Nearly 42,500 foreign tourists chose Vietnam as their destination during traditional Lunar New Year (Tet) festival, according to statistic released by several leading Vietnam travel agency.

By the third day of the festival which falls on Feb. 25, Saigon Tourists served 12,300 foreign holiday makers; Vietravel, 6,500 and Hanoi Redtour, 4,700, respectively.

On the first day of the Lunar New Year the central city of Da Nang welcomed nearly 2,000 visitors and the northern province of Quang Ninh received 1,300 maritime tourists.

The number of Chinese arrivals to Vietnam through the Lao Cai border gate in Lao Cai province exceeded 4,000, of whom 1,400 were recorded on the first festive day.

Foreign tourists to Vietnam are attracted by local festivals and famous destinations such as Hạ Long bay" href="/travel-guide/vietnam/other-destinations-in-vietnam/halong-city/">Ha Long Bay, Sapa, Nha Trang, Da Lat, Mui Ne, Vung Tau, Da Nang and Hoi An.

During the long holiday, the number of domestic arrivals and outbound tourists reached more than 69,000 and 42,000.