HCM City (VNA) – Tourism in Vietnamand other countries in the lower part of the Mekong River such as Myanmar,Cambodia, Laos and Thailand has been booming in recent years, which is expectedto help Vietnam draw investment from diverse sources both at home and abroad.
Michael Duck, Vice President of Informa MarketsAsia Corporation, said there are more flights in Vietnam connecting domesticand foreign locations. For example, new airline Vinpearl Air is expected to startflying soon after receiving a business licence in July.
Earlier, in December 2018, Air Asia signed a memorandumof understanding with local partners in Vietnam reaffirming its intention toestablish a low-cost airline, he added.
Recently, many international hotel groups haverevealed plans to build more locations in Vietnam. Specifically, Oyo Hotels& Homes will invest 50 million USD in Vietnam in the next years. Meanwhile,Eastin Grand Resort Vung Tau Vietnam will open in 2022 with 192 villas and4,000 resort units, and Centara Hotels & Resort strives to open at least 20new hotels in Vietnam by 2024.
The luxury cruise ship Mekong Jewel is expectedto begin its journey down the Mekong River by 2020. This will open up a newmarket for travellers who want a luxurious and unique vacation by cruise shipsfrom Vietnam to Cambodia.
In particular, the Asian Development Bank (ADB)has approved a 45 million USD loan for Vietnam, which will be used to developHoa Binh, Nghe An, Quang Binh, Quang Tri and Thua Thien - Hue into competitivetourist destinations.
Katerina Giannouka, President of the RadissonHotel Group in Asia-Pacific, said the central coast of Vietnam is becoming oneof the most attractive destinations in Asia.
Particularly, the ancient city of Hoi An givesvisitors a perfect blend of the charm of ancient culture and modernity. This isalso why the Radisson Hotel Group has participated in a number of projects inVietnam, including the Radisson Blu Hoi An project, she added.
Vietnam welcomed 11.3 million internationaltourists in the first eight months of 2019, a year-on-year rise of 8.7 percent.The country aims to serve 17.5-18 million foreign arrivals and 85 milliondomestic ones this year.-VNA