Director of the municipal Department of Tourism Do Dinh Hong said the number of foreign tourists to Hanoi surpassed 2 million in the first half of this year, marking a dramatic year-on-year increase of 33%.
 

Director of Hanoi Department of Tourism Do Dinh Hong speaks at the meeting.

He affirmed that in the past time, the city's tourism sector has been interested in the inspection and examination to ensure the health and safety tourism environment.
Particularly, the number of Chinese visitors to Hanoi capital in the first 6 months of 2016 increased strongly at around 250,000 arrivals, meanwhile, Khanh Hoa province received nearly 200,000 Chinese tourists, according to Director Hong.
To deal with the influx of Chinese tourist arrivals in Hanoi, the municipal tourism sector focused on activities in welcoming, guiding as well as closely monitoring for these visitors.
During the meeting, Nguyen Dao Dung, deputy head of the Vietnam National Administration of Tourism’s Travel Department, said the municipal tourism sector needs to actively increase inspection to prevent unexpected incidents in the time ahead.
Chairman of the Vietnam Tourism Association Vu The Binh called for closely managing travel company operators and tour guides.
Chairman of the municipal People’s Committee Nguyen Duc Chung instructed that violations be seriously punished, including the involvement of unregistered foreigners in the tourism business, and the distortion of Vietnam’s history and culture by foreigners who work illegally as tour guides.
 

Photo for illustration.

The municipal authorities also asked the Tourism Department to propose measures ensuring the legitimate interests of Chinese visitors, while deporting and banning foreigners from entering the country if they are found working as tour guides illegally.
Head of the Hanoi Public Security’s immigration management office Le Manh Tu asked tour operators to alert the police immediately in case of any abnormal occurrence.
The municipal Department of Tourism will participate in the tourism promotion fairs at the JATA in Japan in September and in London in UK in November.
The department will continue to hold some tourism events including: Hanoi-Vietnam tourism and traditional craft villages festival 2016 from September 30 to October 4, 2016, Hanoi Ao dai Festival 2016 from October 14-16 and the "Hanoi's memories" programme in December.