Vietnam travel: Ha Long Bay campaign targets Chinese tourists
Chinese tourists are the target of a campaign to promote Ha Long Bay tourism, launched on Friday by Quang Ninh Province's Department of Tourism. "Many people in China's inland provinces don't know about Ha Long and its beauty," said the department's deputy director Trinh Van Hong.
To launch the campaign, a Chinese delegation including the heads of eleven tourism departments from southern China, representatives of travel agencies and tourism service companies of both countries, and representatives of Chinese media were brought to Quang Ninh to discuss co-operative measures to promote tours to Ha Long Bay by land and sea.
A major international tourism promotion conference would be held next month with content high-lighting Ha Long Bay and tours arriving by sea, Hong said. At present, one ship arrives daily from southern China carrying some 700 passengers.
Since the bay was recently nominated in the online competition to be named a natural wonder of the world, Quang Ninh has welcomed increasing numbers of tourists, including some 250,000 visitors this month, an increase of 20% over the previous month.
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"With the ongoing nomination and voting process, I am sure that more visitors will come to the Bay," Hong said.
He added that hotel room capacity was sufficient for larger numbers of visitors but services might not be at international standards.
"We understand the shortcomings and are finding ways to correct them," Hong said. "We will try our best to provide visitors with services at international standards, but right now we are still in the learning process."
Hong added that his department would work with related agencies to improve promotion activities for the bay while seeking better ways to manage sustainable expansion of the tourism industry.
At the provincial level, the department was expanding its international co-operation using all avaiIabIe connections to promote the bay and its nomination as a natural wonder of the world, he said.
Saigontourist also launched new tours to Ha Long Bay, Saigontourist's Doan Thi Thanh Tra said that the tours were designed to meet visitor demands and promote the campaign to vote for Ha Long as a natural wonder.
The Italian cruise ship Costa Allegra, belonging to Costa Crociere, resumed its Ha Long route last month with nearly 1,200 tourists on board. Tra said that, in December and January, eight more cruise ships would call at Ha Long Bay.
Five-star cruise ship returns Ha Long Bay
After a three-year break, Star Cruises Limited’s five-star liner, the SuperStar Libra, Monday brought more than 1,700 premium tourists into Ha Long Bay from Hong Kong. 
All local off-shore and ancillary services, like visiting the Bai Chay touro zone or shopping at Hon Gai Market, were planned and provided by Viet Nam’s premiere tour facilitator, Saigon Tourist.
The voyage marks the start of weekly cruises for 1,000-2,000 travelers a trip between Hong Kong and Ha Long, said Saigon Tourist cruise department head Le Quang Thang.
The Libra’s displacement is some 42,300 tons, its passenger capacity 1,800 with a crew of 600.
Star Cruises is also to offer 39 other voyages on the SuperStar Virgo and SuperStar Aquarius, with the maximum capacities of 1,000 and 2,200 passengers each, from December 2007 to August 2008.
