Hanoi (VNA) – Last year,northern localities enjoyed flourishing tourism while many destinations in thisregion won international awards and recognition, greatly contributing toVietnam’s tourism development.

Vu The Binh, Chairman of theVietnam Tourism Association, said northern provinces and cities have shownfruitful cooperation in creating many tourism products to attract more visitorsand encourage holidaymakers to extend their stay, thus helping with tourismdevelopment nationwide, reported Dau tu (Vietnam Investment Review).

Tourism inthe north has bounced back strongly since the COVID-19 pandemic was broughtunder control, especially in 2023.

Nguyen ManhThan, head of the group of northern localities’ tourism associations andChairman of the Hanoi Tourism Association, said the Hanoi association workedwith its peers to organise many programmes last year such as the one on tourismdevelopment cooperation between eight northeastern provinces and Ho Chi MinhCity; a trip for the tourism associations of some provinces, including QuangNinh, Hai Phong, Hai Duong, Thai Binh, Nam Dinh, and Ninh Binh, to explore products in central Binh Dinh province; and a delegation of travel companiescoming to Laos for tourism promotion activities.

He noted thanks tosuch programmes, many new tours and routes have taken shape, forming stronglinks among localities to attract more visitors to their destinations.

In 2023, Vietnam’tourism revenue was estimated at 37.8 trillion VND (1.5 billion USD), surging52.5% from the previous year, proving the effectiveness of travel stimulationpolicies of provinces and cities, including those in the north. Many in thisregion like Hanoi, Quang Ninh, and Ninh Binh were among the best performersnationwide in terms of the tourist number and revenue, according to theVietnam National Authority of Tourism.

In addition, manyinternational tourism titles came to northern localities last year. Forexample, Hanoi was named Asia’s Leading CityDestination and Asia's Leading City Break Destination atthe World Travel Awards 2023, HaGiang province – Asia’s Leading Emerging Tourism Destination, Ha Nam province – Asia's Leading Regional Cultural Destination, Moc Chaudistrict (Son La province) – Asia's Leading Regional Nature Destination, CucPhuong National Park – Asia's Leading National Park, andTam Dao township (Vinh Phuc province) – Asia’s Leading Town Destination.

Internationalmedia have also honoured many destinations in the north such as Ha Long Bay asone of the idyllic seaside places across Asia towatch sunrise and sunset by TravelLeisure (the US), Hanoi as one of the most beautiful destinations in Southeast Asia by The Travel (Canada), and Ninh Binh as one of the best places to travelin 2023 by Forbes (the US).

Most recently,Ha Long Bay of Quang Ninh province and Sa Pa township of Lao Cai province werelisted among the seven destinations honoured at the Traveler’s Choice AwardsBest of the Best of Tripadvior.

To enrichtours and strongly help develop tourism in 2024, Binh suggested localities in thenorth further capitalise on such new products as golf tourism, MICE (meetings, incentives, conferences, and exhibitions)tourism, cultural tourism, and ecological tourism.

As northern destinationsare forecast to attract more domestic and international tourists who will stay longerand spend more there in the coming time, travel companies have been working tocreate new tours and products focusing on the region’s advantages, anddiversify services to raise revenue.

Meanwhile,Than noted the Hanoi Tourism Association will coordinate with other localitiesto increase promotion and stimulation activities as part of Visit Vietnam Year2024. The group of northern localities’ tourism associations will alsostrengthen partnerships with domestic and international airlines to introducetheir products and services to passengers and organise tours moreprofessionally./.