International arrivals to Vietnam rise 16.6 per cent to 2.1 million in the first five months of the year, the Thoi Bao Kinh Te newspaper reported on May 30.
Of the figure, 1.5 million are by-air visitors, up 7.6 per cent compared to the same period last year.
Among markets, Chinese visitors continue to take the lead with 352,000 arrivals, rising by nearly 54 per cent, followed by 114,000 Filipinos, up by 42 per cent. Thailand ranks third with 87,600 visitors, up by 32 per cent.
Swiss, Finnish and Hong Kong travelers come in small groups but were big spenders during their travels throughout the country, the newspaper said.
Vietnam also witnesses 389,4000 visitors to the country for business in the five-month span, up 52.6 per cent on-year and 271,400 flocking to the country for visiting relatives, up 2.3 per cent over 2007.
World-heritage site Ha Long Bay remains the most popular destination for international tourists and cited visits by cruises bringing more than 4,000 foreign holidaymakers on April 29 alone, the newspaper said.
Currently, hotels in Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City and central Nha Trang city have 80 per cent of their rooms occupied.
Vietnam hopes to attract five million foreign tourists and serve 21 million domestic holiday makers to yield VND64 trillion (US$4 billion) in 2008. (Vietnam Economic Times)
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