Vietnam’s capital welcomed 15.38 million visitors between January and October, which was five times more than the same period last year. There were reported nearly 983,000 international tourist arrivals, according to the Municipal Tourism Department.
This achievement is attributable to the city's careful preparations for the reopening of tourism after a long hiatus due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The current tourism recovery has been long awaited.
Thanks to new products designed by local authorities such as experience tourism, handicraft village tourism, photo tours and the pedestrian zone surrounding the ancient fortress of Son Tây, a great improvement has been recorded in local tourism. The number of room reservations has increased by 30% during the last six months.
The director of Hanoitourist travel agency, Le Hông Thai, said the city has been meeting travel demands, especially during the National Reunification Day and May 1st vacations, adding that it still has a long way to go to achieve a better result and should take measures to promote the tourism recovery.
In addition to capitalizing on heritage values in the inner districts or famous relic sites in the outer areas, Hanoi should intensify the development of new tourism products, he recommended.
The deputy head of the rural development division at the municipal Department of Agriculture and Rural Development, Trân Sy Tiên, said that agricultural tourism has developed in the city for several years but has not yet flourished.
In order to stimulate agricultural and handicraft tourism in the villages, the authorities should draw up a tourism development plan as a part of the program to build new-style rural areas and multiply models such as the Bat Trang pottery village and the Van Phuc silk village.
Some experts argued that due to the strong urban development, people have a high demand for weekend relaxation. Therefore, Hanoi should promote farm tourism and tap into natural values to promote relaxation and exploration tourism.
From a remote area, Ba Vi district has become a tourism hotspot thanks to its optimization of local natural conditions and the particular cultural identities of the Muong and Dao ethnic minorities.
The vice chairman of Ba Vi People's Committee, Nguyen Duc Anh, noted that the district is expected to receive more than 2 million tourist arrivals in 2022.
Some experts also recommended Hanoi greatly improve the quality of human resources in tourism, which they said is important to gain visitors' satisfaction and enhance the city's attractiveness.