KTĐT - General Director of the Vietnam National Tourism Administration Nguyen Van Tuan highlighted both the good performances and limitations of the tourism industry in the first six months of this year in a conference in Hanoi on July 8.
The number of foreign arrivals to Vietnam saw a stable growth in the reviewed time, reaching over 4.7 million, including 1.2 million from China, a year-on-year rise of 47.5%.However, infrastructure facilities serving the industry have yet to meet the increasing demand of tourists, he noted.
The sector witnessed disadvantages such as traffic accidents, mass fish deaths in the central region, and legal violations in tourism activities of foreigners in Vietnam, especially those from China, Tuan said, adding that these caused negative impacts on tourism growth.
The administration has asked departments of culture, sports and tourism and departments of tourism nationwide to intensify inspections of tourism business activities, especially travelling and tour guide services, and impose strict punishments on law violations.
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During the conference, participants discussed measures to overcome difficulties facing the sector in the time ahead.
They underlined the need to maintain the number of Chinese tourists to Vietnam, as China is one of the largest tourist markets for Vietnam, which accounts for between 22-25% of the total foreign arrivals to the country.
In the second half of the year, the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism will continue working with ministries, sectors and localities to increase inspection of tourism activities, and strictly handle relevant violations in tourism management and businesses, said Minister Nguyen Ngoc Thien Ngoc on the sidelines of the conference.
In 2016, Vietnam targets to welcome 8.7 million international arrivals and serve 41 million domestic visitors, raking in around 270 trillion VND (over 12 billion USD).
