Vietnam’s cruise tourism picks up steam in Q1

In March alone, the number of tourists arriving by cruise ships was up 2.8 times from the previous month, according to a report from the General Statistics Office (GSO). Most tourists came from Europe and Asia, it added.

Since early this year, the cruise tourism industry has seen positive signs with a series of luxury cruise ships carrying thousands of international tourists to popular tourist hotspots such as Nha Trang, Da Nang, Vung Tau, Ho Chi Minh City, and Ha Long.

In February, Spectrum of the Seas, Asia’s most luxurious cruise ship, docked at Phu My Port in the southern province of Ba Ria-Vung Tau, carrying 3,500 European and American tourists.

Khanh Hoa, home to famous resort town Nha Trang, has received five international cruise ships with nearly 2,000 foreign tourists so far this year.

In 2019, Vietnamese ports received 7.5 million passengers arriving on cruise ships, up 8% from the previous year.

According to Vietnam’s tourism development strategy with a vision to 2030, the country will give priority to developing cruise tourism.

Vietnam has a network of 2,360 rivers with a total length of more than 41,900 kilometers. In recent years luxury river cruises have become popular among international visitors.

The country earned over $5.65 billion in tourism revenues in the first quarter of 2023, welcoming 2.7 million foreign visitors.