International arrivals to Vietnam up 6.6% in January

International arrivals to Vietnam up 6.6% in January

Vietnam aims to attract 8.5 million foreign tourists in 2015.

NDO – The number of foreign tourists to Vietnam in January was estimated at nearly 700,700, up 6.6% from the previous month but down 9.7% compared with the same month last year.

According to the General Statistics Office, Chinese tourists accounted for the largest proportion with nearly 120,000 arrivals or 17%, followed by the 116,450 tourists from the Republic of Korea.

More than 80.2% of foreign tourists to Vietnam in January travelled by air while less than 1% travelled by sea.

Last year Vietnam welcomed more than 7.8 million foreign tourists, up 4% year on year but much lower than the 10.6% growth seen in 2013 due to rising tensions in the East Sea with China, which is the largest source of foreign tourists travelling to Vietnam.

In 2015, the tourism sector aims to attract approximately 8.5 million international arrivals and 41 million domestic tourists, with an expected combined revenue of VND270 trillion (US$12.7 billion).

Last December, the Government adopted a resolution on a number of measures to promote the tourism industry with a view of raising awareness of tourism development, improving tourism infrastructure and increasing revenue from this sector.

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