Intl Tourist Arrivals to Vietnam Soar 8.6 per cent on Year in Jan-July

Vietnam, the sun warm Southeastern Asian nation welcomes more than 2.7 million international tourist arrivals in the first seven months of 2008, representing an on-year increase of 8.6 per cent.

 

The markets with largest number of tourists to the city in the period come from China, Thailand, Singapore, Hong Kong, Laos, and Taiwan, according to the Ministry of Planning and Investment.

 

In July, the communist country greets around 380,000 foreign visitors, up 10.7 per cent. The strong increase in the month is attributed to the higher flow of travelers from Europe, including Sweden (46 per cent), Norway (16 per cent), Germany (15 per cent) and the UK (10 per cent).

 

Vietnam notably welcomed 2.5 million foreign tourists and earned VND37 trillion (US$2.3 billion) in revenues in the first half of this year.

 

The country is looking to 4.4 million foreign visitors and 20 million domestic tourists with total revenue of VND56 trillion, or US$3.5 billion this year.

The tourism sector now contributes 8 per cent to Vietnam’s national GDP.