Hanoi (VNA) –✅ Hanoi has set itself a target towelcome about 11 million domestic tourists by the end of 2020, according thecity’s tourism sector.

Based on forecasts and Hanoi’s socio-economic developmentscenarios to counter the COVID-19 pandemic, the city will give priority to therecovery of the domestic tourism. Accordingly, some tourist destinations in the city have loweredticket fees or presented gifts to attract more visitors. The Department of Tourism said it will focus on tourismproducts which Hanoi boasts strengths in, such as heritage tourism, ecotourismand agrotourism when COVID-19 is brought under control. The sector will also work to further promote the city’simage as a safe, friendly and civilised destination, and improve human resourcesquality. Night-time economy is expected to help develop Hanoitourism, according to tourism experts and policymakers. The Hanoi Old Quarter, located in the downtown in Hoan Kiemdistrict, is the most popular destination in the capital city. Tourists comehere to explore ancient streets, craft products, local food or experience livesthere. In the evening, streets become more crowded and lively with Hang Dao –Dong Xuan night fair and outdoor music performances. Since 2016, Hanoi has allowed Hoan Kiem district to pilotthe extension of opening hour of bars and restaurants to 2am. As a result,their revenues increased by about 30 percent. Following the pilot, tourist arrivals in 2016 neared 1.4million, up 22.8 percent from a year earlier. The figure went up to 1.95million in 2017, nearly 2.2 million in 2018 and 2.5 million in 2019. Between January and May 2020, Hanoi’s tourism sector earnedover 16.6 trillion VND (715 million USD), a deep reduction compared to the sameperiod last year. However, it was still an encouraging figure, as both the nationaland global economies have been adversely impacted by the pandemic. There are 3,499 tourist accommodation facilities with 60,782rooms in Hanoi. Among them, 66 hotels with 9,953 rooms have three- to five-starratings, and eight condotels with 1,534 rooms have four- or five-star ratings. According to the Vietnam National Administration of Tourism,foreign tourist arrivals to Vietnam in the first five months of this yeartotalled 3.7 million while the number of domestic holidaymakers stood at 16million, down 50 percent and 58.5 percent, respectively, from the same periodlast year. The capital city last year welcomed nearly 29 million tourists,up 10.1 percent year-on-year, more than 7 million of them foreign guests,increasing by 17 percent. In recent years, Hanoi has been hailed as one of the mostattractive destinations in the region and the world by prestigiousinternational organisations such as “Asia’s Leading Destination” and the“World’s Leading Destination” in 2018. In 2019, Hanoi won the Travelers’ Choice Awards and wasranked among the 25 leading destinations in Asia, and the 25 world’s leadingplaces on TripAdvisor website. CNN listed Hanoi along with Phu Quoc Island in the MekongDelta province of Kien Giang as the best travel destinations in Asia in 2019. Many highlights of Hanoi were recently listed in the CNN’sarticle suggesting 13 memorable experiences for foreign visitors in Vietnamsuch as “search for the best pho in Hanoi”, “make vermicelli noodles in Cu Davillage”, and “ride the Reunification Express (officially known as North-SouthRailway)”. Hanoi ranked fifth among the seven best places in Asia forsolo travellers by Bigseventravel. The Italian tourism website described Hanoi as a hectic,crazy and often confusing city, and a wonderful base from which to explore thenorth of Vietnam, including the world natural heritage site of Ha Long Bay inthe northeastern province of Quang Ninh and the popular resort town of Sa Pa inthe northern mountainous province of Lao Cai. According to Mastercard’s Asia Pacific Destinations Index,Hanoi ranked 15th among the 20 leading destinations in the region./.