On the first day of the New Year, thousands of foreign tourists arrived in Vietnam, promising a busy season for the country’s tourism sector in 2013.

On January 1, the central city of Da Nang welcomed the first international flight of Singapore ’s Silk Air, with 126 passengers.

In 2012, Da Nang served about 157,000 international visitors by air, up more than 236 percent from the previous year. The central city is now the destination of nine air routes operated by international airlines, contributing to increasing the number of visitors to the city.

Also on January 1, the northern mountainous province of Ha Giang held a ceremony to welcome first international tourists from France, the US and European countries to the province’s Dong Van Stone Plateau, which is recognised as a member of the Global Network of National Geoparks (GGN) by UNESCO.

Last year, the province received more than 380,000 visitors, including 90,000 foreigners, up 15 percent from the previous year. It earned nearly 400 billion VND from the tourism sector.

In Ho Chi Minh City , 315 tourists from Germany , and 150 visitors from Hong Kong arrived at Tan Son Nhat International Airport on the first day of the New Year. They were given a warm welcome by Deputy Director of the municipal Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism, La Quoc Khanh.

Saigontourist Travel Service Company reports that it has served 15,000 tourists joining 50 inbound and outbound tours during the Christmas and New Year holiday.

The company served more than 150 foreign tourists from France , Russia , Ukraine and China on December 31, 2012 and January 1, 2013 .

Saigontourist will greet 3,000 tourists and crew members aboard the cruise liner SuperStar Aquarius on January 3. They will visit Ha Long Bay as part of a cooperation programme between the company and Star Cruises.

Star Cruises is expected to bring 130,000 foreign visitors and sailors to Ha Long Bay, Da Nang , Nha Trang and HCM City between November 2012 and April 2013.

Earlier on December 30, the ancient city of Hue welcomed the two millionth guest, who is Sandra Noel, a British tourist./.VNA