Vietnam’s new Van Don Airport welcomes first scheduled flights
Vietnam’s latest international airport has opened for business, receiving its first scheduled flights.
Newly opened Van Don Airport is the new gateway to Ha Long Bay and cuts down travel time to the UNESCO rated heritage site from four hours via Hanoi to under an hour.
Budget carrier Vietjet recently began four times a week service from Ho Chi Minh City.
Vietjet plans to increase this to daily flights from February 20.
Vietnam Airlines also serves the airport from HCMC with a daily flight, while new airline startup Bamboo Airways plans to open a HCMC – Van Don route soon.
Van Don is the first privately built airport in Vietnam
Tourism officials from Quang Ninh Province are confident the airport will boost tourism numbers further thanks to the reduced travel time.
The improved links and increased tourism potential was heavily promoted to the travel trade and media at last week’s ASEAN Tourism Forum, held in Ha Long City.
They are banking on the airport to lure travellers to the province’s other lesser known attractions too.
Quang Ninh welcomed 10.7 million visitors in the first 10 months of 2018, which is a healthy increase of 25% year-on-year.
Tourism revenues rose 28% to US$818 million, according to official data.
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Editor for TravelMole North America and Asia pacific regions. Ray is a highly experienced (15+ years) skilled journalist and editor predominantly in travel, hospitality and lifestyle working with a huge number of major market-leading brands. He has also cover in-depth news, interviews and features in general business, finance, tech and geopolitical issues for a select few major news outlets and publishers.
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