5:26:25 PM | 18/9/2007
Travel agents from Hanoi and Saint Petersburg gathered in a seminar September 15 to find ways to increase the number of Russian visitors to the capital city of Vietnam in months to come, state media said.
Nine Russian and 14 Hanoian travel agents attending the seminar agreed to increase their cooperative ties and the exchange of visitors.
They also stressed the need for a direct air route between Hanoi and Saint Petersburg in the upcoming time.
The event took place as Russia is emerging as a potential market for the tourism sector in Vietnam in general and in Hanoi in particular.
Vietnam welcomed more than 30,000 Russian tourist arrivals in the first eight months of this year, up 60 per cent on year, which put Russia in the second position among top visitor markets of Vietnam with the strongest year-on-year growth during the reviewed period.
According to tourism experts, Russian tourists spent more money on luxury services in Vietnam than other foreign visitors. Their spending money is about 40 per cent higher than the overall average of US$800 per person during their stay in the country.
Russia now ranks 15th among Vietnam's tourism markets with travel companies such as Saigontourist and Ben Thanh Tourist receiving the largest numbers of Russian visitors. (Economy & Urban Area, GSO Edition August)
Vietnamese
