The sun warmed Southeastern Asian nation of Vietnam will be able to host 50,000 Russian tourists a year in the upcoming time, Vladimir Strzhalkovsky, Head of the Russian Federal Agency for Tourism believes.
“The target is within Vietnam’s reach as Russian tourists are gradually returning to Vietnamese resorts," Strzhalkovsky stressed, adding that this process is not quick, but progress is visible.
“It would become more feasible when a plan of action for 2007-2010 was signed after talks between the presidents of Vietnam and Russia,” the Russian official believed.
In recent times, the number of Russians to Vietnam has steadily increased. Especially, more than 23,000 Russians traveled to Vietnam last year, a year-on-year increase of 94 per cent, according to the Vietnam National Administration for Tourism. Most visitors selected Nha Trang, Phan Thiet and Phu Quoc Island for their tours.
Russians used to think about Phuket in Thailand or Bali in Indonesia when traveling to Asia in the past. However, after a natural disasters and bombings at these sites, many Russian have turned to Vietnam for economical tropical travel instead, he added.
The emerging trend is evidenced by figures from the southern Ho Chi Minh City tourism department, showing a 60 per cent growth rate in Russian travel groups in the first six months of 2006.
The head of the agency noted, however, that certain difficulties impede growth in the flow of Russian tourists. First of all is the slow issue of visas, he said.
"We are also concerned about security matters. Besides, the number of Russian interpreters and translators is not enough and the level of service, unfortunately, still leaves much to be desired," Strzhalkovsky emphasized.
Focusing on service, he regretted the fact that all restaurants in Vietnam close at 11 pm, which is "unacceptable" for Russian tourists.
Local concerned agencies should map out measures to deal with the situation to bring a higher number of Russians to the country in years to come, said Strzhalkovsky.
In the first ten months of this year, around 23,000 Russians visited Vietnam, up 16.7 per cent on-year.
Vietnamese
