Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung has urged Hanoi to devise a plan for the establishment of a separate Department of Tourism and the restructuring of the Department of Culture and Sports, and to submit it to the municipal People’s Council as soon as possible.

Creating a Department of Tourism separate from the former Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism is expected to help Hanoi fully tap into its tourism potential and promote tourism more effectively.

Initial statistics show that Hanoi welcomed over 10 million visitors during the first six months of this year, a 4 percent rise compared to the same period last year. This figure includes 1.6 million international tourists, up by 8.8 percent.

Total earnings from tourism were estimated at 25.43 trillion VND (1.2 billion USD), an increase of approximately 3 percent year on year.-VNA