Tourists increase, infrastructure and services still poor

Local travel companies complain despite increasing numbers of foreign tourists, infrastructure and customer services at Vietnam’s seaports remain underdeveloped.

Saigontourist, Viet Excursions and OSC Travel said Vietnam should improve its seaport infrastructure and customer services if it wanted to accommodate the increasing number of international tourists arriving on cruise ships this year.

Up until now, Saigontourist has welcomed more than 20,000 passengers on cruise ships, a 5 percent increase compared to the same period last year.

Saigontourist said it expected the number of tourists arriving on cruise ships to increase by 20 percent by this year’s end.

Viet Excursion said in January and February, it received many international cruise ships including Queen Elizabeth, Queen Mary 2, Arcadia and Artemix, each of which carried 1,500 to 2,500 passengers.

International cruise ships arriving in Vietnam often dock at seaports in popular tourist destinations such as Ho Chi Minh City, Danang, Nha Trang and Ha Long Bay.

Unfortunately, however, these seaports aren’t catching up with increasing demands.

For instance, Queen Mary 2 couldn’t pass through Phu My Bridge at HCMC’s Saigon Seaport and thus had to dock elsewhere.

Similarly, at seaports in Ha Long Bay and Danang, transportation services were too limited to serve all of the foreign tourists upon their arrival.

Tags: Vietnam Tourism