The figure is thanks to the effectiveness of Halong Bay’s image promotion to foreign friends and domestic tourists over the past time. In June alone, about 213,300 tourists have been come to Halong Bay, including nearly 130,500 foreigners, raising this figure for the first six months to 789,260, up 56% against the same period last year.

In the first six months of 2008, the number of tourists staying overnight surged. Nearly 10,812 ships and 144,223 tourists stayed overnight on the bay. Halong Bay earned about VND 43.5 billion from tickets, contributing more than VND 24 billion to the budget.