Hanoi (VNA) – Tourism departments of Hanoi, ThuaThien – Hue, and Ho Chi Minh City organised special ceremonies to greet theirfirst tourists of the year arriving at the local international airports onJanuary 1.

First foreign visitors landed in the capital city’s Noi Bai InternationalAirport on a Vietnam Airlines plane. One of them was Timo Kux, a Germannational, who said he visits Vietnam about three or four times per year. Healso expressed his fondness for the country’s beauty after touring differentlocal tourist sites.

Hanoi welcomed 5.74 million foreign visitors in 2018, up 16percent against 2017, among 26 million tourists spending time in the city. Itaims to greet 6.7 million foreign visitors, out of nearly 28.6 million touristsin 2019.

Meanwhile, the central province of Thua Thien – Hue held adragon dancing performance at the Phu Bai International Airport and presentedkeepsakes to the passengers who came to the central province on the first dayof 2019 on a Vietnam Airline flight en route from Hanoi.

The ceremony opened a series of local culture- sport-tourismactivities set for 2019, including the Hue traditional handicraft festival, Hueinternational marathon day, and Coupe De Hue Cycle Race 2019.

A total of 4.25 million tourists visited the province lastyear, contributing 4.4 trillion VND (189.2 million USD) to the local tourismsector, up 11.8 and 25 percent from 2017, respectively. Thua Thien – Hue expectsto host between 4.5 and 4.7 million visitors this year for revenue of 4.7-4.9trillion VND.  

The HCM City Tourism Department, with support from theVietnam Airlines and Vietjet Air, greeted the first six foreign and sixdomestic tourists to the southern economic hub at the Tan Son Nhat InternationalAirport. The foreigners travelling on a Vietnam Airlines flight from Frankfurt,Germany and the domestic visitors came from the central city of Da Nang on aVietjet Air flight. Each lucky tourist received a free economy ticket fromtheir carriers and a free tour around the city’s popular destinations by theTugo tourism company.

The city welcomed about 36.5 million visitors, including 7.5million foreigners, last year. It sets a target of achieving its tourism growthof between 15-20 percent and serving about 8-8.5 million foreign holidaymakersin 2019.-VNA