Foreign arrivals to Vietnam top 6.7 mln in five months
Foreign arrivals to Vietnam surpassed 6.7 million in the five months this year, up 27.6% annually, according to the General Statistics Office on May 29.
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In May alone, the figure topped 1.16 million, down 13.5% month-on-month.
The number of Asian tourists hit over 5 million in five months, up 33.3% while those from China was up 37%, the Republic of Korea (62.1%), Japan (6.6%), Malaysia (12.5%), Thailand (9.1%), Singapore (5.4%).
Meanwhile, the number of European visitors rose by 11.8% year-on-year, including those from Russia (up 9.2%), France (13.1%), the UK (9.6%), Germany (8.5%), Italy (18.3%). Visitors from America and Oceania were up 13.8% and 12.1%, respectively.
Major tourist localities saw a surge in tourist arrivals. The central city of Da Nang welcomed over 3.2 million visitors, up 30.4% year-on-year, including more than 1.35 million foreigners, or a rise of 51.3%.
The central province of Khanh Hoa served more than 2.44 million holidaymakers in the period, marking a 20.75% rise, over 1.17 million of them were foreigners, surging nearly 50%.
In May, the Vietnam National Administration of Tourism and the Japanese embassy in Vietnam held a seminar to boost exchange of tourists between the two countries.
Last year, around 800,000 Japanese people arrived in Vietnam while 300,000 Vietnamese landed in Japan. At present, almost all Vietnam’s lodging facilities and flight services could serve Japanese visitors, even during the peak season.
However, Vietnam still lacks tour guides proficient in Japanese language, especially in the central region. Moreover, Japanese tourists often stay in Vietnam for short time so that Vietnam’s tourism sector needs to offer new products to satisfy their demand.
The Vietnam Society of Travel Agents proposed Japan loosen visa policy, especially for groups of tourists from major travel agencies.
