A key for Vietnam to attract more foreign tourists at this time is to change its visa policy, said Chris Farewell, a member of the Tourism Advisory Board (TAB).
Around 18,000 Vietnamese tourists chose outbound tours through travel agencies in Ho Chi Minh City during the Lunar New Year (Tet) holiday this year, spending a total of VND430 billion (US$18.3 million), according to a report from the city's Department of Tourism.
The tourism sector of the northern port city of Hai Phong will focus on developing sports and yacht tourism towards attracting more holiday-makers with high spending power, according to the municipal Department of Tourism.
2023 is a promising year for the tourism sector in terms of both tourist arrivals and revenue, according to Chairman of the Vietnam National Administration of Tourism (VNAT) Nguyen Trung Khanh.
VOV.VN - The number of foreign tourists visiting Vietnam during the Lunar New Year (Tet) has increased remarkably, with bookings from foreign citizens making up between 30% and 40% of the country’s total room occupancy rate, according to the Vietnam National Administration of Tourism (VNAT).
The number of cruise tourists accounts for only 2-3% of the total number of international visitors to Vietnam.
VOV.VN - Italy’s Silver Spirit cruise ship docked at Tien Sa port on January 23, bringing 648 foreign visitors to Da Nang city, a tourist attraction in central Vietnam.
VOV.VN - VietJet Air flight VJ5317 brought more than 200 Chinese citizens to Khanh Hoa province, a tourist destination in central Vietnam, on January 23 the second day of the lunar New Year Festival.
The northern province of Quang Ninh held a ceremony on January 22, the first day of the Year of the Cat, to welcome the lunar new year's first group of foreign tourists to Ha Long Bay – a world natural heritage site recognised by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO).
VOV.VN - Vietnamese people took to the streets nationwide watching colourful fireworks light up the sky and ringing in the lunar New Year of the Cat.