Of the total visitors, there were 4,451 foreigners who came for official and diplomatic purposes.
The most favourite destination during the holiday included Vietnam National Village for Ethnic Culture and Tourism (over 7,300 visitors), Hanoi Zoo (5,000 visitors), Duong Lam ancient village (3,200 visitors), and Hoa Lo prison (1,700 visitors).
Particularly, the Heineken Countdown Party held on December 31 night in front of the Hanoi Opera House drew swarms of locals and visitors who came to enjoy outdoor concerts and pinnacle firework displays to welcome the New Year.
The tourism department, in collaboration with competent agencies, organised an event to welcome the first visitors to the capital city on January 1.
In a bid to promote local tourism, many lodging facilities slashed down their service prices by 25-50 percent with many attractive packages and menus. Furthermore, music programmes were organised by four-star and five-star hotels to entertain the customers.
