Thenumber of foreign tourists coming to Hanoi jumped from 1.2 millionin 2008 to 2.1 million in 2012, while the number of domestic touristsgrew from 7 million to 12.3 million.
In the firsthalf of this year, despite a fall in the number of visitors to Vietnamdue to economic difficulties, Hanoi still welcomed more than onemillion foreign arrivals, a year-on-year rise of 15 percent, and 7.3million domestic visitors, up 8 percent.
Lastyear, Hanoi was listed the sixth most attractive destination in Asia bySmart Travel Asia, the region’s leading online travel magazine, andsecond in a list of 100 international cities with good hotel services bythe well-known tourism website Trivago. Recently, the city also enteredTripAdvisor’s Top 25 Destinations in Asia, the world’s largest travelwebsite.
The achievements are attributable toHanoi’s efforts to exploit the tourism potential of the expanded area.Besides renowned destinations like President Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum, VanMieu (Temple of Literature), Thang Long Citadel, Hoan Kiem lake andancient streets, Hanoi has paid more attention to developing othertourism sites, including Tan Da mountain in Ba Vi district, Duong Lamold village in Son Tay district and Van Phuc silk village in Ha Dongdistrict.
The city has implemented measures toensure tourists’ safety and invested in upgrading Hanoi’straditional destinations, as well as improving the quality of tourismproducts and services.
Hanoi has activelypromoted its image to visitors through tourism promotion programmes heldnot only in Vietnam but also in foreign countries like Russia, theUS and the Republic of Korea.
In 2008, theentire Ha Tay province, Me Linh district of Vinh Phuc province and fourcommunes of Hoa Binh province’s Luong Son district were incorporatedinto Hanoi, making it the 17th largest capital city in the world with atotal area of more than 3,300 sq km.-VNA