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| Hai Phong port (Photo: haiphong.gov.vn) |
Currently, there are 933 valid projects operating in Hai Phong with a total investment capital of US$28.9 billion, said Le Gia Phong, head of the local statistics agency.
Phong attributed the encouraging result to the city’s improved business investment environment and infrastructure system, along with the effectiveness of a series of investment promotion activities.
In 2023, the city licensed 100 newly registered projects valued at US$1.3 billion and 46 adjusted projects with an additional investment capital of more than US$1.9 billion.
Of the total, local industrial parks and economic zones contributed 35 projects with a total investment capital of US$1.8 billion.
In recent years, the local infrastructure system, especially international seaports, highways, and its Cat Bi airport, has been invested heavily, creating breakthroughs in transport connectivity.
Cat Bi International Airport has been renovated and upgraded with a capacity of 4 million passengers a year. The city is going to break ground for Terminal 2 this year.
Also according to the municipal statistics agency, the city’s gross regional domestic products (GRDP) expanded by 10.34% in 2023, ranking fifth in the country and second in the Red River Delta.
Mekong Delta draws visitors to classic destinations
The Cuu Long (Mekong) Delta, one of the country's seven key tourism regions, has identified 53 classic destinations designated by the Mekong Delta Tourism Association, said the Vietnam News Agency.
These include tourist complexes, lodging facilities, cultural-historical relics, architectural structures, public works, national parks, and traditional craft establishments catering to tourist.
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| A corner of Cai Rang floating market (Photo: VNA) |
To be recognised, tourism complexes must offer at least 10 types of products and services while cultural-historical relics, public works, architectural structures, national parks, ecological gardens must meet the criterion of hosting 40,000 visitors or more. To contribute to responsible tourism development and generate sustainable livelihoods for local communities, they also need to have a local labour rate of at least 50%.
Tran Thi Lan Phuong, Director of the Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism of Bac Lieu, said the province boasts 11 recognised destinations, the highest number in the region. These include iconic spots such as the Temple of Ho Chi Minh, Ho Nam ecological tourism area, the memorial site for southern amateur music and musician Cao Van Lau, Hung Vuong Square, House of Bac Lieu Dude, artificial beach in Nha Mat tourism area, Bac Lieu restaurants and hotels, Quan Am Buddha pagoda, Bac Lieu wind power plant, Xiem Can pagoda and Noc Nang relic site.
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| Hung Thien pagoda in Bac Lieu (Photo: VNA) |
This year, Bac Lieu expects to draw about 4.2 million domestic and foreign visitors, with a significant number of them heading to these classic destinations, she added.
Tran Viet Phuong, Chairman of the Mekong Delta Tourism Association, said the destinations were surveyed and selected every three years, allowing travellers to easily choose safe, hospitable, and quality places to visit, thereby helping develop the regional tourism brand.
Luxury cruise ship Westerdam brings foreign visitors to Nha Trang
Luxury cruise ship Westerdam docked at Nha Trang port of Nha Trang bay, one of the most beautiful bay in the world, on December 31, bringing approximately 2,000 foreign visitors, mostly Dutch travelers, to the central coastal city, the capital of Khanh Hoa province, according to Radio the Voice of Vietnam.
Coming to Nha Trang this time, the visitors went on a city tour of major tourist attractions in the locality by cyclo or learn about Vietnamese cuisine at a restaurant on the outskirts of the city.
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| Luxury cruise ship Westerdam brings foreign visitors to Nha Trang (Photo: baokhanhhoa.vn) |
After discovering the city’s major destinations and food delicacies, the visitors boarded the cruise ship again late in the afternoon the same day, heading for Da Nang, another famous tourist destination in central Vietnam.
Westerdam was the last foreign cruise ship bringing foreign visitors to Nha Trang in 2023.
Westerdam is expected to return to Nha Trang in January 2024, according to Bui Minh Thang, director of Phuong Thang Tourism Service Trading Company Limited.
He also revealed that the company will also welcome about 3,000 foreign guests on board a cruise ship in February 2024, and another 4,500 guests on board Queen Mary, the world’s largest cruise ship in April 2024.
Since the beginning of 2023, Khanh Hoa has welcomed 25 cruise ships, bringing nearly 46,000 visitors to the locality, reported the Khanh Hoa Department of Tourism.
Vietnam - favourite destination of Korean tourists in 2023
In the first 11 months of 2023, more than 7.3 million tourists from the Republic of Korea (RoK) visited Vietnam, an increase of 220% compared to the same period last year, the Vietnam News Agency qouted the figures of the RoK’s Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport.
Destinations including Phu Quoc, Da Lat, and Nha Trang are favoured by Korean travelers thanks to reasonable costs and diverse tourism activities.
According to the ministry, during the period, more than 1 million Korean people traveled from the Incheon to Nha Trang – Vietnam’s coastal resort city. In 2019, before the COVID-19 pandemic, the city attracted more than 735,400 Korean visitors.
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| Korean tourists visit Fansipan mountain in Lao Cai province (Photo: laodong.vn) |
Meanwhile, the number of Korean visitors to Phu Quoc Island - which is considered "Vietnam's Jeju island", also increased sharply.
In the first 11 months of this year, nearly 300,000 Koreans traveled on the Incheon-Phu Quoc route and more than 61,000 others on the Incheon-Da Lat route.
Korean and Vietnamese airlines also quickly expanded flight networks to meet the demand for travel to emerging destinations in Vietnam.
On December 24, the RoK's Jin Air launched its Phu Quoc-Incheon flights. Earlier this month, Vietnamese budget airline VietJet Air launched a new route from Busan to Phu Quoc island. Low-cost airline Jeju Air has also opened Icheon-Da Lat flights from December 20 with a frequency of seven flights per week, becomingthe first RoK domestic airline operating regular flights to the famous resort city in the Central Highlands province of Lam Dong./.