Reopening tourist routes

At exactly 7:00 a.m. on November 16, the Blue Dream Melody ship from Beihai (China) docked at Ha Long International Passenger Port with more than 1,123 Chinese tourists.

Here, leaders of the People's Committee of Quang Ninh province, Ha Long city and many departments and branches were present to present flowers and congratulate tourists on the first train resuming the journey from Bac Hai to Ha Long after a long interruption.

As someone who directly traveled on the train from Bac Hai and Ha Long, Mr. Nguyen Lam Nguyen, Deputy Director of Quang Ninh Department of Tourism, said: The two localities have discussed and worked very closely to build a new route connecting Bac Hai - Ha Long.

A delegation of officials from the Quang Ninh Department of Tourism went to Bac Hai and experienced the cruise to Ha Long City on this ship. On that basis, the two sides will evaluate and gradually improve the quality of services, moving towards building a regular operating itinerary for an attractive tour connecting the two localities.

"The two sides have designed a more diverse travel schedule for visitors from China to Vietnam in 2025. Not only stopping at Ha Long and visiting Quang Ninh, the schedule will be longer for visitors to explore other famous tourist destinations in Vietnam such as Da Nang and Hue. It is expected that in November 2025, there will be 3 Beihai - Ha Long passenger trains per week," said Mr. Nguyen.

According to Mr. Nguyen, the Beihai - Ha Long cruise ship route operated for 10 years, starting in 1998 to connect one of the 10 most beautiful cities in China with Ha Long City. After 2008, due to many reasons, the Beihai - Ha Long route stopped operating.

The reopening of this cruise ship is a concrete activity to realize the minutes of meetings and cooperation between the Provincial Party Committees of Ha Giang, Quang Ninh, Lang Son, Cao Bang (Vietnam) and the Party Committee of the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region (China).

Mr. Pham Van Hiep, Director of Ha Long International Passenger Port, said: The port has a modernly designed international wharf, capable of receiving ships with a capacity of up to 225,000 GRT, serving 2 ships with a capacity of nearly 10,000 passengers at the same time.

"Currently, this is the only specialized port in Vietnam to receive passenger ships and world-class super yachts; it is a favorite destination for international cruise lines, contributing to marking Vietnam on the world cruise map," said Mr. Hiep.

On the road, the fixed bus route between Nanning City (China) and Ha Long City (Vietnam) via Bac Luan II Bridge in Mong Cai City will be opened from September 3, 2024. The buses depart from Bai Chay Bus Station (Ha Long) and Phong Linh Station (Nanning), operating 2-way/6 days a week.

Regarding air routes, Quang Ninh province is promoting the opening of flight routes from major Chinese airports such as Wuxi and Jiangsu to Van Don International Airport, expected to operate in the fourth quarter of 2024.

"Attracting" tourists to the Mining land

According to information from the authorities of Quang Ninh province, in 2024, this locality strives to welcome 19 million tourists, including 3.5 million international visitors.

By the end of October, Quang Ninh had welcomed 16.8 million visitors, of which international visitors were estimated at over 3 million. Thus, Quang Ninh must welcome more than 2 million more visitors in the last 2 months of 2024 to complete the above target.

To complete the 2024 target, Quang Ninh has been implementing a series of synchronous and quality stimulus solutions to "attract" tourists at the end of the year.

Typically, on the morning of November 20, in Ha Long City, the Quang Ninh Department of Tourism coordinated with the Quang Ninh Tourism Association and Sun Group to organize a ceremony to announce cooperation to stimulate tourism "Quang Ninh - Four Seasons Destination".

The program has about 340 businesses in many fields such as hotels, restaurants, tourist attractions, and cruise ships participating, with over 350 stimulus packages and deep incentives for tourists from now until the end of the first quarter of 2025.

At the same time, from now until the end of the first quarter of 2025, the Quang Ninh tourism industry will carry out events and programs with key tourism highlights such as: Quang Ninh Culinary Festival at the end of December 2024; Spring Festival...

Ms. Nguyen Huyen Anh, Director of Quang Ninh Department of Tourism said: Recently, Quang Ninh tourism industry has proactively implemented many activities in an effort to restore tourism after the severe impacts of storm No. 3.

However, to create a lever with a great impact to help tourism recover and grow again, the industry needs the cooperation of businesses in the tourism service sector to improve competitiveness, reduce costs, and bring tourists quality products at attractive prices.

"We hope that the cooperation of businesses will create a strong wave of effects, attracting a large number of tourists to Quang Ninh," Ms. Huyen Anh expected.