“The fact is, not every traveller can fit an overnight trip to Halong Bay into their schedule,” said Nguyen Cao Son, chief operating officer of Paradise Cruises, one of the bay’s leading luxury cruise providers with seven cruise ships sailing the bay and the area’s first day-cruise product.
The new VND 13 trillion (US$572 million) highway linking northern Vietnam city Hanoi with Halong Bay opened September 1, slashing the travel time from four to two hours and opening up the cruise destination to day trips as well as its already popular overnight cruises.
“The fact is, not every traveller can fit an overnight trip to Halong Bay into their schedule,” said Nguyen Cao Son, chief operating officer of Paradise Cruises, one of the bay’s leading luxury cruise providers with seven cruise ships sailing the bay and the area’s first day-cruise product.
“Those that choose to, typically do so at the expense of visiting another beautiful city in Vietnam. But with the introduction of this new highway, tourists can now maximize their time and enjoy a lot more.”
In celebration of the highway opening and in an attempt to further drive tourism to Halong Bay, Paradise has rolled out a day-cruise promotion.
In addition, come January 2019 Halong Bay will be hosting the ASEAN Tourism Forum, with the new international airport just east of Halong City opening in December 2018.
“With so much happening in this region all the way up until the opening of the ASEAN Tourism Forum in January of next year, there’s no doubt visitor interest will be at an all-time high,” added Cao Son.
Vietnam’s 2017 tourism arrival numbers hit 9.87 million, while this year the forecast is for closer to 12 million visitors.
Paradise Cruises is celebrating the opening of the new highway by offering $80 day cruises aboard Paradise Explorer.