The first Beihai (China) cruise ship arrives at Ha Long International Passenger Port

(NLDO)- The Blue Dream Melody ship from Beihai (China) carrying 1,100 tourists has docked at Ha Long International Passenger Port, starting the Beihai - Ha Long tourist route.

At exactly 7:00 a.m. on November 16, the first cruise ship from Beihai City (Guangxi, China) arrived at Ha Long International Passenger Port (Quang Ninh Province) after a long interruption, opening up opportunities for trade and tourism development between the two localities.

Quang Ninh province leaders presented flowers and took souvenir photos with the Blue Dream Melody ship crew from Beihai (China) to Ha Long International Passenger Port.

At Ha Long International Passenger Port, Ms. Nguyen Thi Hanh, Vice Chairwoman of Quang Ninh Provincial People's Committee, and leaders of the Provincial People's Committee warmly welcomed the first guests to Ha Long on the new cruise route.

The Blue Dream Melody will anchor at Ha Long International Passenger Port until 6 p.m. the same day for tourists to visit Ha Long Bay and some other famous tourist destinations in Quang Ninh. The second passenger ship from Bac Hai is expected to continue to Ha Long on November 18.

Ms. Nguyen Huyen Anh, Director of Quang Ninh Department of Tourism, shared that the two localities have discussed and worked very closely to build a new route connecting Bac Hai with Ha Long. A delegation of Quang Ninh Department of Tourism officials went directly to Bac Hai and experienced the cruise route to Ha Long. On that basis, the two sides will evaluate and gradually improve the quality of services, moving towards building a regular operating route for attractive tours connecting these two localities.

The leaders of the Quang Ninh Department of Tourism added that the two sides have designed a more diverse tour schedule for visitors from China to Vietnam departing from Beihai City in 2025. Not only stopping at Ha Long, visiting Quang Ninh, but the schedule will be longer so that visitors have more time to explore the beauty of other famous tourist destinations in Vietnam such as Da Nang and Hue. It is expected that during the peak period of November 2025, there will be 3 passenger trains from Beihai to Ha Long per week.

At exactly 7:00 a.m. on November 16, the Blue Dream Melody ship docked at Ha Long International Passenger Port.

Previously, the Beihai - Ha Long cruise route had been in operation for 10 years, starting in 1998 to connect one of the 10 most beautiful cities in China with the heritage city of Ha Long. However, this cruise route was later suspended. The reopening of the cruise from Beihai to Ha Long shows the utmost efforts of the authorities at all levels, departments, branches, sectors, and relevant units of Quang Ninh province (Vietnam) and Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region (China).

According to Mr. Pham Van Hiep, Director of Ha Long International Passenger Port, this is a good opportunity to promote tourism. "We hope that both sides will exploit the advantages of sea transport to promote tourism growth for both localities, which have their own strengths. Expanding new markets is also a positive signal that international tourists traveling by sea in 2024 and the following years will recover strongly," said Mr. Hiep.

This is an event of special significance for the tourism industry in particular and between the two localities in general. Because the port in Bac Hai has just been invested in modernly and is expanding the connection of cruise ship routes, especially international routes. Meanwhile, in Quang Ninh, Ha Long International Passenger Port is a favorite destination of many cruise lines with synchronous and modern infrastructure.

Ms. Nguyen Thi Hanh, Vice Chairwoman of Quang Ninh Provincial People's Committee presented flowers to the crew of the Blue Dream Melody ship.

Invested and built by Sun Group Corporation on a large scale and systematically, Ha Long International Passenger Port has a modernly designed international wharf, capable of receiving ships with a capacity of up to 225,000 GRT, serving 2 ships with a capacity of nearly 10,000 passengers at the same time. Currently, this is the only specialized port in Vietnam to receive passenger ships and world super yachts; a favorite destination for international cruise routes, contributing to marking Vietnam on the world cruise map. Therefore, successfully connecting the cruise route between the two localities will open up an extremely potential tourism market.

The 2024 cruise season kicked off in October with many international super cruise ships bringing tourists from Asia, Europe, and America to Ha Long. With these positive movements and new international cruise routes, it is expected to contribute to realizing the goal of welcoming 3.5 million international visitors to Quang Ninh in 2024.

Source: https://nld.com.vn/chuyen-tau-bien-bac-hai-trung-quoc-dau-tien-cap-cang-tau-khach-quoc-te-ha-long-196241116084602582.htm