Vu The Binh, head of the Travel Department under the Vietnam National Administration of Tourism, announced at a seminar on sea tourism held on Wednesday in Hanoi that arrivals by sea accounted for only two percent of all arrivals to the country in the January-August period.

 

Vietnam, home to more than 3,000 kilometers of coastline, pristine beaches and tourism spots dotting the coast was once considered a potential boon for sea cruise operators.

 

But sea arrivals only account for about five to six percent of total visitor arrivals, according to the officials.

 

The travel department said that the country’s lack of port facilities was throwing up roadblocks to growth in the industry, Vietnam News Agency reported.

 

Most of the incoming cruise ships were forced to dock at cargo ports or have passengers transported to the mainland on small crafts.

 

The department urged the government to invest in upgrading infrastructure at local ports and proposed the building of docks at tourism hubs, including northern Ha Long City, Ho Chi Minh City, Phu Quoc Island, central cities of Hue and Danang.

 

The government is also considering measures to reduce red tape at sea ports and team up with travel agencies from Thailand, Singapore, Malaysia and Hong Kong to promote Vietnam as a destination for sea tourism.

 

In related news, Italian five-star Costa Allegra cruise ship, with 1,250 passengers and crew aboard, docked in Ho Chi Minh City on Monday.

 

Passengers onboard the vessel are scheduled to spend two days exploring HCMC and the Mekong Delta before leaving for central Danang on September 23.

 

The ship has made four trips to Vietnam so far this month, bringing more than 5,000 tourists with it.

 

HCMC-based Saigontourist, one of two tour operators that dominate the domestic sea tourism market, said it welcomed 50,000 international sea travelers to Vietnam in the first nine months of this year.