US Visitors to Vietnam up 31.8 per cent in First Two Months

Vietnam expected to welcome 83,300 US arrivals in the first two months of this year, an increase of 31.8 per cent over the same period last year, according to statistics from the General Statistics Office (GSO).

 

The rise was attributed to the flock of US citizens coming to the communist country for holiday and business, an official from the National Administration of Tourism (VNAT) said, noting that better diplomatic relations between the two nations has resulted in the increase.

 

Among 31 listed markets, US posted the third position behind China and South Korea for having the most tourists visiting Vietnam in January-February, the official said. Ho Chi Minh City ranked top among cities and provinces welcoming the highest number of US vacationers during the period, added the official.

 

However, other indexes from the GSO showed that in February, this year the number of US visitors to Vietnam is down 12.5 per cent against that of January. The main reason was allegedly due to the fact that many tourism events are in the concluding stage, and the holiday period has come into an end.

 

In 2005, Vietnam received roughly 333,600 US arrivals, up 22.4 per cent in comparison with the year 2004. The country targets to welcome more US arrivals this year.