Halong Bay hosts int’l cruise tourism conference
14/12/07 (GMT+7)
An international cruise tourism conference, recognised as a milestone in the development of Vietnam’s tourism, opened on Monday at the World Heritage site of Halong Bay in the northern province of Quang Ninh.
 Organised by the National Administration for Tourism (VNAT) and the Saigontourist Travel Service Company, the conference was attended by representatives of outstanding cruise lines, including Star Cruises of Malaysia and Crociere S.p.A of Italy.
The event, which also attracted delegates from the world’s largest travel operators, sought to promote co-operation between international travel agencies and cruise shipping lines to benefit tour operators and countries in Southeast Asia.
With an over 3,000km coastline, Vietnam is becoming an attractive destination for international cruise tourists.
Yesterday Halong Bay also welcomed the Malaysia-flag cruise ship SuperStar Libra, which carried some 1,200 tourists, most of them from Hong Kong and China.
The cruise ship docked at Cai Lan Port in Halong Bay where guests were taken to the sites of Rong, Lu Huong and Ga Choi islets, Sung Sot Cave; Hon Gai fishing village; and other areas seen in the film Indochine starring French actress Catherine Deneuve.
Organised by Saigontourist, the six-hour tour of Halong Bay, which is being considered for classification as one of the world’s Seven Wonders in an ongoing contest, also included visits to Chay Beach, Long Tien Pagoda and Hon Gai Market.
This was SuperStar Libra’s second weekly visit to Halong Bay. The first on December 3 marked the resumption of SuperStar’s scheduled journeys to the bay after over three years’ suspension.
A representative of the Malaysian cruise shipping line said from December of this year, the company would send five-star cruise ships including SuperStar Libra and SuperStar Virgo to Halong before heading for China, Japan and South Korea on weekly journeys.
Related Halong:
(Source: Viet Nam News)
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