Vietnam Agency Scrutinizes Border Tourism Activities
The Vietnam National Administration of Tourism (VNAT) has sent an official dispatch to departments of culture, sports and tourism, asking them to scrutinize border tourism activities.
The move is followed continuous decreases in the number of international tourists coming to Vietnam through its border gates in recent times.
Border tourism plays an important role in the national economic development, as it has 4,550 kilometers of land border and 25 border provinces, lined with 42 international and major border gates.
However, border tourism development has failed to match the country’s potential. Currently, the number of foreign travelers to Vietnam through its border gates represents only 20% of the country’s total.
Vietnam welcomed 2.5 million foreign tourist arrivals in the first half of 2010, up 32% from a year earlier.
The country aims to receive between 4.5 million and 4.6 million foreign travelers and earn tourism revenues of between US$4 billion and US$4.5 billion this year.
Tags: Vietnam Tourism