QUẢNG NINH – The northern province of Quảng Ninh, which owns many tourist attractions from UNESCO-recognised World Natural Heritage Site of Hạ Long Bay to beaches and islands, has seen a boom in tourism activities since the beginning of summer – the peak tourism season.

A cruise ship floating on Hạ Long Bay. VNA/VNS Photo

Summer is an ideal time for parents to take their children who are on summer break, for vacations. In Quảng Ninh, many destinations and entertainment venues have been full of tourists.

On June 1 alone, which was the International Children’s Day and Saturday, the Quảng Ninh Museum welcomed 6,500 visitors, including 2,000 children.

Meanwhile, Sun World Hạ Long, one of the major entertainment places in Hạ Long city, served 15,000 tourists. At the same time, 6,728 visitors toured Hạ Long Bay on the day, including 1,293 foreigners and 5,435 domestic travellers.

Đặng Thị Thu Hương, a visitor from Hà Nội showed her satisfaction about her family’s trip to Ha Long, adding that although it was very crowded in Sun World and other entertainment establishments, security and service quality were ensured.

In order to lure visitors, over the years, Quảng Ninh has renovated its tourism services in accordance to international standards, while enhancing the quality of local cruise ships, and paying greater attention to environmental protection.

Besides, the province has introduced many new tourism products such as a heritage tour on cruise ships and music performances on Hạ Long Bay.

Kofi Pothecary Dearden, a tourist from the UK, said that he has visited Hạ Long Bay twice and wishes to have more vacations here as he and his family love the natural landscapes and hospitability of people here.

“I especially enjoy kayaking because I can freely explore and mingle with nature and enjoy wonderful moments. My family had extremely comfortable moments and will definitely come back here when we have the opportunity”.

This year, Quảng Ninh expects to welcome 17 million visitors, including 3 million foreigners. To this end, it is rolling out such solutions as attracting tourists from Northeast Asia, China, Europe and the US, and developing new markets such as India, the Middle East, Russia and Australia through promotion activities.

The province will host 186 cultural and sporting events in 2024 to stimulate tourism, among them are many traditional events that have become trademarks of Quảng Ninh such as Ha Long Summer Tourism Week 2024, Bạch Đằng Traditional Festival, Quảng Ninh Ethnic Culture Day, a culinary festival, a three-region circus gala, OCOP Summer 2024 Fair, a national festival for music, Quảng Ninh Open Golf Tournament and Hạ Long Heritage Marathon.

It also plans to offer 62 more new tourism products in 2024.Endowed with natural advantages for marine tourism, Quảng Ninh boasts a coastline of over 250 kilometres and more than 2,000 islands of various sizes that account for two-thirds of the total island count in Vietnam.

In particular, Ha Long Bay, literally “the bay of descending dragons”, is recognised as a world natural heritage site by UNESCO twice, in 1994 for its globally outstanding aesthetic merit and in 2000 for its geological - morphological value. VNA/VNS