US tourists put Ha Noi in Asian top 5
HA NOI — Ha Noi has been awarded the title of Asia’s second most attractive city by readers of the US-based Travel and Leisure magazine.
Viet Nam’s capital city was beaten by Thailand’s Bangkok which took the number one spot, but was ahead of China’s Hong Kong which was awarded third place.
Ha Noi Tourism Department director, Nguyen Quang Lan, said three festivals are planned for the city in the next four months.
The festivals will celebrate the 50th anniversary of Ha Noi’s liberation, the Southeast Asian Games and the Asian Network of Major Cities.
Lan said a tourism centre at Noi Bai international airport has been opened to provide information about Viet Nam’s traditional culture, history and interesting sites around town.
Last year, 931,000 foreign tourists visited the city and in the first half of this year 310,000 were recorded, an increase of 30 per cent over the same period last year.
A department official said the increase in tourist numbers in the second half of the year was halted by the severe acute respiratory system outbreak, but the department expected the numbers to rise in the leadup to and aftermath of the Southeast Asian Games to be held in Viet Nam this December.
The magazine’s readers’ poll also listed the Sofitel Metropole in Ha Noi in its 100 best hotels in the world.
The hotel was also recently recognised by the Viet Nam National Administration of Tourism for its contribution to the city’s tourism industry. — VNS
