Hanoi (VNA) – Tens of thousands of internationaltourists have arrived in Vietnam by cruises this year, with the latest one -Spectrum of the Seas – bringing about 4,300 visitors to the cities of NhaTrang, Vung Tau, and 🧔Ho Chi Minh City from August 21-22.

Spectrum of the Seas, Asia's largest luxury cruise ship, docked at Nha Trang port on August 21, marking its visit for the second timein a month. In the first half of this year, Vietnam attracted over 6.6million foreign visitors, about 30,000 of them came by sea. Particularly, 11 cruises with over 13,000 touristsarrived in Khanh Hoa province. In the first half of this year, Khanh Hoa received over2.7 million visitors, about 70% of this year’s target.

Wu Huimin, captain of Royal Caribbean's Spectrum of the Seas, said that when the cruise docked at Tokyo port to pick up Japanese tourists,they were looking forward to coming to Vietnam because of the country’sbeautiful scenes and friendly people.

The ca☂ptain said that during the 12-day journey, about 4,300guests on the cruise will explore Asia's top destinations including Nha Trangcity and Ba Ria-Vung Tau provinc𒁏e in Vietnam, Tokyo, Kumamoto, and Kagoshima inJapan, Hong Kong (China), and Singapore.

Angie Stephen, CEO of Royal Caribbean InternationalAsia-Pacific, said that the company owns the world's leading fleet with 226cruises. Two of its cruises will soon return to Vietnam, andexpectedly bring tourists to Hue city, Nha Trang city, and Ba Ria-Vung Tauprovince.

The official said that at the docks, cruise passengersare interested in experiencing local culture, visiting craft villages,shopping, and enjoying local food, which will bring economic benefits toVietnam's tourism industry.

Tran Thi Thu Hien, Deputy Director of the Department ofTourism of Ba R♐ia𝔍-Vung Tau province, said that cruises create opportunities forthe province to promote its image and boost tourism.

Hien said that with the local Cai Mep - Thi Vai deep-water port,the province has over the recent past welcomed three large cruises, which shows that cruisetravel has returned to normal. She said the province is developing a specific tourismpromotion plan for international cruises

At the Seatrade Cruise Asia Pacific slated to take place inHong Kong in October, the province will connect with the world’s leading cruisefirms to attract more international visitors.

Nguyen Quy Phuong, head of ꦰtourism promotion managementdepartment under the Vietnam National Authority of Tourism, said that there are15-16 million cruise tourists in the world each year. Although the number of the tourists in this group is not large, this is asegment with high spending and long stays./.