At the regular press conference this afternoon (November 12), Mr. Nguyen Dang Nguyen - Deputy Director of the Department of Tourism of Quang Ninh province - said that the reopening of the Bac Hai - Ha Long cruise route is the effort of the authorities at all levels, departments, branches, and relevant units of Quang Ninh province, Vietnam and the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, China.
According to plan, the first ship from the port in Bac Hai will arrive at Ha Long International Passenger Port at around 6:00 a.m. on November 16, 2024, with more than 1,000 Chinese passengers.
The ship will anchor in Ha Long Bay until 6:00 p.m. the same day for tourists to visit Ha Long Bay and Ha Long City as well as some other famous tourist destinations in Quang Ninh.
The second train is expected to return on November 18, 2024.
According to Mr. Nguyen, in addition to maintaining Chinese tourists, the two sides are continuing to coordinate to attract tourists from Vietnam to visit China on this journey, in order to exploit the efficiency of each train trip. If there are two-way tourists, the frequency of operations will be more dense and regular.
In addition, the two sides also hope to open more cruise ship routes from Fangcheng, Guangzhou to Ha Long.
The reopening of the Beihai - Ha Long Bay cruise route is a proposal of the Department of Culture and Tourism of the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, aiming to further promote tourism development cooperation between the two sides.
The Bac Hai – Ha Long Bay cruise route was active for 10 years, starting in 1998. However, this route later stopped operating for many reasons; including epidemics such as H5N1, causing operations to be interrupted.
According to Ms. Luong Thi Bich - Director of Hon Gai Tourism Company, one of the units participating in welcoming passengers on the Bac Hai - Ha Long Bay cruise ship, at that time, on peak days, there were 2 ships running the Bac Hai - Ha Long Bay route, with each ship carrying over 1,000 passengers.
