Extra efforts made to achieve target of welcoming 5 million foreign visitors this year

The Vietnam National Administration of Tourism (VNAT) is taking extra efforts to realise the target of welcoming 5 million foreign visitors amidst a decline in the numbers of tourists from China and Russia.

A group of American tourists visit the ancient town of Hoi An in central Quang Nam province

The VNAT will further optimise markets which have air routes with Vietnam and those that permitted their citizens to travel abroad and Vietnamese expats to return to the home country after the COVID-19 pandemic was put under control.

Priority will be given to attracting arrivals from the Republic of Korea, Japan, Western Europe, Australia and ASEAN nations. Greater attention will also be paid to new markets, such as India, the United States, the Middle East, and Russian-speaking countries, including Uzbekistan and Azerbaijan.

The VNAT will cooperate with local authorities, enterprises, airlines and Vietnam Tourism Development Fund (VTDF) to implement a programme called “Fully live in Vietnam” through promotional events held in ASEAN, the RoK, Japan, India, Western Europe, Australia and New Zealand.

Vietnam also plans to attend the Japan Association of Travel Agents (JATA) Tourism Expo in September and the World Travel Market (VMT) in London in November, according to the VNAT.

The number of international tourist arrivals reached about 413,000 in the first half of 2022. The number of foreign visitors has been on the sharp rise since Vietnam reopened its border. The May figure doubled that of April while that of June quadrupled that of May.

Most of the foreign travellers came from countries that enjoy visa exemptions from Vietnam, including the RoK, the UK, France, Germany, Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand and Cambodia./.

VNA