Hanoi's tourism industry is bouncing back in 2023, with the number of international arrivals increasing, according to the municipal Department of Tourism.  

The department reported that the capital city received more than 3.7 million visitors in the January-February period, 2.8 times more than in the same period last year. Among the arrivals, international visitors are estimated at 535,000.

People can enjoy the romantically beautiful Caribbean trumpet flowers along the streets in Hanoi. Photo: Duy Khanh/ The Hanoi Times

This yielded nearly VND13.2 trillion (US$558.8 million) in tourism revenue, which surged 3.6 times from the previous year.

Director of the Hanoi Tourism Department Dang Huong Giang stated that these positive results were due to the fact that the department was actively developing cooperative activities in promoting and developing the domestic and international markets.

She added, the department has coordinated with relevant associations and businesses to build tourism products, and organize training courses to improve human resources. "We will organize more farm trips and press trips targeting potential markets."

In the coming time, the city’s tourism industry will strengthen the construction of tourism programs in association with key tourism provinces and cities in the Northern region, Ho Chi Minh City and southern provinces, and the Central Highlands region, Giang noted.

Besides, more night-time products will be introduced, including renewing activities in the pedestrian spaces of Hoan Kiem Lake and its vicinity, the ones around the Son Tay Ancient Citadel, in the southern urban area of Ring Road 3 in Hoang Mai District and around Thien Quang Lake in Hai Ba Trung District.

"We will continue to cooperate with tourism businesses and attractions, including relics and heritage destinations, to create night and experiential tourism products based on traditional values," she said.

“It is expected to create a highlight of the capital tourism in the near future”, she underlined.

This year, the city's tourism sector has set a target of 22 million visitors, 17.6% more than in 2022, of which 19 million are nationals, an increase of 10.5% over 2022. 

The city's tourism revenue is estimated at VND77 trillion (US$3.26 billion) this year, an annual rise of 28.2%. The average occupancy rate of accommodation establishments and hotels would reach 45%, up 5% year-on-year.

In 2022, some 18.7 million visitors came to the city, a 4.7-fold increase from the previous year.

The figure included 1.5 million international tourists and 17.2 million domestic travelers. Tourism activities brought in more than VND60 billion  (US$2.5 billion) to the city's coffers.

The average occupancy rate of accommodation establishments and hotels reached 41.2%, up 18.3% year-on-year.

Foreign tourists enjoy the experience tour in Hanoi's outskirts district of Phu Xuyen. Photo: Hoai Nam/ The Hanoi Times