Int'l arrivals plunge over 18% in Q1

VGP – Viet Nam received over 3.68 million foreign arrivals in the first three months of 2020, representing a year-on-year decrease of 18.1%, the National Administration of Tourism reported.

March 30, 2020 2:08 PM GMT+7

In the January-March period, the number of domestic guests was 13 million, down 18% in comparison with the same period last year. Tourism revenue hit VND 146.6 trillion.

In March, the country welcomed 449,923 foreign visitors, representing a month-on-month drop of 63.8% and a year-on-year drop of 68.1%.

Inbound tourism fall was attributed to tourism suspension with China due to COVID-19 outbreaks as the neighboring country occupied 70% of Viet Nam’s foreign arrivals.

In addition, those from Viet Nam’s traditional markets such as Japan, the RoK, and Europe also decreased due to travel restrictions amid widening COVID-19 pandemic.

Earlier, the Administration estimated Viet Nam’s tourism sector would face US$ 5.9-7 billion in revenue loss between February and April, including US$ 1.8-2 billion from the Chinese market; US$ 2.2-2.3 billion from other foreign markets; and US$ 1.9-2.7 billion from the domestic market.

However, the above figures were estimated before the COVID-19 outbreaks occurred in the RoK, Japan, and Europe./.

By Kim Anh