LookAtVietnam – A delegation from seven Austrian tourism companies and Thai Airways visited Ha Noi on Tuesday to study the country’s tourism market.

In the first four months of this year, about 1.29 million international visitors came to Viet Nam, down about 18 per cent over the same period of last year.

“I hope that after the visit Austria tourism companies will open more tours to Viet Nam,” said Dao Ngoc Anh, a representative of the Marketing Department under the Viet Nam National Administration of Tourism.

The visit proved to be an eye-opener to at least one of the Austrians.

“We have been so impressed since arriving in Ha Noi,” said Uwe Fanta, marketing director of FTI Touristik. “We love your beautiful country.”

“Up to now, information about the Viet Nam tourism market has been very limited in our country. After visiting Viet Nam, we will share our experiences with our customers.”

The delegation will also visit other cities such as Ha Long, Hue city, Da Nang, Hoi An, HCM City and My Tho.

The Austrians’ visit will be followed by a German delegation in June and other delegations in the third quarter.

In the first four months of this year, about 1.29 million international visitors came to Viet Nam, down about 18 per cent over the same period of last year.

Foreign arrivals during the four months included 790,000 tourists, 210,000 on business trips and 79,000 for family reunions.

Foreign visitor numbers from key markets, such as mainland China, Japan, South Korea and Taiwan, continued to fall sharply, by about 10-30 per cent.

Meanwhile, arrivals from US, Australia and Canada saw modest increases, from 1.5-8 per cent.

VietNamNet/Viet Nam News