The domestic tourism sector this year would achieve its annual target of attracting 5.5 million foreign visitors, Viet Nam Society of Travel Agents chairman Vu The Binh said.

“The sector this year is estimated to grow more than 10 per cent,” Binh said.

The General Statistics Office announced the country had welcomed 2.5 million foreign visitors in the first five months of this year, a year-on-year increase of 18 per cent.

This figure represented 47 per cent of the annual target.

Nearly 1.5 million foreign visitors came for a holiday, up 10.2 per cent over the same period last year.

Another 418,900 came for business purposes, down 0.8 per cent, and 442,400 people arrived to visit relatives, surging by 81.4 per cent.

Binh said mainland China, South Korea and Japan still remained the biggest markets for tourists into Viet Nam.

In the period, nearly 547,000 visitors were from mainland China, up by 49.6 per cent. Numbers from South Korea and Japan were 222,400 (up 2.5 per cent) and 204,200 (up 12.8 per cent), respectively.

The numbers of tourists from the US, Cambodia, Taiwan, Malaysia, France and Australia also increased in these five months.

“During five months, sea and cultural discovery tours have still attracted foreign investors,” said Binh.

Binh added that many new places were recognised as cultural heritage. This helped attract more foreign tourists.

Last year, Viet Nam welcomed a record 5.05 million foreign tourists, soaring year-on-year by 34.3 per cent.

Source: VNA