The French cruise ship LeSoleal set sail from Saigon port, Ho Chi Minh City, on February 6,finishing an eight-day voyage from Hai Phong city to the southern hubfor 200 passengers.
It was among a series of ships carrying passengers to Vietnam in the beginning of 2014.
President of the Viet Excursions Co. Ltd. Phan Xuan Anh said that thefive-star liner from the French operator Compagnie du Ponant willreturn to the Saigon port on February 10 with more than 100 tourists.
Another luxury ship named L’Austral from the operator will also arrive in the country in 2015, he added.
Meanwhile, Le Dinh Tuan, a representative of the Tan Hong travelcompany, said the firm is planning to welcome an array of well-knownluxury liners such as Seabourn Legend, AIDAura, SS Voyager, Nautica,Diamond Princess and Queen Elizabeth.
Accordingto the Saigontourist Travel Service Company (STS), from January 23 toFebruary 15, it is set to welcome more than 52,000 passengers and crewon over 20 international liners.
Anh said suchtravellers demand high-class services. Tourists boarding Le Soleal askedfor high-class cars to explore their destinations. They paid 500 USDfor use of a Mercedes, BMW or Audi for four hours.
Most tourists with families on the cruise spent heavily on luxury clothes, handbags, cosmetics and paintings.
STS Deputy General Director Vu Duy Vu said travel firms need toprovide new and diverse products for cruise travellers. Particularly,they should offer tours to coastal examples of world heritage andcultural and historical traditions.
Statisticsfrom the Vietnam National Administration of Tourism show that thecountry welcomed over 722,350 foreign arrivals in January, rising by 7.5percent from December and 21 percent from the same period in 2013.
In 2014, the sector aims at an additional 800,000 foreign tourists, ayear-on-year increase of 10 percent, and 37.5 million domesticvisitors.
It received nearly 7.6 million foreigners in 2013, up 10.6 percent from a year earlier.-VNA