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Apr 27, 2017 / 19:57

First four months of 2017, 4.3 million foreign tourists visited Vietnam

Foreign arrivals in Vietnam is marking a bounce of 30 percent against the same period last year.

 In detail, the number of international arrivals to Vietnam increased by 30 percent on-year during the first four months of 2017, reaching 4.3 million so far.
In the first 3 months of 2017, this number accounts for 3.2 million. This is an increase of nearly 20% on last year (already a record year) so projections are for 11.5 million in total for 2017. This is positive progress to achieving Resolution 8 of the Political Bureau to increase foreign tourism figures to 17-20 million by 2020.
Vietnam already offers visa exemptions for tourists from South Korea, Japan and Southeast Asian countries, as well as extended visa-free programs through June of next year for travelers from Western Europe, including those from the U.K., France, Germany, Spain and Italy.
Since February 2017, Vietnam operates an e-visa system for 40 countries, including a number of European countries. http://vietnamtourism.vn/plan-your-trip/visa-requirements
A new website for tourism in Vietnam was one example of the successful initiatives of public-private partnerships supported by an EU-funded project on sustainable tourism: http://vietnamtourism.vn
Vietnam was recently ranked the third safest travel destination in Southeast Asia by the World Economic Forum. Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City and Hoi An have also been named among the most low-cost places to visit by the Backpackers Index.
In a bid to give the tourism industry a major push, the Vietnamese government has launched its much-touted online visa system for travelers on short holidays or casual business trips.
The country is on the way to reach its target of welcoming 11.5 million international and 66 million domestic visitors this year, which is projected to contribute over $20 billion to the economy. The government has recently issued an etiquette guide for tourists to remind them to behave appropriately during their time here.
Some of those information were discussed at the 10th meeting of the Vietnam Tourism Advisory Board.