Viet Nam tourism up by 35%

Viet Nam welcomed close to 1.8 million foreign arrivals in the first four months of the year, representing more than a 35-per-cent year-on-year increase, according to statistics from the Viet Nam National Administration of Tourism.

The latest figures from the World Tourism Organisation revealed that only a small number of nations had tourism growth rates reaching the double digits.

Viet Nam ranked fourth on the list after Sri Lanka, Saudi Arabia and Israel.

Online newspaper Malaysian Star recently quoted the Malaysian Minister of Tourism as saying that Viet Nam and Cambodia were emerging as strong competitors among Asian countries.

The General Statistics Office reported that the largest number of visitors to Viet Nam continued to be from Cambodia, mainland China, the Republic of Korea, Taiwan and Australia, with respective increases of 130 per cent, 106 per cent, 32 per cent, 25 per cent and 22 per cent.

In an attempt to attract international tourists, especially to the Thang Long-Ha Noi millennium celebrations, the VNAT has actively joined in international tourism fairs and Vietnamese festivals abroad.

It has also launched tourist promotion campaigns on worldwide TV channels and invited foreign delegations to visit the country to conduct market surveys.

The recently launched promotion programme has targeted high-end tourism for people who are likely to stay for a long period of time.

The hospitality industry is, however, facing a dire shortage of 4-5 star luxury hotels combined with high service costs and poor tourist products.

Viet Nam has set a goal of attracting 4.2 million foreign arrivals in 2010.

Sourced= Viet Nam-News