HANOI BOASTS IMMENSE POTENTIAL IN WATERWAY TOURISM

• 08/12/2025 16:59

Developing waterway tourism is a new and potential direction for diversifying tourism products and enriching tourist experiences.

Long Bien Bridge, spanning the Red River, is a cultural and historical symbol of Hanoi. (Photo: VNA)

Positive initial signals from Red River routes

Currently, Thang Long GTC Joint Stock Company is the pioneer operating nine river routes connecting Hanoi, Hung Yen, Bat Trang, and Bac Ninh. The launch of the Thang Long Victoria II cruise ship has boosted passenger numbers from 3,000 in 2023 to over 7,000 in 2024, generating revenue of 3 billion VND (over 113,600 USD), nearly double the previous year's figure. The city’s Tourism Department has outlined four river tourism corridors, including the Red River, the Day River, the To Lich River, and the Cau-Ca Lo-Tich River systems. The Red River is identified as the key route with nearly 30 historical and cultural relic sites, numerous traditional craft villages, and distinctive landscapes along its banks.

The water-fetching ritual in riverbank festivals reflects the long-standing spiritual and cultural bond between local communities and the Red River. (Photo: VNA)

Although the initial results are still modest, the waterway routes have offered new experiences such as watching the Red River sunset, admiring the historic Long Bien Bridge, or exploring Bat Trang pottery village. Those experiences help to shape Hanoi’s cultural “soul” from the river.

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Revenue from waterway tourism reached over 3 billion VND in 2024, nearly doubling compared to the previous year. The first nine months of 2025 recorded 1.83 billion VND. Although this figure is not yet substantial, it clearly signals a promising new direction in the capital’s tourism landscape.

Hanoi’s Department of Tourism

Investment in waterway tourism infrastructure

The most significant constraint facing Hanoi’s water tourism currently is asynchronised infrastructure. Only the Chuong Duong Do Wharf meets the technical standards. The majority of the remaining ports are makeshift civilian wharves, lacking proper parking, service areas, and dedicated reception facilities for tourists.

Tourists experience a river tour on the Red River in Hanoi. (Photo: Ha Noi Moi Newspaper)

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For river tourism to develop commensurate with its potential, Hanoi needs a comprehensive master plan along the Red River, attracting investment into essential infrastructure and services. With its advantageous scenery and culture, Hanoi can fully develop distinctive tourism products, much like Ninh Binh or Hue.

Associate Professor Dr Pham Hong Long

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The city should promptly invest in modern terminals and safe piers, develop premium night cruises, and issue fixed sailing schedules for easy booking by tourists.

Vu Van Tuyen, Vice Chairman of the Vietnam Community-based Tourism Association

To fully unlock the potential of waterway tourism, Hanoi needs to attract investment in infrastructure and services. In the photos: Waterway tourism services in Ho Chi Minh City. (Source: Ho Chi Minh City's Department of Tourism)

In response to this reality, Hanoi issued Plan 169/KH-UBND to implement Resolution 06-NQ/TU for the 2024-2025 period, focusing on developing the Chuong Duong Do-Bat Trang-Ninh So-Hung Yen route and expanding connections to Bac Ninh, Hai Phong, and Quang Ninh. The city also plans to dedicate land along the riverbanks for cultural and art spaces, green areas, and a synchronous connection between waterway and road transport.

Deputy Director of the Hanoi Tourism Department Tran Trung Hieu stated that the city has proposed mechanisms to encourage the socialisation of investment, creating favourable conditions for businesses to participate in exploiting tourism ports such as Chuong Duong Do and Bat Trang.

"The goal is that by 2030, waterway tourism will become a signature product of the capital," he emphasised.

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The Red River holds special potential to become a typical tourism space for the capital. Along the two banks are nearly 30 historical and cultural relic sites, along with dozens of traditional craft villages, creating a tourist route with profound cultural and scenic depth. If invested in the right direction, this will become a distinctive signature product of Hanoi.

Deputy Director of the Hanoi Tourism Department Tran Trung Hieu

Expanding experiences, energising Hanoi tourism

Beyond tapping its river advantages, Hanoi is vigorously diversifying its products to expand visitor experiences.

Night tourism products, cuisine tours, pedestrian streets, craft villages, and community-based tours are increasingly rich. Experiential tours like "Old Quarter – New City," "A day as an ancient Hanoian," and "Hanoi cuisine" attract large numbers of visitors.

🚶‍♂️🌆 The combination of pedestrian streets and culinary hubs with street art performances is transforming the capital into a "sleepless city" – an inevitable direction in developing the night economy.

🌄🏺🧵 Not just the inner city, the outskirts of Hanoi are also becoming new destinations with craft villages like Bat Trang, Van Phuc, Son Dong, and Phu Vinh integrated into experiential tours, allowing visitors to mold pottery, weave silk, make lacquerware, or do paper; alongside agro-ecological tours, suburban cycling trips, and exploration of rural lanes, rivers, and lagoons.

🌄🌱🚲 At the same time, agricultural-ecological tourism routes such as "a day as a farmer," exploring village-river-dam roads, or suburban bicycle tours are expanding the capital's tourism space outside the old town, creating more "breathing space" for nature-loving tourists.

🏞️ Hanoi is promoting regional linkages with Ninh Binh, Hoa Binh, and Bac Ninh to form inter-provincial tours such as "Hanoi-Tam Coc-Bai Dinh" or "Hanoi-Kim Boi Hot Springs," helping to distribute visitor flow and share economic benefits across the region.

Aiming to be a leading Asian experience destination

From the "new currents" on the Red River to its product diversification strategy, Hanoi is entering a strong transformation phase to become a leading experiential destination in Asia.

According to the plan, Hanoi aims to welcome 35.8 million visitors by 2026, including 8.6 million international arrivals. However, to achieve the stature of Bangkok or Hong Kong, which each attracts 30-40 million international visitors annually, Hanoi must shift its focus from increasing quantity to enhancing quality and spending value.

Experts suggest the capital should develop MICE, golf, and luxury tourism, and invest in 24/7 entertainment, shopping, and dining systems to boost the night economy. Simultaneously, there is a need to increase direct flight routes to North America, Western Europe, and Australia, and complete the digital tourism ecosystem, including multilingual guides and cashless payment solutions.
When infrastructure, policies, and services are completed, Hanoi will not only be an administrative and cultural centre but will also become a vibrant, friendly, and rich experiential destination, worthy of its position as "the heart of Vietnamese tourism"./.