Print article

EIU: Tourism makes greater contributions to VN’s economy

VGP – The tourism sector made more and more contribution to Viet Nam’s economy as the number of international visitors surged sharply in Q1, 2017, according to the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU) at the UK-based Economist Group.

April 17, 2017 2:03 PM GMT+7

Illustration photo

The Viet Nam National Administration of Tourism reported that in Q1, 3.2 million foreign visitors came to Viet Nam, representing a year-on-year surge of 30.6%.

The impressive figure showed that the country has been successfully asserting its position as one of the most attractive tourism destinations in the eyes of foreign tourists.

The EIU said that the enforcement of e-visa since February 1, 2017 has contributed to boosting the number of foreign tourists to Viet Nam. The decision helped to streamline entry procedures for tourists from over 40 foreign countries.

The analysis company was convinced that in the coming time, the easier procedures on visa granting and low budget airline carriers like VietJet would facilitate tourism operation.  

According to the EIU, Viet Nam’s prestige also increased drastically among Asian tourists. Chinese visitors accounted for the largest proportion with 949,000 in Q1, up 63.5% against the same period last year.

The Republic of Korea ranked second with 527,500 visitors to Viet Nam (up 29.3%); followed by Japan with 201,600 (up 4.8%).

Besides the Asian region, the U.S. had the largest number of visitors to Viet Nam with 179,700; followed by the UK.

The EIU assessed that the Vietnamese Government has increasingly paid attention to tourism development’s impacts on the environment.

The Vietnamese Government also determined that tourism was one of the key sectors for economic development./.

By Kim Anh