Double-decker city tour gains tourists’ favour

After half a month of operation, Ha Noi’s first “Hop on – Hop off” buses have seen a growing number of passengers.
The roofless 80-seat double-decker buses have 13 stops going through over 30 famous attractions, allowing travelers to explore and experience the city in their own way.
The operation time of the service is from 9:00 to 18:10. One bus will depart in every 30 minutes. Ticket price is 300,000 VND (13.2 USD) for a four-hour tour, 450,000 VND (19.8 USD) for 24 hours and 650,000 VND (28.6 USD) for 48 hours.
Between 65 and 70 percent of the tickets sold so far were purchased by foreigners and the 4-hour ticket was sold most, accounting for more than 70 percent of the total sales.
Phuong Minh, a passenger from Hoang Mai District, Ha Noi, said she received warm welcome from the driver and the tour guide while getting on the bus.
“The vehicle is equipped with modern facilities. Passengers received free water and hats whenever needed. The travel was safe and we could see Ha Noi from above”, Minh described her trip.
“It’s interesting experience”, Minh said.
Sekino, a visitor from Japan said: “We often take a bus to a tourist destination, and have never toured Ha Noi like this before. It is interesting to look at the Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum from a higher view.”
He noted ticket prices might be slightly high, assuming that it led to the low number of passengers the day he travelled. He suggested installing more fans on the bus to cool off the heat.
During their four days in Ha Noi, Bruce Ch Shilan and his wife from New Zealand spent one fourth of their time on the “Hop on – Hop off” city tour.
Shilan said the tour is very convenient as the bus took them to sightseeing locations that they wanted to visit.
Tsutomu Kikkawa, head of Japanese-based Michinori Holdings, Inc., said the tour left a special impression on him as all of its stops are local popular cultural, historical and scenic attractions.
A number of tourists asked the bus operator to improve the services on par with the prices.
Minh Hang, a resident of Hai Ba Trung District, said shortcomings, like illustrations and introduction on the bus not matching the destination outside, should be addressed to improve the tour quality.
According to the municipal Tourism Department, Ha Noi served nearly 24 million visitors in 2017, up 9 percent against 2016.
It estimated that in the first half of 2018, the number of tourist to the city grew 26 percent annually.
As a regional and global attractive destination, Ha Noi eyes to welcome 25.4 million tourists, including 5.5 million foreigners, this year.