Bus tours gain mixed reviews

HANOI Danang and Hanoi will be the first two cities to launch open-top buses that will offer tourists city tours.

Danang’s Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism deputy director, Tran Chi Cuong, told local media that Thanh Do Investment Development and Construction JSC will operate 30 single, or double-deck buses, in Danang next month.

In the initial phase, the buses will take tourists to major places of interest in the inner-city area.

However, the report did not offer any details of the pilot plan for Hanoi other than to say the city will commence the service soon.

Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc recently agreed in principle to deploy double-deck open-top buses in seven cities and provinces to help tourism.

They are Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City and Danang cities, and Quang Nam, Thua Thien-Hue, Lam Dong and Kien Giang provinces. The trial period is five years.

The report added that so far no travel firm in Ho Chi Minh City has expressed interest. Companies argued that the city’s poor traffic conditions as well as low exposed power lines on some roads and low bridge heights would make it difficult  to offer the double-deck service.