2:06:13 PM | 31/10/2006
China was named the first among countries and territories having most visitors to Hanoi, the capital city of Vietnam in October, showing a good signal after a long slump, the municipal department of tourism announced.
In the month, the city welcomed 88,900 vacationers from China, making up 14.8 per cent of the total number of international tourists to Hanoi.
This was attributable to the efforts of the city's tourism sector, including the launch of a sea route from China to the World heritage site of Ha Long Bay in the northern coastal province of Quang Ninh.
Australia and South Korea came next with 10.3 per cent and 10.2 per cent, respectively. Japanese visitors accounted for 8.7 per cent of the figure; French, 6.8 per cent, and American 6.5 per cent.
The city's tourism service is also getting ready for the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Economic Leaders' Meeting in Hanoi in mid- November. It has printed 3,000 leaflets on Hanoi's attraction to distribute at the event.
A network of information centers located around the Hoan Kiem Lake and at Noi Bai International Airport will provide tourism information to foreign visitors.
Hanoi boasts 34 hotels ranked 3-5 stars, which meet only 70 per cent of demands of international tourists during this "hot" tourism season, according to Cao Thi Ngoc Lan, deputy director of the Department.
The city targets to receive 5.7 million tourists in 2006, including 1.2 foreign visitors, up 22 per cent on-year.
VietNamNet
Vietnamese
