Vietnam's resort towns cash in over long holiday weekend

Crowds of tourists descended on Vietnam's major resort towns over the four-day public holiday last weekend, bringing with them millions of dollars in tourism revenues.

Hanoi welcomed 317,699 visitors, 20 percent of whom were foreigners, during the long holiday, which started on the last weekend of April to mark Reunification Day and Labor Day. The city reported VND904 billion ($39.7 million) in tourism revenue, an increase of 8 percent from last year. Top tourist attractions included the Temple of Literature, Vietnam's first university which dates back almost 1,000 years, the cool forests and national park up in Ba Vi, Ngoc Son Temple in the heart of the iconic Hoan Kiem Lake, and the vast Buddhist temple complex at the Perfume Pagoda.

The northern town of Sa Pa welcomed 70,000 visitors over the holiday, 40,000 of whom took the cable car to the top of Mount Fansipan. Combined with other famous spots such as Cat Cat and Ham Rong, the mountain retreat raked in over VND100 billion from tourist services during the holiday.

Quang Ninh Province also received a tremendous boost from the holiday thanks to the 530,000 visitors who arrived, an increase of 26 percent compared to last year. Ha Long Bay alone welcomed 81,000 visitors, of whom 28,000 were foreigners.

In central Vietnam, Sam Son Beach was again the most popular spot in Thanh Hoa Province, despite the cold weather. Local officials said the province attracted 445,000 visitors and made VND315 billion ($13.8 million) in revenue from the holiday.

Around 600 kilometers (370 miles) to the south, Da Nang drew 343,000 visitors, an increase of 10 percent compared to last year. Vung Tau beach town neighboring Saigon welcomed 390,000 visitors, a significant gain of 57 percent compared to the same period last year.

The Reunification holiday weekend was Vietnam's second longest official break this year, after the one-week Lunar New Year holiday in February.