They are scheduled to visit ports in Ba Ria-Vung Tau, HCMC, Nha Trang and Con Dao from Sunday through Friday, a local official said on Thursday.
The group representing STB, Royal Caribbean International, and KOP
Group will inspect the Interflow Port in Ba Ria-Vung Tau, and Navi Oil
and Lotus ports in HCMC, and others in Nha Trang and Con Dao, the
source said.
“The participants will suggest suitable locations to build ports for
cruise ships along with measures to develop products, spur investment
and other activities to boost the segment in the future,” said Nguyen
Anh Tuan, Deputy Head of the Travel Department under the Vietnam National Administration of Tourism.
This is the second survey trip by Singaporean tourism experts to the
country. Last year, Danang’s Tien Sa port was selected as the best
location for the cruise port in the region after the group toured the
sea ports in Danang, Quang Nam and Thua Thien-Hue in the Central region. BR>
Tuan said the two sides continued their cooperation after the first
trip with the signing of a deal between Vietnam’s Danang Port
One-Member Limited Company and Singapore Cruise Center Pte Ltd.
The two partners inked a memorandum of understanding in March to
jointly develop a modern tourist wharf to harbor big cruise ships and
serve high-end travelers. A joint venture will be set up to build the
wharf at Danang’s Tien Sa port.
“We hope that the second group with participation from the cruise
line and investment companies will not only help us find the way to
develop cruise tourism but also invest in the industry,” Tuan said.
Vietnam’s tourism has requested support from Singapore as the region’s cruise hub at a meeting of the Vietnam-Singapore Tourism Cooperation Joint Committee held in the ancient town of Hoi An in 2008.
The survey results will be reported in the Committee’s meeting in
September. International visitors arriving in Vietnam by sea accounts
for only 5-6% of the total number of foreign visitors to Vietnam in
1997-2008, but the number is declining. Large international cruise
ships bound for Vietnam must anchor at cargo ports.