During the traditional Lunar New Year (Tet) festival from February 9-18, the capital city received 2.08 million tourists, including 60,000 foreigners, representing a year-on-year increase of 11 percent. 

Despite the global economic recession last year, Hanoi welcomed 2.1 million foreign visitors, an increase of 11.3 percent from 2011, and one-third of all foreign visitors to Vietnam – a new record for the city. 

The city also attracted 12.3 million domestic tourists. 

Also in 2012, Hanoi was rated the best destination in Vietnam for city life by Lonely Planet Traveller, the world’s leading tourist magazine. 

Hanoi, together with Hoi An, made the 2012 top 10 attractive destinations in Asia, as chosen by Smart Travel Asia, a Hong Kong online tourist magazine. 

The capital city of Vietnam came second in a list of 100 international cities with good hotel services, which was compiled by the well-known tourism website Trivago.