Positive signs for new cruise ship season in Vietnam

DA NANG - Da Nang’s 2013 - 2014 cruise ship season began in late October and will continue through to May.

The Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism has said that the city is expecting to welcome more than 100,000 passengers from over 100 cruise ship arrivals during this period, which is a near 3-fold increase on the previous season.  Over the Christmas, New Year and Tet holidays the city should see up to 5 cruise ships arriving each week.

Local travel agents have reported that last year saw a significant decrease in the number of cruise passengers arriving from Europe and North America due to the global economic downturn. However, so far this season numbers have increased from these countries, and even more have been coming from Asian countries.

In addition to the cruise ships which already regularly visit Da Nang, such as Costa Atlantica, Costa Victoria and SuperStar Gemini, there will be some making their first visits from cruise lines such as Celebrity, Azamara Club and Royal Caribbean.  Their passengers will be mainly from Germany, the UK, France, and the USA.

Most cruise ships stay in Da Nang just for the day, but Star Cruises' MS Henna, with its 1,000 Chinese passengers, usually stays overnight and this helps to increase passenger spending in the city.  They are taken to the city’s popular tourist attractions including the BigC Mall, the Linh Ung Pagoda, the Marble Mountains, the Museum of Cham Sculpture, and the Nguyen Hien Dinh Tuong Theatre.  In addition, they have the opportunity to take other tours such as to the Ba Na Hills Resort, to local villages, or bicycle tours.

Sourced: TravelDailyNews