Foreign tourists increase in February

Viet Nam welcome nearly 543,000 foreign tourists in February, a year-on-year increase of 21.6 per cent, reported the General Statistics Office (GSO).

The number pushed up the total number of foreign tourists in the first two months of the year to more than 1 million, up by 19.5 per cent in comparison with the same period last year.

Around 191,000 were from China, a year-on-year increase of 39 per cent. With a growth rate of 17.4 per cent, around 102,000 tourists were from South Korea, followed by the US and Japan, with 96,600 and 92,800 respectively

Deputy head of the Viet Nam National Administration of Tourism Nguyen Manh Cuong said that festivals in the first two months of the year attracted a large number of foreign tourists.

He also said the dong devaluation had impacted on domestic travellers.

“Foreign customers are benefiting from the dong devaluation,” Binh said adding that it was correct that the tourism sector was affected by inflation, but it didn’t have an adverse affect on foreign tourists.

International media campaigns had also boosted tourism, he added.

The tourism sector has been running campaigns in Japan, South Korea and China, and is considering plans to approach the European market. – VNS

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