3,000 plus tourists arrive in Ha Long Bay on two cruise ships

Two luxury cruise ships have brought over 3,000 European and American tourists to UNESCO-recognized heritage site Ha Long Bay, giving a fillip to the year-end international tourism season in Vietnam.

The Malta-based Celebrity Solstice docked at the Ha Long International Cruise Port Monday with 2,683 European and American tourists on board.

After disembarking, they visited famous destinations including the Quang Ninh Museum and also sampled local culture and cuisine in a city tour of Ha Long.

Located in the Gulf of Tonkin, Ha Long Bay includes some 1,600 islands and islets, forming a spectacular seascape of limestone pillars. The bay was named by UNESCO as a world heritage site twice – in 1994 and in 2000. Since its recognition as a natural world heritage site, it has attracted a lot of attention and praise from international media.

The Celebrity Solstice will leave Ha Long Bay at 5 p.m. Tuesday, ending a journey across Vietnam and returning to Hong Kong.

Marshall Islands-flagged Regatta cruise ship arrived in Ha Long Tuesday, carrying 700 tourists from Europe and the U.S.

After their tour of the city and Ha Long Bay, the ship will go on to Hue, Nha Trang and Ho Chi Minh City before leaving for Cambodia and Thailand.

In the last two months of the year, 16 famous cruise ships including Mein Schiff, Celebrity Solstice, Noordam, MSC Splendida and Westerdam have registered to dock at Ha Long Port

In September, Cyprus-flagged Spectrum of The Sea, known as Asia’s largest cruise ship, docked at the Nha Trang Port in central Vietnam’s world famous beach town with 4,000 international visitors.

A steady stream of luxury cruise ships with international visitors have docked at Vietnamese ports since the beginning of the year, as tourism picks up steam in the aftermath of the Covid-19 pandemic.

Nguyen Trung Khanh, general director of the Vietnam National Authority of Tourism (VNAT), said sea and island tourism was a spearhead product for Vietnam, so a lot of attention has been paid to upgrading and developing infrastructure at including the Ho Chi Minh City, Nha Trang, Quy Nhon and Tien Sa seaports.

Vietnam has welcomed 10 million foreign arrivals so far and this number is expected to reach 13 million by the end of this year.

The U.S. and Europe are among the largest markets, sending 600,000 and over 1.1 million tourists so far this year, respectively.