International arrivals in HCMC in the first quarter this year drops 7% against the year-earlier period to some 780,000, making the city’s target of attracting three million foreign visitors this year a hard nut to crack.

A group of foreign travelers take snapshots in HCMC. The city has seen international arrivals in the first quarter drop by 7% year on year.

International travelers coming by air total some 630,000, down by 13% year on year, and major source markets include the U.S., Japan, Korea, Australia, Taiwan, Canada, China, France, Singapore and Malaysia.

Nevertheless, the city sees a slight increase in revenue attributed to better performance with the domestic and outbound tourism segments compared to the same period last year.

The tourism division said in a report that some 200,000 local tourists have traveled abroad via Tan Son Nhat International Airport to favorite destinations such as China, Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand and Cambodia in the year to date.

The report showed that the city tourism’s revenue reached VND7.7 trillion, up 15% year-on-year and equal to 22% of the whole year’s target of VND34 trillion. Hotel and restaurant service contributes an estimated VND6.16 trillion, up 12% year-on-year, while that from travel service is VND1.54 trillion, up 28%.

Nguyen Thi Tuyet Mai, director of public relation communications department of Tan Dinh Trade and Travel Service Co., better known as Fiditourist, told the Daily that her company saw a fall in the inbound business, but witnessed 22% improvement in domestic and outbound segment in the first quarter of this year.

Mai said that some big tour operators in HCMC have enjoyed the nationwide tourism promotion program initiated by the Vietnam National Administration of Tourism, under which airlines are offering discount of up to 60% in airfares.

Mai said Fiditourist package prices for domestic tours have been slashed by between 32% and 40% depending on destinations, while outbound travelers could save from US$100 to US$300 a trip to other countries in the region.

She added that travel would likely pick up much more as many take the promotion chance to spend their vacation during the coming Summer holidays at local seaside destinations. Especially, several tours to the northern region are some VND2 million cheaper than before.

Vu The Binh, head of Travel Department under the Vietnam National Administration of Tourism, told the Daily on the phone on Tuesday that it was not until March 29 to know the exact number of foreign arrivals in the country.

He, however, estimated that the numbers of foreign arrivals, local tourists traveling abroad and domestic tourists would decrease around 10% against the same period last year.

VietNamNet/SGT