Hanoi and HCM City welcome first foreign visitors

The first New Year visitors were welcomed at the airport by a delegation, including Head of the Market Department under the Vietnam National Tourism Administration, Director of the Hanoi Department of Tourism and representatives from travel units.

President of the Vietnam Fatherland Front’s Central Committee Nguyen Thien Nhan greeted the visitors in German language at the official meeting with foreign visitors to Hanoi.

Being the first foreign tourist to Hanoi, Thomas Bauche was presented with a copper replica of the Pavilion of the Constellation of Literature-a symbol of the capital city and a voucher of VND 25 million for a three day-two night tour in Vietnam.

Copper plates engraved with the image of the Pavilion of the Constellation of Literature were also offered to 14 other foreign tourists.

Returning to Vietnam for the second visit with his wife, Monika, Thomas said that he was very impressed by the first visit to Vietnam last year. This time, he and his spouse decided to stay in Vietnam for three weeks to explore Hanoi, Ha Long, Ninh Binh, Hue, Hoi An, Ho Chi Minh City and Southwestern region of Vietnam.

Later on the day, Ho Chi Minh City welcome eight first foreign visitors to the city in 2017 on flight VN30 of the Vietnam Airlines, departing from Germany and flight TG550 of the Thai Airways departing from London (England).

The New Year visitors, from the Netherlands, Germany, Belarus, the US, Belgium, were entertained with Vietnamese folk songs, and provided chances to make “to he” (a traditional toy for children in Vietnam which is made from glutinous rice powder in form of edible figurines such as animals, flowers) as well as practice writing calligraphy. All foreign visitors to the city on the first day of the New Year were presented with conical hats, New Year cards, the Ho Chi Minh City tourism publications, a city tour, and other coupons.

On board the flight VN30, Mr. Schiller Stefan from Munich, Germany, expressed his surprise and joy at the warm welcome at the airport and said that he visited Hanoi and Ha Long two years ago. This time, he would like to explore Ho Chi Minh City which, as he said, is dynamic and bustling. Meanwhile, on flight TG550 from London, Mr. Bart Verheyen, a Belgian national, said that Ho Chi Minh City was the destination, which he would like to celebrate the New Year in. After that, he would visit his friends and his wife’s relatives in Hanoi.

In 2016, Hanoi welcomed more than four million international visitors and 20 million domestic ones. The Hanoi tourism sector earned VND 62,000 billion, an increase of 13 percent compared to previous year. Most of foreign visitors are from China, the Republic of Korea, Japan, Australia, France, the US, Germany, Thailand. On average, each foreign visitor spent some USD 110 per day in Hanoi, doubling expense from a domestic one. Last year 5.2 million foreign tourists visited Ho Chi Minh City, up 10 percent over 2015. The estimated turnover for the city’s tourism sector is VND 103,000 billion. This year, the city will offer more publications on MICE, waterway and agricultural tourism to attract more tourists to the city.

Source: vnexpress.vn

Translated by Mai Huong