Vietnam was also listed among the top 10 destinations welcoming the largest number of arrivals in the Asia-Pacific region, together with the US, Hong Kong and Macau (China), Mexico, and Thailand, among other countries.
PATA’s statistics are based on the number of foreign visitors to 35 destinations in the Asia-Pacific region in the first six months of this year. Accordingly, the region, excluding the Chinese market, received more than 247 million international arrivals, up 6% against the same period last year.
According to the Vietnam National Administration of Tourism, approximately 12.9 million foreigners travelled to Vietnam in the first nine months of 2019, a year-on-year increase of 10.8%. The total tourism revenue hit VND504 trillion (US$21.7 million), up 11.7% year-on-year.
In September alone, the number of foreign holidaymakers to Vietnam was estimated at 1.56 million.
Vietnam’s tourism sector aims to receive 17.5 million – 18 million foreign tourists in 2019 and serve 85 million domestic visitors, raking in a total revenue of VND700 trillion (US$30.17 billion).