Quang Ninh (VNA) – Sixty international cruise ships with a total of some80,000 passengers aboard have registered to dock at Ha Long International Portin the northeastern province of Quang Ninh this year, according to theprovincial Department of Tourism.

Renowned names include Mein Schiff 6 & 5, Celebrity Solstice, Noordam, MSCSpendida, and Westerdam.

Earlier,Portuguese-flagged cruise liner Vasco Da Gama carrying 650 German tourists, andCelebrity Solstice of Malta nationality with 3,000 European and Americanpassengers made port call in the locality on the last day of 2023 to welcomeNew Year’s Eve.

Othertwo cruise ships, Zhao Shang Yi Dun from China and Westerdam from the Netherlands,brought nearly 2,200 Chinese, European, and American visitors to Ha Long city onJanuary 4.

Thosemarked the post-pandemic recovery of the cruise tourism sector.

Thecruise tourism season usually starts in October and ends in April. In the lastthree months of 2023, Quang Ninh welcomed 23 cruise liners with 23,000tourists.

Meanwhile,13 cruise ships carrying nearly 20,000 foreign passengers on board have registeredto add Ha Long as a port of call in January this year. Notably, CelebritySolstice has marked its return in Ha Long for the eighth time since October,and Zhao Shang Yi Dun the eighth time since November 2023.

Theinternational cruise liners will diversify tourist resources in Quang Ninhprovince and Vietnam as a whole, especially in low travel season.

DeputyDirector of the provincial Department of Tourism Nguyen Huyen Anh said the office has joined hands with others tofacilitate immigration procedures and offer the best services to foreignvisitors.

Witha view to luring more cruise tourists, Quang Ninh will roll out new products such as an exhibition space that spotlights the culture of DaoThanh Y ethnic minority group in Uong Bi city, Ha Long City Tour, and a tour todiscover coal mining sites.

Besides, the department has ordered relevant quarters to pay due attention todeveloping tourism infrastructure, expanding market, introducing local immigration policy,while launching new offerings to lengthen visitors’ stay and increase theirspending.

Endowed with naturaladvantages for marine tourism, Quang Ninh boasts a coastline of over 250kilometres and more than 2,000 islands of various sizes that account fortwo-thirds of the total in Vietnam.

In particular, Ha Long Bay, literally “the bay of descendingdragons”, is recognised as a world natural heritage site by UNESCO twice, in1994 for its globally outstanding aesthetic merit and in 2000 for itsgeological - geomorphological value./.