HCM City Tourism Revenues Up 10% On Year to US$1.8B in 2009
Ho Chi Minh City’s Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism estimates the industry had revenues of VND34 trillion (US$1.8 billion) in 2009, up 10% from a year earlier.
The sum accounted for 47.36% of the country’s total figure last year.
The city welcomed 2.52 million foreign tourists and eight million domestic visitors last year, much lower than the earlier set target of 3.1 million, the department said.
The year 2009 was the first year the city’s tourism industry has seen a decline in international arrivals since the Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) outbreak in 2003, it added.
The department organized a ceremony to receive the first 360 foreign tourists in 2010 at Tan Son Nhat international airport on January 1 with aims to welcome 2.8 million foreign travelers this year.
Currently, the number of international tourists to the city accounts for 55% of Vietnam’s total number. (Vietnam & World Economy)
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