Foreign visitors enjoy a “xich lo” (pedicab) tour around Hoan Kiem Lake in Hanoi. (Photo: VNA)
Hanoi (VNA) – Hanoi is working to make a
breakthrough in tourism development this year by creating new and distinctive
products to attract more domestic and international visitors, according to the
municipal Tourism Department.
The capital city welcomed 208,000 visitors, including 38,000
international arrivals, during the three-day New Year holiday, from December
31, 2022 to January 2, 2023.
It hopes to attract about 22 million tourists in 2023, rising
17.6% from last year, with 3 million foreign arrivals (doubling the figure in
2022) and 19 million domestic visitors (up 10.5%). It also targets an increase
of 28.2% in tourism revenue to about 77 trillion VND (nearly 3.3 billion USD).
To that end, Hanoi will step up new types of tourism such as
adventure tourism, experience tourism, helicopter tours, hot air balloon
service, and virtual reality travel. It will promote MICE (meetings,
incentives, conferences, exhibitions) and golf tourism while hosting more national
and international cultural, sports, political, social, and festive events, the
department told a meeting on January 5.
Night-time tourism products will continue to be renewed
through the organisation of a wide range of activities in the pedestrian zones
surrounding Hoan Kiem Lake, the ancient Son Tay Fortress, Thien Quang Lake, and
Thong Nhat Park. Besides, the Tourism Department has been cooperating with
travel companies and destinations, especially relic sites, to design night and
experience tours that capitalise on traditional values.
Notably, night tours of the Thang Long Imperial
Citadel and support activities are now available. A night tour for foreign
visitors to this UNESCO-listed heritage site was also launched on January 4.
The
department noted it will work with localities, departments, and sectors to pilot
some agricultural and rural tourism models; boost community-based tourism in
craft villages and the areas home to ethnic minority groups such as Ba Vi,
Thach That, Quoc Oai, Chuong My, and My Duc districts; and upgrade existing
tourism products at relic and heritage sites and craft villages.
In
addition, the city will enhance tourism partnerships with other localities nationwide and hold more promotion activities in foreign markets like
Northeast Asia, Europe, the US, and India.
Director of the Tourism Department Dang Huong Giang said
Hanoi will strive for comprehensive tourism development, in terms of both
quantity and quality of services and visitors, in 2023 so that the sector can
truly recover and help the city maintain its role as a major tourism hub of
Vietnam./.
