11:39:36 AM | 22/12/2006
The capital city of Hanoi earned an estimated VND13.95 trillion (US$872 million) from tourism as of mid-December, posting a strong increase of 26.8 per cent over 2005, according to the municipal Tourism Department.
The revenue included VND5.87 trillion (US$366.8 million) from hotels and restaurants.
Despite the increase in tourism revenue, the city is not expected to fulfill the whole year’s target of welcoming 1.2 million international arrivals in 2006.
The under-target figure was mainly blamed for the 21 per cent-on-year fall in the number of tourists from China during the period, as China did not allow citizens using travel passes to enter Vietnam through border gates, though the figure of tourists from Northeast Asia, Europe, Northern American and Australia to the city increased sharply, especially during the APEC Economic Leaders' Meeting week.
From the beginning of the year, Hanoi greeted 5.9 million tourists, an 11 per cent increase over 2005 including 1.1 million foreigners.
Visitors from South Korea made up 14 per cent, the largest group among foreign tourists to the city, followed by China, Japan, France, Australia and the US.
Currently, Hanoi boasts 34 hotels ranked 3-5 stars, which meet only 70 per cent of international tourist demand during this "hot" tourism season.
Vietnam & World Economy
Vietnamese
