Local authorities, travel agencies, and four- and five-star hotels in Hanoi have launched the stimulus program "Hanoians and Tourists Experience Four- and Five-Star Hotel Services in Hanoi"  to attract domestic tourists to Hanoi, especially this summer and fall which includes the 70th anniversary of the capital's liberation.

Themed "Hanoi - Come to Fall in Love", the program is designed to encourage Hanoi residents and travelers to stay and experience the services of local luxury hotels.

The lush greenery of the JW Marriott Hotel Hanoi

The program is among a series of activities to help the city attract 27 million target visitors in 2024, up 9.2% on year. The figures include 5.5 million international visits (with 3.8 million stays), up 16.4%. Total revenue from tourists is expected to reach about VND103.74 or over (US$4.2 million), up 11.1% from 2023, while the average room occupancy rate of accommodation establishments will rise to 62%, an increase of three percentage points from the 2023 benchmark.

The program is in line with the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism's "Vietnamese travel to Vietnam - Vietnam I love it" to encourage domestic visitors to travel within the country.

A family vaccination at the JW Marriott Hotel Hanoi.

To date, four- and five-star hotels in the city have offered product packages in response to the latter program, ranging from preferential rates, room - meal/drink/tea party - gala combo, room - seminar - transportation, meal/drink - pool combo, to service discount vouchers, such as Hotel de l'Opera Hanoi's "Summer Indulgence Staycation," Sofitel Legend Metropole Hanoi's "City Vacation" and "Luxury Afternoon Tea," Movenpick Living West Hanoi's "Happy Summer Vacation," and others.

"In addition to offering attractive accommodation packages, we expect more response, participation, and cooperation from tourism businesses and media agencies to attract tourists and Hanoi residents to stay at four- and five-star hotels in Hanoi" Minh said, adding that in order to ensure the synchronized deployment of the city's tourism offerings, links and cooperation should be established between government agencies, associations, airlines, travel agencies, accommodations, transportation providers, destinations, and shopping, dining, and entertainment venues.

A foreign visitor to Movenpick Hanoi Centre Hotel.

During the meeting, representatives of hotels and media agencies proposed solutions to further promote the image, brands, and services of hotels in the capital, which will help boost the occupancy rate of lodging facilities in the coming period, especially during off-peak periods.

According to a JW Marriott Hotel Hanoi representative, with the strength of a hotel surrounded by green space, surrounded by a lake, right from the beginning of summer, JW Marriott has developed vacation packages for families in Hanoi City in particular and the whole country in general.

"We design vacation packages that combine pool and spa experiences for parents with playgrounds for children. In particular, the hotel has blended traditional and modern games so that tourists, especially foreigners, have the opportunity to experience and explore Vietnamese culture. However, despite offering a product package with many attractive incentives, hotels still face difficulties in spreading information about the product package to Hanoi residents and Vietnamese travelers, as many people think that using the services of 5-star hotels is quite expensive," admitted the representative of JW Marriott Hotel Hanoi.

The sidewalk cafe at Sofitel Legend- Metropole Hanoi Hotel.

According to Le Hong Thai, Director of Hanoitourist: "Hotels and travel agencies participating in the stimulus program need to be aware of the distinction of customers as Hanoi residents, visitors to Hanoi from other provinces, or international tourists. Hanoi residents often stay for one night. Those from other provinces often stay for the first and last night of their vacation, or for two consecutive nights. Hotel experiences alone aren't fascinating enough, so units need to cooperate to provide a package tour combined with sightseeing and experiential activities at some places in Hanoi city, such as culinary experiences, Hanoi city tours, or night tours. And it is necessary to make full use of the cultural values that are a special feature of the capital's tourism. In addition, hotels should consider allowing tourists to check in at 10 a.m. and check out at 2 p.m. based on the actual situation."

A young traveler enjoying a swim at the Grand Vista Hanoi Hotel.

Regarding the advertising campaign, Thai said that it requires collective strength to arouse the curiosity of holidaymakers. Nowadays, the mindset of young people is to live and enjoy the moment, so it is important to strengthen communication on social networking sites. Specifically, he suggested that an online sales day with heavy discounts should be chosen to get customers interested in the program.

As Hanoi hotels face difficulties in developing products and communication activities, Deputy Director of Hanoi Tourism Nguyen Hong Minh pledged to always support them. He also hopes that media and press agencies will actively cooperate with hotels and the department to run the marketing campaign so that the "Hanoians and Tourists Experience Four- and Five-Star Hotel Services in Hanoi" program will have a significant impact.