Photo for illustration
With the impressive growth, Vietnam rose to the 4
th place among countries with the largest number of cruise vessel dockings in Asia, after Japan (2,601), China (1,021) and Thailand (581).
Specifically, Chan May Port greeted the most sea cruises to Vietnam with 159, followed by Phu My Port (139), Cai Lan Port (111) and Nha Trang Port (72).
This year, Princess Cruises along is estimated to carry more than 80,000 foreign tourists to Vietnam with 6 cruises docking at Phu My, Nha Trang, Da Nang and Cai Lan ports.
Conversely, the demand for overseas cruise travel by Vietnamese people is also increasing. Mr. Farriek Tawfik, Director of Southeast Asia for Princess Cruises, said Vietnam is a potential market with 5,900 Vietnamese tourists traveling by cruises, accounting for 0.2% of more than 4 million Asian tourists.
This figure is expected to rise in the coming time due to growth of the middle class in Vietnam, facilitating more people to choose the relaxation form. According to a report of the World Bank, in recent years, the middle class in the country increased rapidly by 1.5 million people a year.
Cruise Lines International Association said that Vietnamese cruise travelers have an average age of 42. While, the average age of Indian travelers is youngest at 37 and Japanese travelers is oldest at 57.
In addition, nearly 80% of Vietnamese cruise travelers chose destinations in Asia with four to six-day sea routes and the Caribbean is the most popular hot spot, followed by Alaska/the USA and Europe/Mediterranean./.