Vietnam to build ports for cruises

Mr Kelvin, the Asia branch director of the well-established American cruise line brand says Vietnam has the ability of make good use of cruises and become the attractive destination for international cruise companies. To be specific, Vietnam can connect a voyage to Singapore with 2 cruises per week and each cruise has a capacity of 3,600 passengers.

At the present, the main cruise trips in Vietnam are operated in Ha Long, Hue, Danang, Nha Trang, Vung Tau and Ho Chi Minh City. Cruise products and services are expected to bring huge profit to the tourism industry of Vietnam. In order to benefit from cruise tourism, Vietnam needs to invest in upgrading infrastructure and high-end tourism services, particularly tailor-made ports for cruises.

In July the number of foreign arrivals in Vietnam reached 466,000, an increase of 11.6% compared to last month. Overall, during the first 7 months of 2012, the number rises to as high as 3,832,000, an increase of 10.8% over the same period last year. Arrivals by sea achieve most impressive increase (55%), reaching 38,600 visitors.