International tourist arrivals to exceed annual target

                                                                   Photo: Duc Anh

Number of international visitors in first ten months just 500,000 short of annual target of 8.5 million.

International tourist arrivals in the first ten months stood at 8.077 million, a 25.4 per cent increase year-on-year and within reach of the annual target of 8.5 million, according to the General Statistics Office.

If growth levels are maintained the number will approach 9.6 million, 11.3 per cent higher than the target set by the Vietnam National Administration of Tourism (VNAT).

In the first ten months, 6.777 million tourists arrived by air, up 31.1 per cent year-on-year, 121,549 by sea, down 14.9 per cent, and 1,178,764 by land, up 4.6 per cent.

Most markets maintained stable growth compared to the same period last year, including Hong Kong, by 72.5 per cent, China 55.2 per cent, South Korea 40.1 per cent, New Zealand 35 per cent, Thailand 30.8 per cent, Italy 30.3 per cent, Spain 27.3 per cent, Russia 27.1 per cent, the Netherlands 24.2 per cent, Sweden 22.3 per cent, the UK 21.7 per cent, Germany 18.5 per cent, Laos 18 per cent, Taiwan 15.9 per cent, Malaysia 15.6 per cent, the US 14.2 per cent, France 13.3 per cent, and Japan 10.8 per cent.

Domestic tourists totaled 53.3 million in the first ten months and the annual target of 60 million seems certain to be exceeded.

Total revenue from tourism was VND331.5 trillion ($14.8 billion), an increase of 19.1 per cent year-on-year.

In October, international tourist arrivals were 812,017, a fall of 0.1 per cent against September but 23.2 per cent higher year-on-year.

International tourist arrivals to Vietnam in the first nine months totaled 7.265 million, an increase of 25.7 per cent year-on-year. Of the total, 6,108,948 people arrived by air, up 29.7 per cent, 111,231 by sea, down 13.7 per cent, and 1,045,201 by land, up 10.8 per cent. 

Domestic tourist arrivals stood at 48.8 million in the first nine months. Total tourism revenue was estimated at VND291.161 trillion ($13.05 billion), a 20.2 per cent increase year-on-year. In September, international tourist arrivals were estimated at 813,007, down 9.6 per cent against August but up 28 per cent year-on-year. Of these, 670,015 arrived by air, accounting for 82.4 per cent, by sea 12,382, or 1.5 per cent, and by land 130,610, or 16.1 per cent.

In an effort to improve tourism quality, VNAT is conducting a campaign to tighten the management of tourism accommodation of three- to five-star standard. There are currently about 20,100 tourism accommodations in the country with some 400,000 rooms. In the 2010-2015 period, the total number of three- to five-star hotels has doubled the number in the previous five-year period.

VNAT will inspect the quality of three- to five-star hotels to ensure they maintain the standards under their license.

It has also cooperated with local departments of Culture, Sports and Tourism to provide training in skills and service attitude for staff at accommodations. More promotional campaigns will be conducted and good quality tourism accommodation introduced to tourists.

by Nhi Linh / VET