Ha Long Bay, Quang Ninh province.
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Tourists from Europe rose by 15.4% from the same period last year with significant growths reported in those from Russia (15.8%), the UK (14.4%), Sweden (20.6%) and France (12%). Travellers from America increased by 11.5% year on year.
In which, Vietnam welcomed 1,3 foreign tourists in March, 2018, the third consecutive month the foreign tourist arrivals exceeded a million. Vietnam tourism earned more than VND10 trillion (US$440 million) in the first quarter of 2018, up 30,3% from last year with Ho Chi Minh City posting the strongest surge of 32.3%, according to GSO report.
The continuous expansion of the tourism can be partly attributed to Vietnam’s active tourism promotion overseas in the first quarter of 2018. Earlier this month, the country took part in the 26th Moscow International Travel and Tourism Exhibition (MITT) in Russia, one of the world’s five largest travel fairs held annually since 1994. This event attracted over 1,900 businesses and representatives from 192 countries and territories.
Russia ranks sixth in the number of tourists to Vietnam. In 2017, Vietnam received some 574,000 Russian visitors, up 32.3% from 2016, who mostly came to central and southern destinations like Nha Trang, Phan Thiet and Phu Quoc. The country expects to welcome 1 million Russian guests by 2020.
Vietnam has welcomed 12.9 million international tourists during 2017, up 29.1% against 2016, according to the latest figures from the GSO.
In general, tourism activities in 2017 showed impressive results. The tourism industry has adopted many policies and measures to attract tourists, with promotions and the introduction of Vietnam in key markets such as Australia, Japan, Europe, and the ASEAN, as well as providing visa exemptions for five Western European countries. The country also increased participation at international tourism fairs and invited a great number of foreign tourism delegations.
Vietnam aims to serve between 15 – 17 million foreigners and 78 million domestic travellers in 2018, with total revenue expected to hit VND620 trillion (US$27.28 billion), up 21.35% year on year, the Government said at a recent online meeting with cities and provinces nationwide.
