Taking it in: A foreign tourist visits the Hoan Kiem Lake in Ha Noi. Good services, reasonable prices and delicious food have made the city an attractive destination. — VNS Photo Thai Ha

HA NOI (VNS) — A recent workshop was held in Ha Noi where experts gathered to find ways to enhance the attractiveness of the capital's tourism products.

The workshop was part of the third Viet Nam International Travel Mart which wrapped up on Monday.

According to Vice Director of the Institute for Tourism Department Research, Do Thanh Hoa, Ha Noi had become an attractive destination for tourists.

The city was ranked fourth out of the top 25 tourism destinations in the world in 2015 by travel website TripAdvisor, based on evaluations of service quality, hotels, beautiful landscapes and food, she said.

The city was also ranked eighth among the top 10 tourism destinations in Asia in 2014 by Smart Travel Asia.

Local residents need to look after the environment and be friendly to tourists, Hoa added.

Ha Noi has a large number of places of cultural and historical interest, and intangible heritages recognised by UNSECO, especially traditional festivals.

According to Truong Quoc Binh, a senior expert at the Viet Nam Institute for Culture and Arts Studies and a member of the National Council for Cultural Heritage, one of the top priorities for the city was to restore and renovate its relics.

Nguyen Thanh Binh, deputy director of the Hotel Department under the Viet Nam National Administration of Tourism, highlighted the importance of state management to improve the quality of services.

One solution he proposed at the workshop was to set up a tourism help desk, and to deal with feedback on service quality p rovided by foreign and domestic visitors.

Conducting surveys on tourism service quality and satisfaction was also important.

Nguyen Cong Truong, vice director of the Thang Long-Ha Noi Heritage Conservation Centre, said that over the years, the number of visitors to the Imperial Citadel had remained modest.

The centre has been trying to attract more visitors with events such as the Spring Festival, flower exhibitions and displays of artefacts and antiques, but these efforts have failed to drive numbers.

Many experts at the workshop agreed that improving human resources was vital for tourism development in Ha Noi. People working in the tourism sector should be trained professionally, while community tourism should be promoted. — VNS