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So far, the country had 1,602 international travel agents and 21,000 accommodation establishments. Up to 11 localities established tourism departments and formulated special tourism lines and unique products such as walking streets in Ha Noi, electric buses, river tours in Ho Chi Minh City, helicopter tours in Da Nang, and coal mine tours in Quang Ninh.
Next year, the tourism industry set to welcome 11.5 million international guests, serve 66 million domestic visitors and earn VND 460 trillion in revenue. By 2020, tourism will become a spearhead industry.
Ho Chi Minh City has become the first in the nation receiving the five-millionth foreign passenger of the year, marking the sustainable development of the city’s tourism sector.
The city welcomed the five-millionth foreign passenger in 2016 at Tan Son Nhat International Airport on December 24, expecting to raise the visitor figure to 5.6 million in 2017.
The Ha Noi municipal Department of Tourism said, in 2016, Ha Noi received about 4 million international visitors, up 22.6% from last year, and 17.8 million domestic tourists, up 8.5%. Total revenue from tourism reached VND62,329 billion (US$2.8 billion).
VN listed among best countries to visit
Viet Nam was elected as one of the 20 best countries in the world to visit in a recent survey by US magazine Condé Nast Traveler (CNT). The nation ranked 20th, while Greece and Italy ranked first and second. Last year, the Southeast Asian nation was positioned at 12th place.
The Southeast nation has made the biggest jump in the InterNations Expat Insider 2016 survey on most popular destinations for expatriates, rising up an astounding 24 places to come in 11th in the list.
In 2015, Viet Nam came in 35th place out of 64 countries. It made the biggest gains in the Working Abroad Index (from 36th to 12th place) and the Ease of Settling In Index (35th to 29th place).
According to a report on the “Future of Outbound Travel in Asia Pacific 2016 to 2021,” MasterCard projected that around 7.5 million Vietnamese people would travel abroad by 2021 in comparison with 4.8 million in 2016.
Viet Nam was forecast to enjoy a compound annual growth rate of 9.5% between 2016 and 2021 for outbound travel among Asia Pacific emerging markets.
Meanwhile, the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU) under the UK-based Economist Group forecasted that Tourism has upheld its role as an important pillar for Viet Nam’s economic growth.
The World Travel & Tourism Council (WTTC) announced that last year tourism contributed 6.6% to the Viet Nam’s GDP in 2015. The industry made up 13.9% to the GDP in both direct and indirect channels. The proportion will touch 15.2% by 2026.
Viet Nam became the most attractive travelling destinations in the Southeast Asian region for Russian tourists, according to the statistics of the Association of Tour Operators of Russia (ATOR).
From January to June, Viet Nam received around 204,400 Russian tourists, increased 21% over the same period of last year.
The nation has also become an attractive tourism destination for American citizens as over 330,000 visited the country last year, up 33% against 2015, according to the U.S. Department of Commerce.
Especially, American tourists from the ages of 18-35 preferred Viet Nam for its practical experience.
Tourism becomes spearhead economic sector
The Political Bureau issued Resolution No. 08-NQ/TW on developing tourism into a key economic sector on January 16, 2017.
The Resolution has manifested the Party’s political determination to turn tourism into the nation’s key economic sector through its contribution to the national socio-economic development.
It has also clarified potentials, strength and shortcomings as well as synchronous breakthroughs to create a consensus in the mindset and activities of ministries, agencies and localities for promoting tourism.
PM Nguyen Xuan Phuc has affirmed the Government’s determination to turn tourism into the country’s spearhead economic sector during a national conference on tourism development in Hoi An city in the central province of Quang Nam, on August 9, 2016.
Meanwhile, the PM pledged that the Government will design policies to support the sector, noting that VND200 billion has been invested in the launching of e-visa granting procedure that will commence from January 1, 2017.
He also approved the establishment of a fund for tourism development to support promotion activities, developing products and human resources, and enhance the sector’s institutional capacity.
The tourism sector must be assessed in line with international standards, said Deputy PM Vu Duc Damwhile chairing a meeting of the State Steering Committee on Tourism on working performance in 2016 and tasks in 2017.
Members of the State Steering Committee on Tourism assessed that ministries and agencies have spared no effort to support localities to boost tourism.
Viet Nam will grant e-visas to foreigners from 2017-2018, aiming to attract more tourists and foreign visitors as well as boosting the domestic tourism industry.
Under the new program, the new e-visas will be valid for 30 days. Tourists applying for an e-visa will not need an invitation letter or a letter of guarantee from Viet Nam. They will apply for their visas online and collect them at airports.
Currently, Viet Nam has a visa waiver program for citizens from 21 countries and territories.
By 2020, the country hopes to attract 10 – 10.5 million international visitors with tourism revenue reaching from US$18 billion to US$19 billion each year.
By Thuy Dung
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