VN welcomes 6 mln foreign guests

Illustration photo

In the January-September period, over 3.6 million foreign visitors came to Viet Nam for tourism and convalescence, up 8.8% against the same period last year; over 1.01 million for business (up 10.8%) and over 1.04 million for visiting relatives (up 14.2%).

The GSO also reported that over 4.8 million foreigners travelled to Viet Nam by air (up 11.9%); 1.15 million by road (up 18.3%) and 45,900 by sea (sharply down 72.9%).

China had the biggest number of holiday-makers to Viet Nam with over 1.54 million (up13.5%); followed by the Republic of Korea 618,500 (up 10%); Japan 486,400 (up 8.1%), Russia (up 28.5%); the UK (up 16%) and Laos (up 17.1%).

In the first nine months, the number of domestic tourists surged to 32 million, up 8% against the same period last year.

The tourism sector pocketed VND 179 trillion in revenue, posting a year-on-year growth rate of 19%.

However, in September, the number of foreign arrivals to Viet Nam was estimated at 590,881, posting a month-on-month decline of 4.48% and a year-on-year decrease of 3.89%./.

By Khanh Phuong