A beach on Cat Ba Island in Hai Phong City. Photo by VnExpress/Khanh Tran

A year-end trend report shows Cat Ba, an island town in the northern port city of Hai Phong, was the most searched for destination by Vietnamese Googlers in 2020. 

The search engine report released Wednesday revealed the list of 10 most searched Vietnamese destinations this year, with Cat Ba, an archipelago that includes 367 islands spanning 260 square kilometers, of which Cat Ba Island is the largest, dominating the list.

The Central Highlands town of Da Lat, much loved for its year-round cool climate, green pine forests and architectural gems dating back to the French colonial time, came in second, followed by the northern highlands town of Sa Pa. The central city of Da Nang, home to many of Asia’s most beautiful beaches, ranked fourth.

Nha Trang in Khanh Hoa Province fell from second position last year to eighth this year. The town is home to long sandy beaches and little-known islands dotted along the central coast.

Besides popular tourist destinations, this year Vietnamese internet users also showed great interest in rising and lesser-known destinations. This could be explained by the fact that more tourists have opted for less crowded places to avoid the spread of the novel coronavirus.

Thoi Son Island in the Mekong Delta province of Ben Tre in the lower section of Tien River ranked fifth. It has become an emerging tourist destination in recent years, ideal for a quick bite, with cozy little restaurants decorated with bonsai plants and local houses surrounded by fruit trees.

Ta Dung, situated in the eponymous national park of Dak P’lao and Dak Som communes in Dak G’long District of Dak Nong Province in the Central Highlands, came in sixth, followed by the northern highlands town Moc Chau in Son La Province.

Ta Dung Lake is part of UNESCO-recognized Dak Nong Geopark
in the Central Highlands. Photo by Pham Huy Trung.

Sam Son, a beach town in the central province of Thanh Hoa, ranked ninth while Co To, an island district in northern Quang Ninh Province rounded out the top 10.

Vietnam could lose $23 billion in tourism revenue this year due to the Covid-19 pandemic, or about 75 percent of last year’s industry revenue, Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism Nguyen Ngoc Thien said in early November.

Insiders said thanks to very efficient Covid-19 control, the country's domestic tourism has seen a rapid recovery.

Thanks to mass testing and aggressive tracing, Vietnam had contained its second outbreak and passed 89 days without community transmissions until a Vietnam Airlines flight attendant violated quarantine regulations to become the source of the latest Covid-19 outbreak in Ho Chi Minh City.

So far, the country has gone nine clean days without new community transmissions. It has recorded 1,381 patients, including 35 deaths.