With the advantage of synchronous infrastructure, a specialized cruise port, and being on a cruise route that is popular with many tourists, since the beginning of 2024, Quang Ninh has continuously welcomed high-class international cruise ships carrying thousands of tourists. To welcome the 2024-2025 cruise tourism season, as well as promote the growth of cruise tourists in particular and international tourists in general, the tourism industry is making efforts to increase the value of destinations, proactively connecting with cruise lines, improving service quality, etc.
Cruise tourism season usually starts from October to April of the following year. According to data from the National Tourism Administration, in the first 7 months of the year, Vietnam welcomed 8.4 million arrivals by air and 163,000 arrivals by sea. The number of arrivals by cruise ship increased 3 times compared to the same period in 2023 and nearly 10% compared to 2019 - the golden year of Vietnamese tourism. In Quang Ninh, from the beginning of 2024 until now, Quang Ninh has welcomed about 50 international cruise ships carrying 40,000 tourists from the US, Europe, China, etc. It is expected that in 2024, Ha Long will be the destination of 60-70 cruise ships, carrying about 70,000 visitors, double that of 2023. Cruise tourists to Quang Ninh tend to be younger, the ships are larger, and stay in Ha Long longer. In the following years, the number of visitors will increase by about 15-20% with the regular appearance of major cruise lines: Royal Carribean, Holland America, Tui Cruises, Resorts World Cruises, Viking Ocean Cruises...
It is known that, The policy of easing visas and granting e-visas to citizens of all countries and territories, along with the assistance of quick administrative procedures from customs, border guards, and port authorities, is one of the important reasons for the increase in the number of visitors. In addition, the completion of the seaport system and traffic infrastructure also contributes significantly to the growth and development of tourism on the sea routes of Quang Ninh in particular and Vietnam in general .
In particular, last August, after the meeting between the leaders of Quang Ninh Province (Vietnam) and Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region (China), a signing ceremony of the Cooperation Agreement on Tourism Development between enterprises of Quang Ninh Province and Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region took place. According to the cooperation agreement, the parties agreed to accelerate the development of cruise tourism between Guangxi, China and Vietnam, expand the content and scope of “tourism+” services, and strengthen cooperation with travel agencies, hotels, and scenic spots to complete the tourism chain.
According to Mr. Pham Van Hiep, Director of Ha Long International Passenger Port, the signing of the agreement will help the two sides strengthen information work, visit, organize exchange activities, training on port management and cruise services at Ha Long International Passenger Port (Vietnam) and Bac Bo Gulf International Cruise Port (China), in order to improve the qualifications and quality of staff, enhance mutual understanding and cultural exchange. In addition, promote exchange and cooperation between the management departments of tourist ports in Guangxi, China and Vietnam to facilitate customs procedures and improve customer satisfaction.
According to travel agencies, tourists arriving by cruise ship have the following advantages: They are large, spend a lot, like shopping, sightseeing, and experiencing local culture and cuisine. However, cruise tourists also have the disadvantage of rarely staying overnight at their destination, but only coming and going during the day. Most of the entertainment activities of tourists take place on the ship. Therefore, the construction of attractive destinations and increasing the spending capacity of tourists are being implemented by localities to attract and retain tourists.
Before the Covid-19 pandemic, Quang Ninh welcomed about 100 luxury cruise ships each year, with about 150,000-180,000 international tourists. Therefore, to return to this number as well as aim to become an international cruise tourism center, in the coming time, representatives of Ha Long International Passenger Port will continue to promote working programs with a number of major international cruise lines to discuss cooperation opportunities, discuss infrastructure investment, cruise tourism development and mechanisms and procedures to develop cruise tourism, attracting visitors to Quang Ninh. In addition, the tourism industry will continue to research customer tastes to create specific tourism products and product chains associated with each tourist market; Focus on implementing promotion activities by conducting surveys and participating in promotions at major cruise tourism fairs... At the same time, there are promotional programs through various media channels for tourists to access information about Quang Ninh's tourism products and destinations.
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