Hanoi (VNA) ✱– Major cities and tourist destinations across the country have catered for crowds of visitors who poured in to enjoy the Lunar New Year (Tet) holiday.

According to the Hanoi Tourism Department, the capital city welcomed nearly 308,000 tourists from February 6-12, up 17 percent against the same period last year. Of the sum, 85,000 are foreigners, a year-on-year rise of 63 percent, mostly from the Republic of Korea (RoK), China, Japan, France and Taiwan (China). The guests brought 984 billion VND (roughly 44.3 million USD) for the municipal tourism industry, an increase of 4 percent over the corresponding time last year. Van Mieu-Quoc Tu Giam (the Temple of Literature), Ngoc Son Temple and Huong (Perfume) Pagoda are the most attractive destinations during Tet. The Temple of Literature alone served about 150,000 visitors during the first five days of the Lunar New Year (February 8-12). To ensure tourism quality as well as security and safety for the holiday-makers, the municipal Tourism Department instructed travel companies in the locality to follow regulations on fire fighting and temporary residency, among others. Meanwhile, the central city of Da Nang greeted more than 222,100 vacationers during the traditional festival, up 21.5 percent compared with the figure recorded in the same period last year. Of the number, 41,308 are foreigners, representing a year-on-year increase of 27.02 percent. As many as 3,300 visited the city via sea route while 18,870 arrived by air. New, luxury hotels such as Fusion Suites, Vanda, Cicilia, Samdi, Diamond Sea, Avatar and Melia were put into operation on this occasion, offering various promotional programmes. The largest crowds of holiday-makers were seen in Bana Hills Mountain Resort and other tourist sites like Son Tra and Ngu Hanh Son. The Cam Ranh International Airport in the central province of Khanh Hoa welcomed 182 international flights on the first lunar days, mostly from Russia, China and the RoK. For tour companies, the nine-day festival offered a lucrative business. Hanoi Redtours said the company served nearly 2,500 vacationers during the holiday, up about 30 percent against the same period last year. Outbound tours to Japan, the RoK and Latin American and European countries were most sought after by Vietnamese vacationers, said Nguyen Quynh Mai, head of Hanoi Redtours’s Operation Department. Meanwhile, inbound tours to Nha Trang and Phu Quoc, Northeastern and Northwestern regions, have drawn interests from many visitors, she said. Saigontourist, a giant in Vietnam’s tourism industry, reported that it served more than 39,000 visitors, up 20 percent over the corresponding time last year.-VNA