Cruise ship passengers dock at Chan May port

Bustling tourist season

At the beginning of the cruise tourism season, the schedules for cruise lines to Vietnam in general and Hue in particular have shown signs of excitement. On October 17, on the way to Vietnam, the Ovation of the Seas ship carrying more than 4,000 passengers docked at Chan May port.

A representative of Saigontourist Travel Services Company Limited said that from November to April next year is the peak season for welcoming international cruise ships. According to the plan, from November 9 to December 31, Saigontourist Travel Services Company Limited will welcome 9 international cruise ships, with more than 25,000 tourists arriving at ports in Vietnam. The groups of tourists will visit many famous destinations such as Ho Chi Minh City, Hue, Da Nang and Ha Long. It is expected that on December 11, the Spectrum of the Seas ship carrying 5,000 international tourists will arrive at Chan May port (Hue), visit Hue and destinations in Da Nang such as Hoi An ancient town, My Son sanctuary, Ba Na...

Travel agencies welcome cruise ship passengers for sightseeing and tourism experiences

Mr. Le Chi Phai, Deputy General Director of Chan May Port Joint Stock Company, informed that by the end of 2025, there are plans to have 46 cruise ships docking at Chan May port, with nearly 93,000 passengers and nearly 40,000 crew members. The number of passengers and ships shows signs of increasing. The ships docking at Chan May port are large ships, so when there is a plan to receive cruise ships, the unit temporarily suspends related activities at the port to ensure safety.

According to experts, since the COVID-19 pandemic, the number of cruise passengers has remained stable even during the low season. Therefore, cruise tourism has recovered rapidly since last year and 2025 is the time to accelerate, estimated to achieve strong growth compared to the same period last year.

Struggling to "keep guests" in Hue

Although the number of cruise ship passengers has increased again, attracting and retaining cruise ship passengers to visit and experience destinations in Hue has not been as expected. During some cruise ship arrivals at Chan May port, it is estimated that only about 30% of passengers visited tourist destinations in Hue, while the majority of tourists chose other destinations, especially Da Nang, Hoi An... This is a pity because these cruise ships docked at Hue but the city's tourist destinations could not "retain" the passengers.

Looking at some cruise ships arriving at Chan May port in 2025, many passengers got off the ship and boarded buses with license plate number 43, which were waiting for them to be picked up and served by travel agencies. Although the tourism industry has organized many welcoming activities, the struggle to attract and "retain" this luxury customer stream is still a headache for the authorities and those interested.

The tourism industry connects and works with shipping lines as soon as the ship arrives at Chan May Port.

Mr. Truong Thanh Minh, Director of the Tourism Promotion Information Center, said that the unit has now operated a Tourist Information and Support Center in the Chan May port area. This is a solution to enhance tourist support and promote Hue destinations. However, in reality, there are still barriers that make attracting tourists to experience tourism not as expected. One of the reasons is that cruise ships often come and go during the day, so the requirement is to have products and services that are close, convenient and attractive. Meanwhile, the distance from Chan May port to historical sites and tourist attractions in the core area of ​​Hue city is quite far, taking a lot of travel time; tourism services near Chan May port are still lacking and monotonous, especially lacking attractive shopping, entertainment services, and high-class services for this luxury customer segment.

A travel agency said that the services on cruise ships are very diverse and classy, ​​so there are a large number of customers who do not get off the ship. To bring this source of customers on board to experience, we must solve the problem of high-class, unique and interesting tourism products and services. In addition, we must connect early with cruise lines to promote, advertise and introduce products to tourists.

Mr. Minh believes that in the long term, it is necessary to call for investment in building large commercial, shopping and entertainment centers in the Chan May - Lang Co area - a factor that increases the competitiveness and attractiveness of the destination. In addition, it is possible to connect tours in the vicinity of Chan May - Lang Co, creating products and destinations close to the area where ships dock at Chan May port, convenient and saving travel time for tourists. Forming a chain of tourism products in the vicinity of Chan May - Lang Co, combining programs, art shows, Ao Dai...

The tourism industry, local authorities and travel agencies should also sit down together to research and develop attractive “on-site” tourism products. One of the ways that many tourists like to experience after leaving the port to visit tourist destinations is to visit by cyclo, cycle to explore the countryside, experience local culture, learn to cook traditional Vietnamese dishes, etc.

The tourism industry and units can build services, cyclo tours within a radius of about 20km around Chan May port and experiences related to local community life, thereby "retaining" visitors to stay in Hue and attracting passengers on the ship to come down and experience.

The Department of Tourism leader said that the tourism industry and local authorities are also making efforts to connect and work with major shipping lines to promote and introduce Hue products and destinations, and convey attractive tourism information of the ancient capital for visitors to know and experience.

Article and photos: HUU PHUC

Source: https://huengaynay.vn/du-lich/lam-sao-hut-khach-mua-du-lich-tau-bien-160081.html