The search engine report released Wednesday revealed the list of 10 most searched Vietnamese destinations this year, with Cat Ba, an archipelago that includes 367 islands spanning 260 square kilometers, of which Cat Ba Island is the largest, dominating the list.

A beach on Cat Ba Island in Hai Phong City.

The Central Highlands town of Da Lat, much loved for its year-round cool climate, green pine forests and architectural gems dating back to the French colonial time, came in second, followed by the northern highlands town of Sa Pa. The central city of Da Nang, home to many of Asia’s most beautiful beaches, ranked fourth.

Nha Trang in Khanh Hoa Province fell from second position last year to eighth this year. The town is home to long sandy beaches and little-known islands dotted along the central coast.

Besides popular tourist destinations, this year Vietnamese internet users also showed more interest in rising and lesser-known destinations. This could be explained by the fact that more tourists have opted for less crowded places to avoid the spread of the novel coronavirus.

Thoi Son Island in the Mekong Delta province of Ben Tre in the lower section of Tien River ranked fifth. It has become an emerging tourist destination in recent years, ideal for a quick bite, with cozy little restaurants decorated with bonsai plants and local houses surrounded by fruit trees.

Ta Dung, situated in the eponymous national park of Dak P’lao and Dak Som communes in Dak G’long District of Dak Nong Province in the Central Highlands, came in sixth, followed by the northern highlands town Moc Chau in Son La Province.Sam Son, a beach town in the central province of Thanh Hoa, ranked ninth while Co To, an island district in northern Quang Ninh Province rounded out the top 10.

Ta Dung Lake is part of UNESCO-recognized Dak Nong Geopark in the Central Highlands.

Vietnam could lose $23 billion in tourism revenue this year due to the Covid-19 pandemic, or about 75 percent of last year’s industry revenue, Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism Nguyen Ngoc Thien said in early November.

But insiders said thanks to very efficient Covid-19 control, the country's domestic tourism has seen a rapid recovery.

Thanks to mass testing and aggressive tracing, Vietnam had again contained its second outbreak and passed 89 days without community transmissions until a Vietnam Airlines flight attendant violated quarantine regulations to become the source of the latest Covid-19 outbreak in Ho Chi Minh City.

So far, Vietnam has gone nine clean days without new community transmissions. The country has recorded 1,381 patients, including 35 deaths.

Vietnam tourism honoured at World Travel Award 2020

The title ‘World's Leading Heritage Destination’ has been one of series of prestigious awards which went to Vietnam at the Grand Final of the World Travel Award (WTA) in 2020.

National Conference on Tourism 2020 discusses solutions to restore tourism

The National Conference on Tourism 2020 entitled “Connection, action and development” was jointly held by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism and the People’s Committee of Quang Nam Province on November 28 in the presence of Deputy Prime Minister Vu Duc Dam.

Vietnam’s four top community-based tourism villages

A Nor and Ta Lang in central Vietnam along with Sin Suoi Ho and Nam Dam in the north were recently named the country’s leading community-based tourism villages. Community-based tourism, with locals directly partaking in tourism product and service offerings, is slowly taking shape in Vietnam. According to Vietnam Tourism Association (VITA), which listed the four villages, the initiative helps create jobs, reduce poverty, preserve culture identity, and boost the country’s tourism landscape

Tourism stimulus programme launched in Phu Quoc

The Vietnam National Administration of Tourism and Tourism Department of Kien Giang Province held a programme designed to simulate tourism in Phu Quoc on November 22.

Source: VnExpress