Hanoi (VNA) – Hanoi isholding a myriad of events and tours to capitalise on the ongoing 31st Southeast Asian Games (SEA Games 31) to popularise images of the capital and Vietnamas a whole among international friends.

The municipal TourismDepartment said it has ordered management boards of local destinations, accommodationestablishments, and travel companies to develop and launch new and specialtourism products on this occasion, including a cycling tour of the Bat Trangancient pottery village, night services on Son Tay and Trinh Cong Son pedestrianstreets, night tours of the Thang LongImperial Citadel and Hoa Lo Prison, a double-deck bus city tour, and atour for visitors to experience Southeast Asian cultures at the Vietnam Museumof Ethnology.

Some prestigioustravel companies such as Hanoitourist, Vietfoot Travel, LUX Travel, VI Travel,and Vietravel have debuted dozens of tours in which travellers can enjoy famousscenic landscapes and dishes of the capital and neighbouring localities.

A seriesof activities have been organised before SEA Games 31 and planned to take placeduring and after the region’s biggest sporting event.

Kickingoff those activities, the Tourism Department held the “Get on Hanoi 2022” inlate March, a highlight of which is a hot air balloon festival. This programmewas followed by the Friendship Journey in Quoc Oai district, the Tourism GiftFestival in the pedestrian zone around Hoan Kiem Lake, the Bat Trang TourismWeek, the launch of the Son Tay Tourism Year and the Son Tay Ancient Citadelpedestrian street, the opening ceremony of the Saint Giong Festival, and theLove Festival in Thuong Tin district.

On thisoccasion, the Hanoi Centre for Investment, Trade, and Tourism Promotion willorganise a tourism festival at the Hoan Kiem Lake pedestrian zone on May 13 -15 and a craft village food and tourism festival on Le Quang Dao street in NamTu Liem district from May 19 to 23.

Communicationshave also been increased with the production of publications and gifts tointroduce local tourism such as reprinting 3,500 tourism maps and 4,000 copiesof a book on Hanoi.

The TourismDepartment has been coordinating with the Vietnam Television and the HanoiTelevision and Radio Station to produce and broadcast a tourism promotionprogramme titled “Hanoi - Den de yeu” (Hanoi - Come to love) in two phases, fromApril to August and from September to December this year.

It is alsoworking with CNN International to make and broadcast a video clip on localtourism with the presence of the SEA Games 31 logo. Efforts are also being madeto increase introducing the city to international friends via tourism websitesand social networks.

To gear uppersonnel for the Games, the Tourism Department has opened training courses forthe cadres in charge of culture and tourism of the localities hostingcompetitions, travel businesses, and the 14 hotels accommodating the Gamesparticipating delegations, it noted.

For 2022,Hanoi looks to attract 9 - 10 million visitors, including 1.2 - 2 millionforeigners. It targets around 3.2 million tourist arrivals in the secondquarter of this year, including 150,000 - 200,000 foreigners.

Thecapital city welcomed about 2.8 million domestic visitors in the first quarter,an increase of 45.3 percent compared to the same period last year.

Themed “For a StrongerSoutheast Asia”, SEA Games 31 will take place in Hanoi and 11 nearby localitiesfrom May 12 to 23.

The biennial event was initiallyslated for late December but delayed due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

This is the second timeVietnam has hosted a SEA Games, after the first in 2003./.