With international visitors nowhere in sight, officials and tourism operators in Hanoi are fully focusing on the domestic travel market.
Dan Tri reports that Hanoi anticipates welcoming 11 million travelers by the end of this year.
To that end, tourist destinations in the city have reduced their ticket fees in an attempt to draw more people, while the municipal Department of Tourism has said it will focus on Hanoi's strengths of heritage tourism, ecotourism and agrotourism.
Officials will also continue focus on the weekend pedestrian area around Hoan Kiem Lake, which has proven hugely popular, while also encouraging evening activities such as bars and nightlife.
According to the news source, tourism in Hanoi brought in US$715 million from January to May, a steep drop from the same period in 2019, but officials were still pleased with the amount given the global and domestic economic picture.
In 2019, almost 30 million people visited Hanoi, 7 million of whom arrived from overseas, so the 2020 aim of 11 million represents a massive, though understandable, fall.
While such figures are fairly dire, it appears that domestic travel is ramping up fast, especially as airlines and many hotels are offering substantial discounts. Reuters reports that 26,000 flights are expected to take off in July, carrying 5 million around Vietnam — these would represent increases of 16% and 24%, respectively, over the same month last year.
As anyone who has recently flown domestically can attest, planes and airports are full, so all hope is not yet lost for the tourism sector.
