The Cyprus-flagged Spectrum of The Sea, known as Asia’s largest cruise ship, docked at Nha Trang Port on Thursday, carrying 4,000 international visitors to the famous beach resort town in central Vietnam.
The visitors onboard were mainly from France, Germany, Spain, Hong Kong, Thailand and Singapore.
After arriving in Nha Trang, they enjoyed tourism services and had lunch at Vinpearl Resort, then visited the Institute of Oceanography, Truong Son Craft Village, Ponagar Tower and other attractions.
The arrival of the cruise ship is a positive sign for Vietnam's tourism industry as the peak season for international tourism season starts, with Western tourists flocking to Vietnam for a winter holiday break.
Nha Trang is famous for its long, sandy beaches and scuba diving, attracting large numbers of affluent foreign travelers, especially South Koreans and Chinese. Nha Trang Bay is widely considered among the world's most beautiful.
Last month, Nha Trang beach was ranked one of 10 most viewed beaches on social media platform TikTok, according to a report by U.S. luggage storage company Bounce that analyzed the social media popularity of each beach based on the number of video views, including the hashtag of each location.
Operated by Royal Caribbean International (RCI), the 347-meter-long cruise ship has 16 decks, more than 2,000 cabins, and a capacity of 5,600 passengers.
On board there are 20 restaurants serving Western dishes and cuisines from Asian countries such as China and Japan.
According to Khanh Hoa's Department of Tourism, the province has welcomed 13 cruise ships with 17,642 visitors so far this year. There will be three more cruise ships arriving in Nha Trang next month.
Vietnam has recorded a significant increase in the number of international tourist arrivals by sea since the beginning of this year. So far this year, Vietnam has welcomed 8 million international arrivals, already achieving its annual target. The country now expects to receive about 12 million foreign visitors this year.
South Korea sent the highest number of visitors to Vietnam at 2.27 million, followed by China (almost 950,000) and the U.S. (502,000).
Starting August 15, the Vietnamese government extended visa-free entry from 15 days to 45 days for passport holders from Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Russia, South Korea, Spain, Sweden, and the UK. It has also extended the duration of e-visas from 30 days to three months with multiple entries.
Citizens of another 80 countries, including major economies such as India, Australia and the U.S., are currently eligible to enter the country using an e-visa.