By APD writer Alice

Hanoi, October 31 (APD) -- Vietnam welcomed more than 12.8 million foreign tourists in the past 10 months, up 22.4 percent year on year, according to the Vietnam National Administration of Tourism (VNAT).

In October alone, over 1.2 million foreigners chose Vietnam as their destination, rising 17.6 percent from a year earlier.

In the 10-month period, it has seen increases in the numbers of tourists from most markets, particularly the Republic of Korea (48.3 percent), Finland (33.3 percent), China’s Hong Kong (29.6 percent), China (28.8 percent), and Denmark (16.4 percent). Although Africa is not a major market, the number of arrivals from this continent has risen by 19.7 percent.

Meanwhile, holidaymakers from Laos have dropped by 15.7 percent and from Cambodia down 8.1 percent compared to the same period last year.

Domestic travellers totalled 67.9 million between January and October, the VNAT noted, adding that the sector earned 505 trillion VND (21.5 billion USD) from tourists in total, up 21 percent.

VNAT General Director Nguyen Van Tuan said Vietnam aims to attract 15 to 16 million foreign arrivals in 2018. The fourth quarter is a peak season for foreign tourists, so if the current growth rate is sustained and there aren’t any sudden upheavals, the country will receive at least 15.7 million foreign vacationers this year.

To attract more foreigners in the coming months, the VNAT organised a tourism promotion programme in Nanning and Shenzhen cities of China from October 22 to 27, he added.

In the national tourism development strategy until 2020, China is considered a key source of tourists. It has continually ranked first among sources of foreign travellers to the Southeast Asian nation, accounting for 38 percent of total foreigners visiting here.

Tuan said the VNAT has also coordinated with some agencies to launch a smart tourism portal at www.dulich.vtv.vn so as to provide comprehensive information about Vietnam’s tourism and help users gain better travel experiences in the era of the Fourth Industrial Revolution.

(ASIA PACIFIC DAILY)