International Focus Magazine Vol. 4, #4 | Page 23

pride of the people of the Capital, promoted the thousand-year-old city to continue to preserve its own pre- cious traditions and cultural identi- ties and have the steady stages of de- velopment. Achievements in strengthening friendship and cooperation in all fields of economy, trade, culture, tourism, services, investment... in recent years have contributed to en- hancing the position and prestige of Hanoi in particular and Vietnam in general in the international arena. The city has now become the center for connection of global values, has built the friendly partnerships with more than 100 capitals and cities around the world, and has become actively and responsibly involved in many important international fo- rums… In 2018, Hanoi was voted to rank 12/25 of the world’s best destinations in 2018; as one of the two “hottest” cities in Vietnam in 2018 in terms of the number of room reserva- tions, nominated by the World Travel Awards as one of 17 candidates for “World’s Leading City Destination 2018” award. At the end of 2018, the total num- ber of tourist to Hanoi was estimat- ed at 26.04 million (increasing by 9.3% compared to that in 2017), of which international tourists was es- timated at 5.74 million (increasing by 16%). Thanks to its stable political and security situation, and increas- ingly transparent and smooth busi- ness investment environment, Hanoi becomes an attractive destination for investors around the world. In particular, in 2018, the foreign direct investment (FDI) in Hanoi reached over USD 7.5 billion, as the leading one in the whole country after more than 30 years of opening and integrating. Bridge of Friendship and Peace Hanoi’s title of “City for Peace” - a destination of friendship has been again affirmed when Hanoi was se- lected as the venue for the second US-North Korea Summit. In addi- tion to its role as the Capital - the national political and administrative nerve-centre and the major center of culture, science, education, econom- ics and international transactions of the whole country, where most of the foreign affairs of the State take place, Hanoi fully met the require- ments for facilities and security to organize such important submit. The fact that Hanoi was selected as the venue for this important politi- cal - diplomatic event proves Hanoi’s ability to meet the high-level ser- vice and national standards, thereby, iF Magazine | www.iFMagazine.net 23