic site welcomed more than 3.5 million visitors, raking in 381.7 billion VND (16.41 million USD) from entrance tickets, surpassing 19.28 percent of the target assigned by the State.

Sa Pa district of the northern mountainous province of Lao Cai also witnessed an increase of tourist arrivals during the four-day holidays. The district received more than 56,000 visitors, a surge of 25 percent against the previous year.

Over 26 million tourists visit Hanoi in 2018

Among these visitors, there are about 5.7 million foreigners, of whom 60 percent come from Asia and some 24 percent from Europe. Tourism is calculated to earn the capital more than 3.2 billion USD throughout the year, an annual increase of 11.7 percent.

The positive outcomes attributed to the city’s expansion of cooperation programmes with other localities nationwide and with organisations it holds membership in.

To keep such growth momentum, the city will intensify communications activities to promote international sports events hosted by the city, like the Formula One race in 2020 and the 31st Southeast Asian Games in 2021.

In 2019, Hanoi aims to welcome over 28.5 million tourists for a revenue of nearly 3.7 billion USD. Of the total visitors, there will be about 6.66 million foreigners. 

Hanoi, Thua Thien – Hue, HCM City welcomes first air travellers of 2019

A ceremony to welcome first air travellers of 2019 at Noi Bai international airport (Photo: nhandan.com.vn)

Tourism departments of Hanoi, Thua Thien – Hue, and Ho Chi Minh City organised special ceremonies to greet their first tourists of the year arriving at the local international airports on January 1.

First foreign visitors landed in the capital city’s Noi Bai International Airport on a Vietnam Airlines plane. One of them was Timo Kux, a German national, who said he visits Vietnam about three or four times per year. He also expressed his fondness for the country’s beauty after touring different local tourist sites.

Hanoi welcomed 5.74 million foreign visitors in 2018, up 16 percent against 2017, among 26 million tourists spending time in the city. It aims to greet 6.7 million foreign visitors, out of nearly 28.6 million tourists in 2019.

Meanwhile, the central province of Thua Thien – Hue held a dragon dancing performance at the Phu Bai International Airport and presented keepsakes to the passengers who came to the central province on the first day of 2019 on a Vietnam Airline flight en route from Hanoi. 

The ceremony opened a series of local culture- sport-tourism activities set for 2019, including the Hue traditional handicraft festival, Hue international marathon day, and Coupe De Hue Cycle Race 2019.

A total of 4.25 million tourists visited the province last year, contributing 4.4 trillion VND (189.2 million USD) to the local tourism sector, up 11.8 and 25 percent from 2017, respectively. Thua Thien – Hue expects to host between 4.5 and 4.7 million visitors this year for revenue of 4.7-4.9 trillion VND.   

The HCM City Tourism Department, with support from the Vietnam Airlines and Vietjet Air, greeted the first six foreign and six domestic tourists to the southern economic hub at the Tan Son Nhat International Airport. The foreigners travelling on a Vietnam Airlines flight from Frankfurt, Germany and the domestic visitors came from the central city of Da Nang on a Vietjet Air flight. Each lucky tourist received a free economy ticket from their carriers and a free tour around the city’s popular destinations by the Tugo tourism company.

The city welcomed about 36.5 million visitors, including 7.5 million foreigners, last year. It sets a target of achieving its tourism growth of between 15-20 percent and serving about 8-8.5 million foreign holidaymakers in 2019.

Foreign tourists flock to Da Nang city on New Year day

The Golden Bridge in Da Nang 

The Da Nang Airport in the central coastal city of the same name on January 1 welcomed the first international flight of this year which carried 180 visitors from Hong Kong (China).

The tourists on Flight UO550 of the Hong Kong Express arrived at the airport at 7:50 am to a welcome ceremony consisting of art performances, and flower and gift presentation.

Meanwhile, more than 2,000 Chinese tourists arrived at Tien Sa port in the afternoon the same day on board of the Italian-registered Costa Atlantica cruiser as the first foreign visitors coming to Da Nang this year on a sea route.

Leading officials of the municipal tourism authority said the arrival of the first foreign visitors on the first day of the new year marks the fine start of the city’s tourism industry in 2019. They said they hope the tour will leave deep imprints on the mind of the visitors about the friendly and hospitable locals and scenic sites in the city.

Over the recent years, Da Nang has emerged as an attractive destination for both foreign and Vietnamese tourists. At the end of last year, the city had 23 direct air routes with 328 flights per week, or 86 flights more than the figure in 2017, and welcomed 7,660,000 tourist arrivals, including 2,875,000 foreign.

Also last year, Da Nang welcomed 100 arrivals of cruisers to Tien Sa port with 145,000 visitors, a surge of 66% in the number of cruise tourists registered a year earlier.

Hà Nội welcomes first tourist of 2019

Hà Nội’s Department of Tourism Director Trần Đức Hải (left) greets the city’s first foreign visitor of 2019, German tourist Timo Kux. 

German tourist Timo Kux was in for a surprise when he arrived Hà Nội on the New Year Day – he is the first foreign tourist to the capital in 2019.

The special guest has been warmly welcomed by representatives from the Hà Nội’s Department of Tourism, the national carrier Vietnam Airlines and the Nội Bài International Airport right after he stepped off the airplane that landed on the Nội Bài Airport on Monday, January 1.

Speaking at a welcome ceremony in the airport, Kux said he has visited Việt Nam regularly over the past six years.

“Every year, I come to Việt Nam three or four times to visit different region of the country. Every place I have been to is very beautiful and has left a strong impression on me. In the near future, I want to invite my Vietnamese business partners to come to work with me in my country,” he said.

According to director of the Hà Nội’s Department of Tourism Trần Đức Hải, Hà Nội has become a favourite destination of millions of international tourists over the past years.

“Hà Nội also has been voted by many of the world’s most prestigious travel magazines as one of the most interesting destinations, not only in region but also in the world. Your decision to select Hà Nội as your first destination in the New Year Day promises to bring good luck and success to yourself as well as to Hà Nội tourism during the year of 2019,” Hải said.

The official also said in 2019, the Hà Nội tourism department would try their best to achieve their goals in both quality and quantity.  

“We will continue to co-operate with relevant bodies to diversify tourist products, especially the products related to culture; to promote tourism further; and to apply technology to advance tourism services.”

On New Year’ Eve, despite chilly weather in Hà Nội, thousands of people including foreign tourists flocked to the walking streets in downtown area to countdown to the New Year.

A wide range of art shows were held during the night. As the clock ticks down the last hours of 2018, a dazzling New Year countdown party was held at the Lý Thái Tổ Square by Hoàn Kiếm Lake. The programme, which started from 10pm and lasted until 0.15am on the New Year Day, was broadcast live on VTV1 channel. A lineup of famous artists performed.

Meanwhile, various other art performances also took place during the night in several spots across the city such as Đông Kinh Nghĩa Thục Square, August Revolution Square, Mỹ Đình Stadium, Hàng Đẫy Stadium, and Thống Nhất Park.