Hanoi (VNA) – A delegation of40 travel businesses from Europe is paying a visit to the capital city of Hanoiand the northern province of Ninh Binh and Quang Ninh to study tourismpotential.

The programme is designed to create chancesfor Vietnam’s travel companies and their European counterparts to meet and discusstourism products, thereby bolstering tourism cooperation and promotions.

Running from November 9 to 14, it has beenjointly organised by the Hanoi Department of Tourism and the Vietnam AirlinesCorporation.

Since June, the department and corporation havearranged similar programmes for delegations from Japan and Australia.

Statistics from the municipal Department ofTourism showed that more than 4.7 million foreign tourists visited Hanoi in thefirst nine months of 2019, a year-on-year increase of 10.1 percent.

The capital city hosted a total 21.5million visitors in the period, up 9.5 percent against the same period lastyear and equivalent to 74.46 percent of the annual target. They included morethan 16.8 million domestic holidaymakers, up 9.3 percent year-on-year.

Local tourism revenue reached 74.7 trillionVND (3.2 billion USD) in the nine months, up 30.9 percent and nearing 72percent of the yearly plan.

Notable tourist attractions in Ninh Binhinclude Trang An Landscape Complex, Bai Dinh pagoda, Tam Coc-Bich Dong, ThungNham bird sanctuary and Van Long lagoon.

Meanwhile, Quang Ninh province is home to theworld natural heritage site Ha Long Bay./.