Domestic tourists hit 5.5 million during Tet holiday

The number of domestic tourists reached 5.5 million during the Tet (Lunar New Year) holiday this year that lasted from January 29 to February 6, the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism said on February 8.

There were 467 foreign visitors from Russia holding 'vaccine passports'.

Tourists primarily opted for short-distance tours with flexible itinerary and new tourism products.

Although Hanoi cancelled festivals and activities that may attract crowds, the capital city welcomed 105,000 tourists during the holiday.

Meanwhile, Hanoians mainly travelled to southern localities like Ho Chi Minh City, Nha Trang city of Khanh Hoa and Phu Quoc island offshore Kien Giang province.

HCM City received about 200,000 domestic holidaymakers, raking in 140 billion VND (6.16 million USD) from tourism. Khanh Hoa province greeted more than 85,000 visitors, a 2.5-fold increase compared to the same period last year.

Kien Giang welcomed a total of 368 flights during the holiday and the figure is projected to stay at 40 per day between February 7 and 13. More than 100,000 tourists came to the Mekong Delta province, with 75 percent of them to Phu Quoc island.

Tourist sites complied with COVID-19 preventive measures and took the initiative in building safe tourism plans.

Vietnam aims to serve 65 million tourists this year, including 5 million foreigners, earning 400 trillion VND.

The Ministry recently proposed resumption of inbound and outbound tourism starting March 31 to the Prime Minister.

By that time, Vietnam will have completed the vaccination of the third shot of COVID-19 vaccine.

Of note, Vietnam is scheduled to host the 31st Southeast Asian Games (SEA Games 31) in May. The prompt announcement of border reopening for international travel will help attract tourists from regional countries whose vaccination rates are high./.

VNA