Positive signals for Vietnam's cruise ship market

SuperStar Aquarius (Star Cruises) takes visitors to

  Ha Long City, Quang Ninh Province (Photo: TITC / Truyen Phuong

According to the World Tourism Organization (UNWTO), cruise tourism to the world in 2020 tends to shift and develop strongly in Asia. Many of the world's major shipping lines routinely take passengers on the Europe-America-Mediterranean route that has begun operating the route to the Asia-Pacific region.This area is not only an attractive destination but also a major market for international cruise ships.

Not out of the trend, Vietnam with the favorable conditions have created the attraction of marine tourism for domestic and international tourists.Dubbed the "golden forest, silver sea", our country has long coastline with thousands of islands, stretching beaches, rich ecosystems and famous bay on the world tourist map as Ha Long Bay, Nha Trang Bay, Vinh Hy Bay, Lang Co Bay ...

In addition, Vietnam is conveniently located between two of the largest cruise tourism centers in the region - Hong Kong and Singapore - where economic development, including tourism, is strong.Therefore, the 3,200 km long coastal zone is considered as the "big door" to bring Vietnam access to countries in the region and the world through the South China Sea.

With these advantages, the Vietnamese cruise industry is showing signs of optimism through the increasing number of international visitors arriving by boat.According to statistics from the General Statistics Office, there are 284,855 arrivals by sea, of which more than 10 million international arrivals in 2016, up 67.7% over 2015.In the first 6 months of 2017, the number of visitors arriving by sea means 170,843 arrivals, an increase of 26% over the same period last year.

Vietnam is considered an attractive market by major ocean carriers such as Royal Caribbean International (USA), Star Cruises, Costa Crociere SpA, and many international cruise ships with thousands of passengers:On 6/2/2017, the Celebrity Millennium cruise ship (Royal Caribbean Cruises Lines) has brought 2,150 international visitors and more than 950 crews to Chan May port (Thua Thien - Hue). On 10/4/2017, Diamond Princess luxury vessel (Carnival Corporation & Plc, USA) has brought more than 2,700 visitors and about 1,200 crews landing at Chan May port…

Most recently, on June 23, 1974, Majestic Princess Cruises (Princess Cruises) docked in Phu My port (Ba Ria - Vung Tau) carrying 1,340 employees and 3,560 international visitors to Vietnam.

It can be seen, tourist ships in our country are showing positive signals, however, according to experts, this pace of development is not commensurate with the potential.In order to improve attractiveness and attract customers, it is necessary to continue to improve policies, infrastructure, facilities and tourism services.

Currently, international visitors entering Vietnam are applying a visa policy with a fee of $ 5 per person, while the entry procedure is simplified, shortening the waiting time of visitors.

In terms of seaports serving for sea-going ships, some deep-water ports are still receiving international passenger ships such as Thi Vai - Cai Mep port complex (Ba Ria - Vung Tau) and Phu My port (Ba Ria - Vung Tau province). , Chan May (Thua Thien Hue), Tien Sa (Da Nang), Ha Long (Quang Ninh), Cam Ranh (Khanh Hoa) ...

In that, Chan May port is one of 46 seaports chosen by the Asian Yachting Association as a stopover for yachts in Southeast Asia.After upgrading the port, it will be able to meet the needs of customers of famous shipping lines in the world. It is expected that in 2017, Chan May port will receive about 54 cruise ships of all kinds with more than 113,000 international tourists and 45,000 crews to visit in the central coastal provinces.

As in Cai Mep port (Ba Ria - Vung Tau) - one of the multi-functional ports is gradually marking on the world navigation map in international transshipment.Every year, the port has welcomed a number of international cruise ships, including the Genting Dream luxury cruise liner group (Genting Dream Cruise Line Hong Kong and Dream Cruise Line), bringing 2,044 visitors from Singapore to Vietnam. 8/11/2016.In particular, the event to welcome 194,000 tons of super-containerized Margrethe Maersk on Feb 20, 2017 brought Cai Mep Port into one of 19 deep-water ports around the world capable of receiving about 200,000 ton vessels.

Notably, the project of international passenger terminal Phu Quoc (Kien Giang province) is currently in the process of being completed, will be the first international standard passenger terminal in Vietnam.After being put into use, the port is capable of receiving international passenger and cargo ships with a capacity of between 5,000 and 6,000 passengers. Therefore, it contributes to promoting tourism, creating a motive force for socio-economic development in Phu Quoc island district in particular and Kien Giang province in general.

Inaugurated and put into use since September 2015, Tuan Chau International Passenger Terminal has received foreign vessels and is also the largest artificial yacht port in Vietnam.After upgrading the service (from November 2016), the port has become a high-end complex with a network of terminals, lounges, operating areas, condominiums, restaurants, shopping centers, golf course, international hospital ... and capable of receiving 2,000 ships anchoring, picking up guests, contributing to improve capacity to serve tourists to visit Ha Long Bay.

With the potentiality and prospects of development, the tourism market of our country can contribute to economic development for the local advantages of marine tourism such as Ha Long, Da Nang, Hue, Nha Trang, Phu Quoc ...In the long term, in order to strongly develop the type of cruise tourism, it is necessary to invest in the construction of a system of specialized ports for tourist or multi-purpose ports capable of receiving passengers and goods of high capacity; Develop diversified services for guests such as city tour, entertainment services, shopping, cuisine in the locality where ships anchor; Continue to build ventilation mechanisms, simplify entry procedures for tourists ...