Foreign cruiser tourists arrive at Chan May Port (Photo: VNA)
Chan May Port in the central province of Thua Thien-Hue is expected to welcome 40 cruise ships in 2019, including many luxurious vessels.
On January 28, Celebrity Constellation docked in the port, bringing the first international cruise tourists from the US, Canada, the UK and France to the locality in 2019.
Apart from Celebrity Constellation, many other luxurious ships like Star Cruises, Skysea Cruise Line, Princess Cruises, Oceania Cruises, Costa Crociere and Ovation of the Seas have anchored in the port, carrying thousands of foreign holidaymakers to the province.
Of note, Celebrity Millennium of the US’s Royal Caribbean Cruise Lines has visited Chan May five times.
The port has made its name on the tourism map of the region and the world.
The Asia Cruise Association has named Chan May among 46 seaports in Southeast Asia as stops for pleasure boats.
It is planned to accommodate six general cargo wharfs by 2020, and eight wharfs by 2030 along with an oil and gas wharf and a wharf for tourist boats.
After being upgraded, the port now can serve 30,000 DWT ships and those with more than 4,000 passengers.
Located between Da Nang city and the ancient capital city of Hue, near UNESCO-recognised such as Hoi An ancient town and My Son Sanctuary, Chan May is the nearest and most convenient gateway to the East Sea from the East-West Economic Corridor, and a main port on the sea route connecting Singapore, the Philippines, Hong Kong (China) and Vietnam.
In 2019, Thua Thien-Hue aims to welcome 4.5-4.7 million visitors, with Chan May playing a role in tourist attraction.
In 2018, the locality welcomed more than 4.3 million visitors, a rise of 14 percent, of whom 134,100 were aboard 54 cruise ships, a rise of 5 percent year on year./.
VNA