Over 2.6Mln Int'l Visitors Arrive in Vietnam in Jan-Nov

Over 2.6Mln Int'l Visitors Arrive in Vietnam in Jan-Nov

Vietnam welcomed 275,579 foreign visitors in November, raising the total number in the first eleven months of this year to 2,644,250, up 10.7 per cent and 23.9 per cent on-year, respectively, according to the government’s General Statistics Office (GSO).

Revenue from hospitality activities was reported at VND21.2 trillion (US$1.35 billion) in the January- November period of this year, up 8.2 per cent on-year, statistics showed.

In the eleven-month period, the number of arrivals from Spain had the highest growth of 99.1 per cent to 10,546, followed by those from South Korea, by 80 per cent to 200,701, Brunei, by 42.1 per cent to 487 and Russia by 40.6 per cent to 10,831, GSO said.

Meanwhile, China retained its position as Vietnam's largest tourism market with 715,163 arrivals to the country in the first eleven months, up 19.1 per cent on-year. The US, Japan and Taiwan followed with 247,221 tourists (up by 27.7 per cent), 244,005 (up by 29.8 per cent) and 233,115 (up by 26.6 per cent), respectively.

Among 32 listed markets, Laos was the only nation to post a drop of 56.1 per cent in arrivals to Vietnam, with all others showing an increase in figures. The situation was similar to that in the previous month.

The rise is attributed to the tourism sector's efforts to create favorable conditions for tourists coming to Vietnam. Visitors from Japan and South Korea have been exempted from tourist entry visas. Meanwhile Chinese tourists can now travel to all localities in Vietnam by using travel permits.

The sector also worked with other sectors to open more international air routes and will hold a wide range of cultural and tourist festivals in the future to attract more international visitors

The Vietnam - Japan Culture and Tourism Festival held in Ho Chi Minh City from November 19-21 attracted almost 10,000 foreign visitors including at least 3,500 visitors from Japan. This raised the monthly increase of the number of Japanese to the communist nation by 9.7 per cent to 28,149, an official from the Vietnam National Administration of Tourism (VNAT) revealed.

Other major tourism and culture festivals including the Danang Culture & Tourism Festival 2004, and the 5^th ASEM Tourism Promotion Campaign also make a great contribution to the rise of international holiday makers to Vietnam, VNAT said.

Under GSO's report, the number of foreign tourists was up by 33.2 per cent to 1,428,662 arrivals, business travelers were up 11.9 per cent to 471,851 while those visiting relatives was up by 22.1 per cent to 420,955 and those arriving for other purposes increased by 9.1 per cent to 322,782.

According to the VNAT, the country may receive up to three million international tourists this year, compared to its initial target of between 2.7 million and 2.8 million.

• T.V