Hanoi develops night-time tourism to attract more visitors

The information was announced by the department at a conference held on August 2 to collect experts' opinions on night-time tourism products.

Hanoi has successfully built night-time tourism products, including night tours of Thang Long Imperial Citadel, Hoa Lo prison relic site, Vietnam Literature Museum and night pedestrian streets.

These tours have brought many experiences to visitors, creating unique features of Hanoi tourism. However, they have also revealed shortcomings as some pedestrian streets operate inefficiently and there are not many products available. Therefore, the building of night-time tourism products should be calculated carefully to ensure the professionalism of the products.

According to Vice Chairman of the Vietnam Travel Association Phung Quang Thang, tourism activities in the night-time economy should involve the participation of many sectors and people.

It is necessary for the city to issue an appropriate policy for these activities, thereby, it can develop specific tourism products such as cultural tourism, night-time culinary tourism, and shopping tourism, he said.

Thang said that it is possible to build some night tours in combination with food tours in the city’s Old Quarter to attract visitors.

Concurring with Thang’s opinion, Director of the Institute for Tourism Development Research Nguyen Anh Tuan said that, in addition to a favourable policy, Hanoi should consider expanding night-time tourism products such as developing tourism services on both sides of the Red River and devising a plan for the construction of a modern shopping centre near the city’s centre, such as an underground shopping mall as in many countries.

Director of the Hanoi Department of Tourism Dang Huong Giang said it plans to organise a workshop on developing Hanoi's night-time tourism products as well as launching an online review on "Hanoi night welcomes you", adding that more night tour products will be set up in the coming time./.