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Vietnam welcomes 15.6 million foreign visitors in 2018

by T.N02 January 2019 Last updated at 09:00 AM

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VTV.vn - Vietnam welcomed 15.6 million foreign visitors in 2018, up 20% from 2017.

According to experts, this is thanks to the improvement in tourism policies and the increasing popularity of Vietnam's tourist attractions. For the new year 2019, the tourism hopes to encourage tourists' spending in Vietnam.

The tourism sector has set a target of attracting 103 million visitors with a revenue of 30.3 billion USD in 2019.

Early December, Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc approved the establishment of a state-run tourism development fund, worth about VND300 billion (US$12.9 million), which will be used for building plans, financing tourism promotion activities, and boosting the tourism growth.

The PM has also given nod to a project which looks to restructure the industry in an attempt to turn it into a spearhead economic sector and make Vietnam one of the most developed tourism nations in Southeast Asia.

The project has set a target of US$45 billion in tourism revenue by 2025, with exports through tourism reaching US$27 billion.

The sector is hoped to contribute more than 10% to GDP and create 6 million jobs, including 2 million direct jobs. At the same time, it expects to serve 32 million foreign tourists and more than 130 million domestic visitors in 2025.