Cruise tourism season lasts from October and
November to April the following year. Cruise tourism has recovered quickly and
2025 is the time to accelerate. For Hue city, the important thing is how to
attract visitors to experience tourism products and services in the ancient
capital city.
Private Vietnam tours
The challenge of retaining guests for Hue tourism
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 Saigon Travel Company 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, the company 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...
According to Chan May Port Company, 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.
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 went to 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 arrive at Hue port but the
city's tourist destinations cannot "retain" the passengers.
Looking at some cruise ships arriving at Chan May port in 2025, many passengers
got off the ship and boarded buses 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.
According to the Tourism Promotion Information Center, 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.
The Center 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 dress...
The tourism industry, localities and travel agencies should also sit down
together to research and create attractive "on-site" tourism products. One of
the directions that many tourists love to experience after leaving the port to
go to 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.
Source:
Hue seeks breakthroughs as cruise tourism accelerates