Since Vietnam fully opened its on March 15 2022, Quang Ninh has welcomed about 11.6 million visitors, 2.6 times higher than last year. (Photo: VOV)

Since the beginning of December, more than 3,000 people per day have been coming to the world natural heritage Ha Long Bay. Two-thirds of them are international tourists.

Kittichai Khammak, a Thai tourist, said he’s happy to return to Ha Long Bay, adding that he has been to Ha Long Bay many times and this is the destination he chose for his first overseas trip this year.

“Thailand also has bays and seas but there are no caves. Every time I come here, I always want to explore the place more,” said Khammak.

During the 2023 solar New Year holiday, Quang Ninh welcomed more than 100,000 tourists. Ha Long Bay received 13,500 visitors, two thirds of them foreigners. Good transportation infrastructure, attractive tourism products, and lots of promotions have made Quang Ninh a favorite tourist attraction.

From last March, when Vietnam reopened to tourism, until the end of 2022, Quang Ninh province welcomed 11.6 million visitors, 2.6 times higher than the same period in 2021. Those were mainly domestic tourists, but there are signs that international tourism is gradually returning to normal.

Tourists visit Ha Long Bay. (Photo: VOV)

After China began easing its border control measures, Quang Ninh’s tourism sector started making plans to handle the sharp increase in visitor numbers expected during the upcoming Lunar New Year.

Doan Van Dung, Director General of the Indochina Junk Company, which specializes in bringing guests to Ha Long Bay, said, “China is an important market for Vietnam, and Quang Ninh province in particular. The business community in Quang Ninh is anticipating a truly big push once China fully reopens, which will help our tourism industry recover to the  pre-pandemic level.”

Nguyen The Hue, Chairman of the provincial Tourism Association, said, “We’ve worked to diversify products to attract more tourists to Quang Ninh. Now we need to boost promotions to draw more international visitors.”

The Lunar New Year festival is a peak time for tourism and this year Quang Ninh hopes to welcome more than 12 million visitors, including 2 million foreigners.