Vietnam will be one of the top-ten global tourist destinations in the next century, according to a forecast from the World Travel & Tourism Council (WTTC).
“Vietnam is one of the best performing economies in the Asian region. It [Vietnam] welcomed more than 4.2 million international tourists in 2007, representing an on-year increase of 18 per cent,” it says, attributing the rise to the improvement of tourism services.
Notably, tourism is listed among the five strongest hard currency earners in the country after crude oil, garments and textiles, footwear and seafood and has a total export turnover of more than US$3 billion/year.
Vietnam, which is home to many natural and cultural world heritage sites recognized by UNESCO, beside beautiful landscapes and resorts, is emerging as a safe and friendly destination for holidaymakers.
This will also drive economic growth in the country. Aviation, transportation, hospitality, and other industries closely associated with the tourism industry will benefit from this surge in tourism, a report by U.S. industry research firm, RNCOS, has said, putting the country’s annual tourism growth at 14 per cent for the next five years.
Vietnam has, in recent years, welcomed long-haul visitors from countries like the U.S., China, Australia, and France, regional travelers from neighboring countries, and high-spending visitors from Northeast Asia.
The Vietnamese government has launched series of tourism promotion plans and especially recently given permission to the national tourism agency, VNAT, to air US$400,000-worth advertisements on U.S. television channel CNN. This showed effort and determination of the country in tourism promotion abroad, hoping to fulfill the target of welcoming five million foreign tourists in 2008. (Life & Law)
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