Locals and tourists elated about DPRK-US Hanoi Summit

Rich Parknam, Thailand

Kim Jong Un lookalike attracts the curiosity of Hanoians

In the past three days, many local people and even foreign tourists have been showing great excitement when they see me, a man who looks like Chairman Kim Jong-un, and asked for pictures. I am very happy when receiving positive response as people think that my appearance in the streets of Hanoi is funny and interesting.

I had my hair cut, I practiced a lot so that I could “pretend” to be Chairman Kim and hope to bring joy to Vietnamese people. I can see that Vietnamese people are looking forward to the DPRK-US Summit, which is coming soon and the influence of it can be felt all over the city. I am heading back to Thailand tomorrow, but I am really excited about the results of the summit. This is quite a favourable opportunity for Vietnam to promote itself.

Marcos Wolf, Germany

Germany tourist Marcos also excited with the Chairman Kim lookalike

This is my first time in Hanoi and I was positively taken aback by how bustling the city is. There are flowers, banners, and flags welcoming the summit everywhere, which is not a popular gesture in Germany. I am not really interested in the summit, but it is a joyful experience seeing the whole of Hanoi preparing to host such a globally influential event, everything is so busy, bright, and colourful.

I have also seen a lot of souvenirs and T-shirts with President Trump and Chairman Kim printed on them, which is kind of funny and interesting. I did not buy one yet, but I think Vietnam is doing a great job in promoting friendship with other countries, especially with Korea and the US, and would definitely become a desirable destination in the eyes of foreign tourists.

James Scott, Australia

Australian tourist James Scott shows extreme joys when taking a picture

We have met Kim’s doppelganger on the street this morning, and it was really interesting and funny. We hear about the DPRK-US Summit on every corner, we have seen a lot of decorations on the streets to welcome the upcoming event. I think it is lucky that we are here to experience the unique atmosphere of the city during this special occasion.

We are also really excited about the outcome of the summit and are looking forward to finding out its conclusion. We saw so many T-shirts with Donald Trump and Kim Jong-Un’s pictures on them, we bought some for our children because they are very unique and cute. The T-shirts will always remind us of this historic event and the beautiful time we had in Hanoi. I think that this will be a good chance for Vietnam to advertise itself around the globe.

Eason Chan, Hong Kong

Eason Chan, a tourist from Hongkong

I have been here for a couple of days and everybody has been talking about the North Korea-US Summit. I see the banners everywhere, and the city is covered in decorations and flowers, which I think have been set up in preparation for this event. I think this is a nice, warm welcome from the host city.

I even saw a Kim Jong-Un impersonator on the street and took a picture with him, which was pretty funny. I heard they even designed T-shirts and even created a new cocktail inspired by Trump and Kim, I would love to try them sometimes. Overall, I am having a good time experiencing Hanoi and Vietnam, and it makes it all the more memorable that it is the time of the summit. Vietnam, for me, is a very beautiful country, and is safe and friendly for everyone.

William Tremblay, Canada

Canadian tourirst Willliam Tremblay, who has twice been to Hanoi

This is my second time visiting Hanoi, and the city is in heat with the summit coming. I see that everyone is busy and excited to welcome the two presidents. There are banners, flags, and decoration everywhere, there are also a lot of screens showing images of Vietnam and of the summit. I love the atmosphere now, very bustling and vibrant, and the people are always nice. I visited some stalls and they were selling T-shirts with pictures of Trump and Kim, with slogans regarding peace, which is quite interesting. Vietnam definitely deserves hosting this supreme event, since it is a beautiful and peaceful country, and people always welcome foreigners.

Nguyen Quoc Ky, Vietnam

Nguyen Quoc Ky, general director of Vietravel

After successfully organising many important international events, Vietnam has affirmed its position and become a safe and friendly destination capable of organising international events. Accordingly, Vietnam expects to become an attractive destination for meeting, incentive, conference, and event (MICE) tourism, competing with other countries in the region.

The first DPRK-US summit helped the island nation of Singapore lure in a large number of international visitors in 2018. Compared to Singapore, Vietnam has advantages in tourism resources, such as scenic spots, culture, and cuisine. Thus, Vietnam can be confident that the number of international visitors coming to Vietnam in 2019 will skyrocket.

Vietnam can consider the way Singapore organised the first summit as an example by strongly promoting itself as a destination before, during, and after the event. In addition, Vietnam should also carefully prepare multimedia communications, focusing on the keyword "Vietnam, US-DPRK summit" and continue to bring images of Vietnam associated with this summit to the upcoming major international tourism fairs to achieve the greatest coverage. At the same time, the accompanying services such as transportation, accommodation, and sightseeing also need to be well-prepared and offer attractive promotions to attract visitors right after the conference.

Pham Ha, Vietnam

Pham Ha, CEO of Luxury Travel

As a luxury tour company, we welcome the summit and it is a good way to promote our country, especially to US visitors. Vietnamese airlines can fly directly to the US and we receive more bookings from the US. This summit is definitely good for the Vietnamese tourism industry.

We encounter some difficulties to get rooms in Hanoi at the end of February, especially at luxury hotels. We expect more MICE and leisure visits to Vietnam after the successful meeting between the two leaders in our capital. North America in general and the US in particular are a large market for Vietnamese tourism to focus on exploiting. The two countries have a rich history, and many generations of Americans heard about the country, the people, the culture, the history, and the cuisine of Vietnam. Therefore, so many Americans and their families, especially veterans want to visit Vietnam.

This is the huge market that Vietnamese tourism needs to focus on in the near future, especially when there will soon be non-stop flights to the US, and the government greenlit visa exemption to US citizens.

Our company recently held roadshows across the big cities of the US. We saw the demand and the number of our luxury guests has increased by double-digits in recent years. In addition, many visitors return to visit the new tourist spots, relax on yachts, and enjoy beach vacations. Therefore, Lux Group will set up a representative office in California, US for travel and yacht tours right in the second quarter of 2019.