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| Foreigners visit Hanoi (Photo: tuoitre.vn) |
Of the figure, foreign tourist arrivals reached 3.2 million, marking a four-fold increase compared to the same period of last year and surpassing this year's target of 3 million, while the number of domestic visitors rose by 20.2% year on year to 15.7 million.
Total tourism revenue was estimated at 69.3 trillion VND (2.88 billion USD), up 66.9% year-on-year.
Hanoi has consistently received high praise from international tourism organisations, ranking among the most attractive destinations in the world. On September 6, Hanoi was once again recognised as the top city destination in Asia for 2023.
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| Foreigners taking cyclos are excited to make a tour around Hanoi (Source: VOV) |
Director of the Department of Tourism Dang Huong Giang said the sector has launched various types of tourism that align with the strengths of each area, such as sport tourism in outlying district of Soc Son, community-based tourism with a focus on health care in Ba Vi and Soc Son districts, and hot air balloon tourism in Tay Ho and Long Bien districts and Son Tay township.
It has improved tourism destination infrastructure, including transport connectivity between tourist destinations and the city's road network.
It is also diversifying communication methods across digital platforms to attract visitors to the city with the consistent messages "Hanoi - Come to Love" and "Hanoi - A Safe, Friendly, Quality and Attractive Tourism Destination"./.
Vietnam leads ASEAN in number of tourists to RoK
Vietnam has taken the lead in ASEAN in terms of the number of tourists to the Republic of Korea (RoK) amounting to 350,000 over the past ninth months, or 77% of the yearly set target (420,000 arrivals), reported VOV.
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| More and more Vietnamese tourists choose the RoK as their favourite destination for holiday. (Photo: Tugo) |
These figures were released by Lee Jae Hoon, chief representative of the Korea Tourism Organisation (KTO) in Vietnam, at a signing ceremony of cooperation document between the KTO and the Vietnam Tourism Association (VITA) held in Hanoi on September 28.
Under the document, the KTO will support the VITA’s members in building and promoting tourism programmes, improving the overall quality of tours, and ensuring rights for Vietnamese visitors to the RoK, while assisting Vietnamese travel firms to serve Korean tourists to Vietnam.
Most notably, the two sides will coordinate closely with state agencies in a bid to strengthen the management of tourism programmes and ensure tourists’ rights.
Hoon expressed hope that the two sides would actively exchange tourism information, as well as human resources and tourism policies, to help improve the quality of tourism products and better serve tourists from the two countries.
The KTO will participate in tourism promotion exhibitions and strengthen cooperation activities between the KTO and the VITA through Business to Business (B2B) and Business-to-Consumer (B2C) connection events and FAM trips to develop diverse and attractive tourism products.
Vu The Binh, VITA president, stressed that the RoK is a potential market for Vietnam which had welcomed 2.37 million Korean visitors as of August 2023, and the figure is expected to rise to approximately 3.2 million this year and around 5 million next year.
Meanwhile, the Korean tourist market has enjoyed rapid growth and a strong recovery. The number of Vietnamese tourists to the RoK is expected to exceed 500,000 in 2024, Binh noted.
Soc Son aims to become tourism hub of Hanoi
According to VNA, Hanoi’s outskirt district of Soc Son aims to become a tourism hub of the capital city in the 2025-2030 period and turn tourism into the locality’s spearhead economic sector, said Vice Chairman of the district’s People’s Committee at a conference on September 28.
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| Dong Do lake in Soc Son (Photo: hanoimoi.com.vn) |
The official highlighted the district’s potential for tourism development, including favourable natural conditions with a system of hills, mountains and lakes as well as various cultural relic sites, landscapes and festivals.
It is home to 341 cultural and historical relic sites, including one special national site, 16 national-level relics, and 174 traditional festivals.
Soc Son has been defined as one of the six key tourism clusters of Hanoi, with major products of spiritual tourism, eco-tourism, resorts, and sports tourism. In 2030, the district is expected to have 5,000 rooms for visitors.
