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| Leaders of the Department of Tourism presented flowers to welcome a group of Chinese tourists on a train tour to Khanh Hoa. |
At the end of November 2024, Viet Trung Toan Cau Friendship Group Joint Stock Company organized a cross-Vietnam train tour for Chinese tourists. A group of more than 460 Chinese tourists entered Vietnam through Mong Cai border gate, Quang Ninh. After visiting Ha Long Bay, the group moved to Hanoi to take a cross-Vietnam train tour. Upon arriving in Nha Trang, the group stayed for 1 night at 4-star hotels; visited and experienced some famous local tourist attractions such as: Ponagar Tower, Hon Chong scenic spot, Nha Trang Bay, mud bath experience at Thap Ba Nha Trang Hot Spring Center, have fun at VinWonders Nha Trang... The Chinese group highly appreciated the appeal of the cross-Vietnam train tour. "As the train rolled through many regions of Vietnam, we were able to leisurely observe the beauty of nature and life in Vietnam through the window. There are majestic mountain and forest scenes, people doing farming, herds of buffalo and ducks in the fields… and you can also visit the streets when the train stops for passengers to visit tourist cities,” Mr. Hong Mao Hoa (from Chongqing, China) shared.
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| The Vietage train tour offers visitors interesting experiences. |
According to Mr. Tran Duy Thang - Chairman of the Board of Directors and General Director of Viet Trung Global Friendship Group Joint Stock Company, traveling by train brings different experiences compared to other means of transport. The potential for developing train tourism in Vietnam is huge, especially in the international tourist market. In 2019, Sputnik news agency (Russia) voted Vietnam's North-South railway line as one of the 10 most beautiful railway lines in the world. In 2023, Lonely Planet's "Amazing Train Journeys" honored the Hanoi - Ho Chi Minh City railway line as the most beautiful and worth-experiencing railway line in the world. However, up to now, many people have only seen trains as a means of transport rather than a tourism product. Therefore, the company has planned to organize train tours for Chinese visitors. According to the plan, in the first 6 months of 2025, the company will take about 3,600 - 3,800 Chinese tourists on train tours to Khanh Hoa.
In addition to the existing train tours, recently, Vietnam Railways Corporation has also coordinated with localities to launch a Hue - Da Nang tourist train named "Connecting Central Heritage"; a tourist train connecting Hanoi - Thai Nguyen... In particular, many businesses have coordinated with Vietnam Railways Corporation to launch specialized high-quality train tours. One example is The Vietage - a luxury train connecting Da Nang - Quy Nhon (launched in 2020) serving no more than 12 passengers/trip, providing high-class amenities no different from a 5-star hotel, selected by CNN as one of the top 6 best train experiences in Asia in 2021. Most recently, at the end of December 2024, PYS Travel Youth Solutions and Media Company Limited cooperated with Vietnam Railways to launch a cross-Vietnam tour by luxury train named Sjourney. The train has 5 carriages with 15 private rooms with full amenities, a restaurant and a kitchen car, serving up to 30 passengers. On the train, passengers will enjoy high-class meals, combining local and international cuisine, prepared by a team of 5-star hotel chefs. Each trip, the train serves up to 60 passengers, to experience the tour, tourists need to pay about 220 million VND. Currently, the Sjourney train departs from both Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City, with a journey of 8 days and 7 nights, the train will stop at famous tourist destinations such as: Ninh Binh, Quang Binh, Hue, Hoi An, Nha Trang, Phan Thiet. In Nha Trang, guests can enjoy the beautiful scenery of Nha Trang Bay and dine on the Emperor Cruise, visit the fishing village and relax at Soi beach (Tri Nguyen island). Guests can also visit the Cathedral, Loc Tho Pagoda, ancient houses combined with cooking lessons and afternoon tea.
Further improving service quality
It can be seen that, whether traveling by existing trains or trains designed specifically for tourists, Nha Trang - Khanh Hoa is always a destination that tourists cannot miss. In other words, Khanh Hoa tourism has a lot of potential to attract tourists by train. Ms. Nguyen Thi Le Thanh - Director of the Department of Tourism shared: “Nha Trang - Khanh Hoa has many advantages to attract tourists by train. In the coming time, the provincial tourism industry will work with travel agencies to bring tourists by train to Nha Trang, especially high-quality tours. We will continue to coordinate with businesses to organize train tours to contribute to promoting Nha Trang - Khanh Hoa tourism, promoting Vietnam's railway tourism”.
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| The Sjourney is designed as luxurious as a 5-star hotel. |
In addition to developing high-end tours such as Sjourney, in the long term, to exploit tourism by train well, the Railway industry needs to further improve the quality of services such as building tourist train cars that are different from regular train cars in the direction of more spacious space on the cars; toilets on tourist trains must also be reinvested according to tourism standards; the quality of service for tourists, culinary services, entertainment, and culture on the train must be guaranteed throughout and long-term...
XUÂN THÀNH
