HCM City earns 3.2tr dong from tourism this month

The hospitality sector has contributed about 3.2 trillion dong to HCM City this month, up 14 percent year-on-year, bringing the tourism sector’s total revenue in the first four months of this year to 12.6 trillion dong, a 19 percent annual increase, according to a report.

The report by the HCM City Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism said that about 230,000 international visitors had come to HCM City this month, up 10 percent compared to the same period in 2009. The majority of tourists arrived by air. The figure raises the total number of foreign visitors to the city to about 1.08 million, a 9 percent increase year-on-year.

Foreign cruise passengers arrive at the Navi Oil Port in HCM City.

The city’s tourism department said that about 60,000 local people from HCM City and other provinces traveled to foreign countries via Tan Son Nhat International Airport; however, the report did not show domestic travel figures.

The favourite outbound destinations of Vietnamese people are Singapore, Malaysia, China, Hong Kong, Macau, Cambodia, Western Europe, Australia and the US

The Travel Management Division under the city’s Culture, Sports and Tourism Department compiled another report about hotel performance in 2010′s first quarter. Average room occupancy for three- to five-star hotels was 69 percent, up 8 percent compared to the same period in 2009 while the average room rate was down 18 percent at $85 per night.

The report added that on average room occupancy at five-star hotels was 66 percent, 76 percent at four-star hotels and 70 percent at three-star hotels.

Average rates for a five-star standard room declined 16 percent to $123, while four-star rooms cost 20 percent less at $76 and three-star rooms were $43, down 14 percent.

HCM City currently has 58 three- to five-star hotels with a combined 8,480 rooms, according to the Travel Management Division.

The division is yet to issue this month’s report as it is still collecting information from hotels in the city. Hotels have until mid-May to send their reports to the division.

In related news, Savills Vietnam Ltd just issued a report about hotel performance in the city in this year’s first quarter. The report highlights the different figures compared to the Hotel Management Division’s results.

According to Savills, the average rate for a five-star room was $124 per night, $83 for a four-star room, and $51 for a three-star room.

The company said HCM City has 60 three- to five-star hotels with about 8,800 rooms while the division reported only 58 hotels.

The saigon times

Tags: HCM city tourism, Vietnam Tourism