Number of foreign arrivals bounces back

The number of foreign tourists to Viet Nam reached 564,700 in July, an increase of 4.6% against last month, according to the General Statistics Office (GSO).
In the January-July period, the country welcomed over 4,85 million foreign tourists, representing a year-on-year surge of 15.6%.

Specifically, the number of foreigners arriving in Viet Nam for tourism went up 13.9% against the same period last year; for business up 16.1%; for visiting relatives up 19.5%; and other purposes up 21.1%.

Official statistics show that most of the markets witnessed growth with China’s Hong Kong posting the highest rise of 111.3%; followed by Germany 99.4%; Russia 27%; and Laos 26.7%.

In 2014, the tourism sector planned to lure 8 million foreign and 37.5 million domestic tourists, earning VND 240 billion (or US$11.2 million) in revenue.

According to the National Administration of Tourism, the Government will issue a resolution on tourism development in the new context in August, targeting to accelerate tourism promotion activities.

The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism said it will propose the extension of the visa exemption duration from 15 days to 30 days for Russian tourists, to the Prime Minister for consideration.

Vgp/Hanoitimes