Foreign arrivals surges over 14% in August

Around 11.3 million foreigners spend their holidays in Vietnam during January-August, with visitors from Asian markets accounting for the lion’s share of 78.1%.

The figure for those from Asia witnessed a 9.9% climb year on year. Arrivals from China fell 0.9% while those from the Thailand, Chinese Taipei, the Republic of Korea, Malaysia, Japan and Singapore inched up 46.3%, 27.1%, 22.5%, 14.6%, 13.7%, and 5.4%, respectively.

Meanwhile, the number of tourists from Europe is estimated to grow 5.3% from the same time last year, with arrivals from Europe-America increasing 6.2%, Russia 5.7% and Germany 5.6%.

The US has been seen as a major tourism market of Vietnam. As the world’s second outbound market, some 93 million US travellers spent US$245 billion on their foreign tours in 2018. Among nearly 9.3 million visitors to the Asia, 687,000 chose Vietnam for their holidays, increasing 12% compared to 2017.

According to the Vietnam National Administration of Tourism (VNAT), the country holds huge potential to tap into the US tourism market, especially after VNAT General Director Nguyen Trung Khanh led a delegation to promote tourism at the American Society of Travel Advisors (ASTA) Global Convention 2019 in the US from August 23-27.

Besides, Vietnam has been officially granted Category 1 rating certification (CAT1) by the US Federal Aviation Administration, allowing Vietnamese carriers to fly direct to the US. Therefore, several Vietnamese airlines are planning to open non-stop routes to the American nation in the next one or two years, helping the tourism sector diversify its markets.

The GSO said revenue from catering and accommodation services in the past eight months totals nearly VND386 trillion (US$16.6 billion), soaring 9.8% from the same period last year. Meanwhile, local tours earn an estimated VND30 trillion, surging 12.1% year on year.

This year, the industry targets to serve 17.5-18 million foreign arrivals and 85 million domestic ones. Total revenue from tourism is expected at VND700 trillion.