The Turtle Tower and the Sword Lake (Photo : Getty Images)
Hanoi, the capital city of Vietnam, has drawn numerous investors to commence sweeping tourism projects. Despite these plans, there remains a need to revive existing Hanoi tourism products such as the old quarter and cultural heritage sites. Hanoi can improve the state of these products through infrastructure and human resources investments.
In the recent years, the tourism sector of Hanoi has achieved many substantial developments. However, according to tourism managers and enterprise workers, the improvements have not reached the city’s potential and expectations.
A recent conference was held within the Vietnam International Travel Mart’s framework at the International Exhibition Center in Hanoi. The event seeks to increase tourism cooperation between countries, organizations, cities and provinces with high tourism potential.
The meeting has also paved the way for state tourism organizations to obtain constructive criticisms and to accept support in overcoming challenges.
Apparent developments have been observed in Vietnam’s tourism sector, specifically that of Hanoi. A total of 21.8 million tourists has visited Hanoi last year, higher than the numbers for 2015 by 11 percent. Four million of these visitors were international tourists, raising the numbers by 23 percent compared to that of the previous year.
Economic structures have been transformed and opportunities for employment have been created through tourism developments. The advancement has also brought improvement to living standards, global integration and the image of the country in general.
Hanoi holds numerous resources for tourism, making it a superior destination, said Nguyen Van Tuan, the general director of Vietnam National Administration of Tourism.
The development of Hanoi’s tourism sector can be achieved either through the creation new products or through the renovation of the available ones, Tuan added.
The capital city has drawn many investors for large-scale tourism projects to create new products. But still, Hanoi tourism sector can still be improved through the renovation of existing products including the old quarter, Sword Lake and cultural heritage sites. The industry must focus on investing in infrastructure and human resources.
