International visitors to Vietnam increase sharply during Tet

International visitors to Vietnam increase sharply during Tet

Ha Long Bay, located in Quang Ninh Province, welcomes the first visitors of the new lunar year from the Republic of Korea. (Credit: Nhan Dan Online)

Nhan Dan Online – The first three days of the 2014 Lunar New Year (Tet) have seen an upswing in foreign tourist arrivals to Vietnam.

* On the first and second days of Tet (January 31 and February 1), more than 2,000 Chinese tourists entered Vietnam through the Lao Cai International Border Gate. On January 31 alone, the border gate handled entry procedures for nearly 1,500 Chinese tourists from China’s Yunnan, Guangxi, and Sichuan provinces. The tourists purchased tour packages to Hanoi, Ha Long, Tuan Chau, and Bai Chay (Quang Ninh province).

* The city of Lang Son in Lang Son province welcomed many Chinese delegations from villages that share a border with Vietnam, as well as visitors from other localities in the country, to historical relic sites and landscapes in the province. The delegations made offerings of incense to commemorate ancestors who preserved national border security and sovereignty.

* The same day, Ha Long Bay, located in Quang Ninh Province, received 20 visitors from the Republic of Korea (RoK), the first visitors in the Year of the Horse to the UNESCO World Heritage Site.

According to Bai Chay tourist port, the number of international tourists visiting Ha Long Bay, mostly from China and the RoK, is on the rise – particularly during the first six days of Tet – with an average of 5,000 visitors per day.

On January 31, approximately 220 boats brought more than 3,500 tourists to visit Ha Long, a 15 percent rise over the same period last year. The same day, Mong Cai International Border Gate welcomed nearly 400 Chinese tourists to Vietnam.

In 2013, Quang Ninh’s tourism sector welcomed 7.5 million arrivals, with total tourism revenue estimated at VND5.2 trillion (US$244.4 million).

* Nearly 120 foreign tourists arrived in the central city of Da Nang on January 31 on Silk Air Flight MI630, becoming the first visitors to the beach city of the 2014 Lunar New Year.

On February 1, the Gemini cruise liner, with 800 visitors onboard, was the first cruise ship to arrive in Tien Sa Port in the Lunar New Year. To mark the occasion, the tourists will join in activities to celebrate the traditional Lunar New Year in Hoi An and Hue, in addition to the regular destinations in their tour package, which include Ngu Hanh Son and Non Nuoc stone carving village in Da Nang.

There are 25 five-star rated international cruise ships registered to arrive in Tien Sa port in February – a good sign for the development of the local tourism industry.

* During the Tet holiday, Nha Trang city in Khanh Hoa province has greeted 60 flights, each carrying 200 foreign tourists, to the beach city, of which 42 direct flights have arrived from Russia, 2 from the RoK and 17 from major cities in China – a new market for Khanh Hoa tourism. The tourists are staying in the city for three to five days to explore unique local Tet traditions.

* On this occasion, the Mekong Delta province of An Giang has welcomed 700,000 tourist arrivals to the locality’s main tourist attractions, including Ba Chua Xu Temple in Sam Mountain (Chau Doc city), Cam Mountain (Tinh Bien district), the memorial complex dedicated to Late President Ton Duc Thang, and the Oc Eo national special ancient archeological relic.

* The first two days of the new lunar year saw 20,000 tourist arrivals visiting the President Ho Chi Minh Monument in the southernmost province of Ca Mau. Many overseas Vietnamese have offered incense to Uncle Ho and prayed for a strong nation with prosperous people.

International visitors to Vietnam increase sharply during Tet Related image(s)