The number of international arrivals in Vietnam this month rose by 5 percent year-on-year to more than 1.5 million tourists, VietnamPlus news site reported, citing a report published by the general Statistical Office on January 29.
Of the total, the number of international visitors to the country by air and road grew by 1.4 percent and 26.9 percent, respectively, while arrivals on cruise ships fell by 30.5 percent.
This month saw a 9.3 percent rise in the number of international arrivals in the country against the figure seen in December last year. Vietnam mainly welcomed tourists from Europe and America as droves of overseas Vietnamese people returned to the country to celebrate and enjoy the Tet holiday.
Further, as Europeans and Americans have winter holidays during this month, they are more likely to take tours at this time.
In addition, Asian travellers to Vietnam in January made up a large proportion of visitors, at 1.1 million, edging up 5.4 percent year-on-year. South Korean tourists visiting Vietnam soared by 23 percent, surpassing the number of Chinese travellers to make it Vietnam’s largest source market.
The statistics showed that the number of tourists from Japan, Taiwan, Malaysia, Thailand and the Philippines to the country went up 11.3 percent, 31 percent, 9.4 percent, 39.7 percent and 20 percent, respectively. Meanwhile, Chinese, Singaporean and Cambodian arrivals in Vietnam dropped by 10.7 percent, 2.5 percent and 61.3 percent, respectively.
The number of domestic visitors this month amounted to an estimated 6.6 million, and the tourism sector generated a total of VND56.5 trillion in revenue, up 6.6 percent against the figure seen in January last year.
The Vietnamese tourism sector aims to attract 18 million international tourists and serve 85 million domestic travellers in 2019 and targets earning over VND700 trillion in revenue.
