Int'l Arrivals to HCM City Surges 38.5 per cent in First Half

Int'l Arrivals to HCM City Surges 38.5 per cent in First Half

Ho Chi Minh City is estimated to welcome a total of 997,726 international tourists in the first half of 2005, an increase of 38.5 per cent over the same period last year, according to the municipal Department of Tourism.

The sharp increase is mainly attributed to the strong influx of foreigners who are flocking to the communist nation’s old battlefields and marching to the former southern metropolis of Saigon, now Ho Chi Minh City, to mark the 30^th anniversary of the southern liberation and the national reunification.

During the six-month period, the US will for the first time rank as the city’s number one tourism market, while Canada, Australia and England are among the top list of 10 countries having the greatest number of tourist arrivals in Vietnam.

Meanwhile, as many as 202,750 Vietnamese people traveled abroad in the first six months of the year. Most chose Taiwan, America, Thailand, China, Malaysia as their destinations.

In a related development, nine companies in Ho Chi Minh City have joined together as a travel group to strengthen cooperation in order to provide better services for both local and foreign tourists. The group officially came out under the name Travel Star on June 17 and includes Mai Linh, Fimax, Nam A, Dat Moi, Sao Viet, and Aviation Service Co.

Accordingly, member companies will join hands to arrange domestic and outbound tours for Vietnamese travelers, as well as give mutual support to foreign arrivals in tour content, tour guides, and transport services.

The city targets to serve around 1.8 million international tourists and some three million domestic vacationers this year, up 15 per cent and 20 per cent on-year.

It currently has over 9,500 standardized hotel rooms including 4,000 five-star rooms and 5,500 low-end rooms.

• Liberated Saigon