Viet
Nam is set to welcome a record 5 million international tourists this year after
the arrival of 428,300 visitors last month.

French tourists tour Ha Noi’s Old Quarter on rickshaws. The country is expected to have welcomed a record 5 million tourists by the end of the year. (Photo: VNS)

General Statistics
Office figures put total arrivals to November at 4.6 million, 36.5 per cent
higher than for the same 11 months last year.

The monthly average
was 420,000 visitors, the highest in the last 20 years.

The previous record,
4.236 million visitors, was set in 2008.

Tourism industry
revenue is expected to total US$4.6 billion against 3.8 million visitors and
$3.05 billion last year.

Milestone

The new figures
were a milestone in the development of the tourism industry and proved that
travellers still thought the country was safe, friendly and attractive, said
Viet Nam National Administration of Tourism (VNAT) general director Nguyen Van
Tuan.

The general director
attributed them to Viet Nam’s tourism potential and the global economic
recovery.

Systematic promotion
campaigns as well as major national and international events had been especially
important, he said.

Visitors from mainland
China, Japan, Malaysia and Thailand, where the currencies were stronger than the
dong, preferred Viet Nam for its cheaper prices.

They could buy more
with their money in Viet Nam than in other countries.

VNAT Travel Department
director Vu The Binh said the record 5 million international visitors for the
year was the result of a successful process and the industry would continue to
promote the country’s image and tourist products.

For example, the
administration had piloted a trans-national caravan tour within Viet Nam, Lao,
Thailand and Cambodia as ” Four countries – One Destination” earlier this month.

It would launch
promotions in the major markets of Taiwan, Malaysia and Singapore later this
month.

But the industry lacks
trained staff, infrastructure, competitiveness and tourism products, says the
VNAT.

“The key objective is
to find and develop highly typical tourist products including shopping and
adventure tours as well as resorts,” said director Binh.

“These are the ways to
attract more foreigners who will return.”

Saigontourist Travel
Service Co’s Marketing Department manager Doan Thi Thanh Tra said it was
important that each tourist enterprise seeks and offers suitable and typical
services for its clients.

They also need to
better train their staff and improve service quality.

Viet Nam’s tourist
season usually goes from September to February, so the industry could be
expected to bloom in the last month of the year, she said.

VietNamNet/Viet
Nam News