Seizing opportunities from cruise tourism
After the merger, Gia Lai simultaneously owns the sea and island space of the South Central Coast and the cultural space of the Central Highlands - a special advantage that few localities have.
From the beginning of 2026 until now, the province has successfully welcomed two international cruise ships, Le Jacques Cartier and Noble Caledonia - Island Sky, arriving at Quy Nhon Port.
Gia Lai's hosting of National Tourism Year 2026 is an important opportunity to promote its image and elevate the destination's position in the domestic and international tourism market.
Ms. Do Thi Dieu Hanh - Director of the Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism of Gia Lai province - said that National Tourism Year 2026 is a favorable opportunity to promote and advertise destinations, gradually making Quy Nhon Port an attractive stopover on international cruise routes.
In 2026, Gia Lai strives to welcome about 15 million visitors, with total tourism revenue reaching 35,000 billion VND. By 2030, the locality aims to welcome 18.5 million visitors, including about 1.1 million international visitors.
In that development roadmap, cruise tourism is identified as one of the potential segments, contributing to diversifying the international tourist market and increasing added value for the tourism industry.
According to Ms. Hanh, Gia Lai orients the development of cruise tourism towards quality, differentiation, sustainability and high connectivity; taking tourist experience as the center, local cultural identity as the foundation and regional linkage as the driving force for development.
Gia Lai is not competing by the number of ships but competing by the differences in products, cultural depth and quality of experience," Ms. Hanh emphasized.
Upgrading infrastructure to welcome international cruise ships
Speaking at the conference, Ms. Doan Thi Thanh Tra - Deputy General Director of Saigontourist Travel Service Co., Ltd. - said that with the advantage of Quy Nhon sea gateway and the new development space after the merger, cruise tourism can become an important exploitation direction for Gia Lai if approached according to product thinking, suitable to the characteristics of international tourists and the operating requirements of this segment.
According to Ms. Tra, the cruise tourism market is entering a new stage of development, in which service quality, depth of experience, personalization and operating capacity of destinations are increasingly emphasized. Although the length of stay of cruise passengers is usually not long, the requirements for products, services and organization are very high.
Ms. Tra Saigontourist affirmed that the business is ready to accompany Gia Lai, shipping lines, seaports and service partners in surveying, building, standardizing and exploiting cruise tourism programs suitable for the international market.
At the conference, Mr. Ha Van Sieu - Deputy Director of the Vietnam National Authority of Tourism - assessed that Gia Lai still has a lot of room to develop cruise tourism, especially when the locality owns many tourism products that are attractive to international tourists.
To attract large shipping lines, Mr. Sieu proposed that the province plan and invest in synchronous seaport infrastructure, from wharves and stations to maritime utilities.
Travel businesses need to proactively design tourism products specifically for cruise passengers, improve the capacity to welcome large numbers of passengers, complete procedures and connect service chains to enhance the tourist experience.
It is necessary to strengthen promotion and advertising of cruise tourism products and typical destinations, and prepare human resources with sufficient capacity to welcome large-scale international cruise ships.
Mr. Sieu said that he will take in the opinions to propose to the Government to improve mechanisms and policies to create motivation for the development of cruise tourism. At the same time, he committed to accompanying localities and businesses, prioritizing promoting cruise tourism development in the coming time.
