Hanoi (VNA) 🍎– The total number of tourists visiting the capital city in the first half of this year is estimated to exceed 3 million, an annual increase of 36.9%, according to the Hanoi Statistics Office.

Of the amount, foreign and domestic arrivals numbered 2.15 million and 892,000, up 48.4% and15.4%, respectively. As of the end of June, the city had logged 3,760 tourist accommodation facilities, offering nearly 71,200 rooms. The average room occupancy rate for local 1-5 star hotels was 63.3% in the first six months of 2024. Hanoi currently boasts 43 food, 41 shopping, seven entertainment service businesses, and two health care establishments that meet standards for serving tourists. To professionalise tourism activities, the capital city has streamlined administrative procedures, making it faster and more convenient for businesses involved and tour guides. Hanoi is home to 1,784 international and 429 domestic travel service businesses, 32 tourist transport companies, seven representative offices of foreign travel firms, over 8,000 tour guides serving international and domestic travellers. Dang Huong Giang, Director of the municipal Department of Tourism, stated that it aims to foster linkages and cooperation among management agencies and major players of the sector such as associations, airlines, travel, accommodation, and transport service businesses to ensure the harmonious development of the city’s products. Initiatives are launched to enhance the promotion of the city's hotels and resorts and boost the occupancy rates at 4-5 star hotels. They include a new programme encouraging locals and tourists to experience services at these top rated hotels. Furthermore, the city has organised a survey of tourist destinations across Tay Ho district and developed tourism products that offer heritage and historical experiences at Ha Mo tourism site in Dan Phuong district, while conducted fact-finding trips to destinations in Ba Dinh district, and working on the development of agricultural and rural tourism models in Soc Son, Phuc Tho, and Quoc Oai districts. The authorities also pay heed to develop river tourism products connecting tourist destinations along the Red and Duong rivers, among other projects. Vice Chairman of the municipal People's Committee Nguyen Manh Quyen underscored that Hanoi is teaming up with other provinces and cities to develop interconnected tourism routes and products that complement each other. Among them are the one for spiritual and cultural experiences spanning Hanoi, Ha Nam and Ninh Binh provinces as well as the exploration and experiential tourism routes of Hanoi - Son La and Hanoi - Lao Cai - Lai Chau. According to the leader, the city is also diversifying its promotional activities through domestic television channels, digital platforms, websites, social media, and other suitable forms of online promotion. Additionally, tourist destination clips and guides in Hanoi have been standardised and translated into five languages, namely English, French, Chinese, Japanese, and Korean. For the remaining months of 2024, Giang revealed that the tourism sector will focus on organising a host of programmes and events, including the Hanoi Tourism Gift Festival, sports events, and thematic activities featuring local cultural and historical tourism products. There will also be a dialogue with businesses in the field that is set to launch the city’s stimulus programme./.