Bui Duc Thuan, deputy head of the Office of the Hanoi Department of Tourism said that the department will work with Soc Son to develop a system of high-end accommodations, especially along the Nhat Tan-Noi Bai route, the Belt Road No.4 and the So Mountain-Dong Quan Lake.
Alongside, the department will support Soc Son in building tours connecting destinations in three outskirt districts of Soc Son, Me Linh and Dong Anh as well as nearby localities.
Besides, the district will cooperate with Me Linh and Dong Anh district to promote sports tourism and entertainment services.
Participants at the conference discussed measures to build tourism products, and guide the local community on providing tourism services in Soc Son.
Also on September 28, the Hanoi Promotion Agency and the People’s Committee of Son Son jointly organised a Hanoi agricultural product festival 2023, which introduces agricultural products of the OCOP (One Commune-One Product) programme, ornamental creatures, handicrafts and products of craft villages, cultural, tourism products, as well as the cuisine of Soc Son.
About 160 booths at the festival showcase more than 1,500 products of Soc Son, Hanoi and 30 cities and provinces across the country.
During the festival, which will end on October 1, Son Son will organise a programme to perform the Giong Festival, an intangible cultural heritage of humanity, and introduce development planning of the district. A number of festive activities will also be held to draw visitors./.
Vietnam Pho Festival 2023 to take place in Japan in October
A Vietnam Pho Festival 2023 will be held in Keyaki Namiki, Tokyo, Japan from October 7-8 as part of activities to introduce and promote Vietnamese culinary culture to international friends.
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| Participants at the Day of Pho held in 2020 in Vietnam (Source: Tuoi Tre Newspaper) |
The information was announced by representatives of Tuoi Tre (Youth) Newspaper, the Saigontourist Group, and the Vietnam – Japan Friendship Association in Ho Chi Minh City at a press conference on September 28 in the city.
According to VNA, the event, which marks the seventh edition of the ‘Day of Pho’ (December 12), initiated and annually held by Tuoi Tre, is aimed at promoting Vietnamese cuisine, particularly Pho, a Vietnamese soup consisting of broth, rice noodles, herbs, and meat – usually beef or chicken.
It will feature many Pho brands across Vietnam namely Pho Dau, Pho Hai Thien, Pho Phu Gia, Pho 'S, Pho Sen SASCO, Pho Ta - Binh Tay Food, Pho Thin Bo Ho, along with Pho brands served at five-star hotels such as Majestic Saigon Hotel, Grand Saigon Hotel, and Thu Duc Golf Club, among others.
In the framework of the fest, a series of promotional activities will be organised, such as a talkshow “Love for Vietnam Pho”, a Pho cooking contest for Japanese people, an exhibition and a video screening programme featuring the history of the dish.
The programme will see the presence of culinary expert Matsuo Tomoyuki, Chairman of the Japan - Vietnam Cuisine Culture Association, who is the Ambassador of the festival.
The municipal Department of Industry and Trade will also arrange investment and trade promotion activities, and introduce products of enterprises operating in the food industry.
Le The Chu, Editor-in-Chief of Tuoi Tre Newspaper, co-head of the Steering Committee of Vietnam Pho Festival 2023, said that the agency is always interested in promoting the value of Vietnamese culture and cuisine.
The event is expected to introduce the unique cultural and culinary values of Vietnam to Japanese friends, contributing to promoting economic and tourism potential of Vietnam in general and HCM City in particular, Tru said.
Pham Huy Binh, Chairman of the Board of Members of Saigontourist Group, co-head of the Steering Committee said, through accompanying the fest - the first of its kind in this East Asian nation, the firm wants to realise its commitment to promoting Vietnamese culture and cuisine to the world and create a highlight to attract more Japanese tourists to Vietnam.
Japanese Consul General in HCM City Masuo Ono said the fest is part of practical activities to strengthen culture exchanges and economic connections between the two nations.
With around 40 booths, the Vietnam Pho Festival 2023 is expected to serve some 50,000 visitors./.