The roofless 80-seat double-decker buses have 13 stops going through over 30 famous attractions in Hanoi (Photo: VNA)Hanoi (VNA) –After half a month of operation, Hanoi’s first “Hop on – Hop off” buses haveseen a growing number of passengers.
The roofless 80-seatdouble-decker buses have 13 stops going through over 30 famous attractions, allowingtravelers to explore and experience the city in their own way.
The operation time ofthe service is from 9:00 to 18:10. One bus will depart in every 30 minutes.Ticket price is 300,000 VND (13.2 USD) for a four-hour tour, 450,000 VND (19.8USD) for 24 hours and 650,000 VND (28.6 USD) for 48 hours.
Between 65 and 70percent of the tickets sold so far were purchased by foreigners and the 4-hourticket was sold most, accounting for more than 70 percent of the total sales.
Phuong Minh, a passengerfrom Hoang Mai district, Hanoi, said she received warm welcome from the driverand the tour guide while getting on the bus.
“The vehicle is equippedwith modern facilities. Passengers received free water and hats wheneverneeded. The travel was safe and we could see Hanoi from above,” Minh describedher trip.
“It’s interesting experience,” Minh said.
Sekino, a visitor fromJapan said: “We often take a bus to a tourist destination, and have nevertoured Hanoi like this before. It is interesting to look at the Ho Chi Minh Mausoleumfrom a higher view.”
He noted ticket pricesmight be slightly high, assuming that it led to the low number of passengersthe day he travelled. He suggested installing more fans on the bus to cool offthe heat.
[Photos: Hanoi's double-storey bus service thrills tourists]
During their four daysin Hanoi, Bruce Ch Shilan and his wife from New Zealand spent one fourth oftheir time on the “Hop on – Hop off” city tour.
Shilan said the tour isvery convenient as the bus took them to sightseeing locations that they wantedto visit.
Tsutomu Kikkawa, head ofJapanese-based Michinori Holdings, Inc., said the tour left a specialimpression on him as all of its stops are local popular cultural, historicaland scenic attractions.
A number of touristsasked the bus operator to improve the services on par with the prices.
Minh Hang, a resident ofHai Ba Trung district, said shortcomings, like illustrations and introductionon the bus not matching the destination outside, should be addressed to improvethe tour quality.
According to themunicipal Tourism Department, Hanoi served nearly 24 million visitors in 2017,up 9 percent against 2016.
It estimated that in the first half of 2018, the number of tourist to the city grew26 percent annually.
As a regional and globalattractive destination, Hanoi eyes to welcome 25.4 million tourists, including5.5 million foreigners, this year.-VNA
VNA
