The tourism sector in the central province of Quang Tri is recovering from mass fish deaths last year, with 3,000 arrivals recorded during the seven-day lunar New Year holiday.
Historical and revolutionary sites, such as the Quang Tri ancient citadel and Vinh Moc tunnel, remained the most popular tourist destinations.
On February 6, the local port welcomed a cruise liner with 52 foreign visitors on board, the first of its kind in Quang Tri.
According to Nguyen Huy Hung, deputy head of the provincial Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism, the February 6 event was a result of tourism cooperation among central provinces.
He said the encouraging start to 2017 was thanks to coordination among relevant agencies.
Hung said that Quang Tri will prioritise communications activities to promote local tourist destinations, adding that it will expand connected tours with neighbouring provincies, particularly Thua Thien - Hue and Quang Binh.
With spiritual tours still at the centre of development, the sector will boost its eco and adventure tourism products, he said.
The mass fish deaths last year paralysed tourism in the central region.
Quang Tri alone received 1.14 million visitors in 2016, an annual reduction of 30.9 percent. Of the total, 995,000 were domestic arrivals, while the rest were foreigners. The figures represented respective decreases of 31.5 and 26.3 percent year on year.