Italy’s five-star cruise ship Costa Serena docked at the Ha Long International Passenger Port in Quang Ninh Province, northern Vietnam on Friday, bringing 3,040 tourists from Hong Kong to the province.

This is the cruise ship’s second visit to Ha Long over the past 20 days.

After the ship arrived at the Ha Long International Passenger Port, local travel agencies took passengers to typical tourist attractions and introduced them to tourism products in the province.

Pham Van Hiep, director of the port, said the arrival of international cruise ships to the port signaled a positive growth of Quang Ninh's cruise tourism.

Shipping lines still maintain their confidence in Quang Ninh’s infrastructure and tourism service quality despite the tremendous impact of typhoon Yagi, the third storm to hit Vietnam this year and the most powerful storm to have struck the East Vietnam Sea over the past three decades, thus affirming the potential and brand of the province’s tourism in the eyes of international partners, Hiep noted.

Travelers disembark Costa Serena to visit Ha Long City, Quang Ninh Province, October 18, 2024. Photo: Quang Ninh Media Group

Quang Ninh has welcomed 42 international cruise ships with more than 50,000 tourists on board this year, according to the provincial Department of Tourism.

An additional 13 cruise ships will carry some 15,000 travelers to the province in the rest of the year.

Of them, Costa Serena is set to return to Ha Long three more times on the Hong Kong - Ha Long - Hong Kong route.

On October 21, Norway’s Viking Orion is scheduled to bring over 1,000 European visitors to Ha Long, helping Quang Ninh fulfill its target of three million international visitors this year.

The province welcomed 15.6 million tourist arrivals in January-September, up 20 percent year on year.

Among the arrivals were nearly 2.6 million international visitors, local media reported, citing the provincial Department of Tourism.

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